Tag: Utah Jazz

Analyzing fit of Jordan Clarkson on Jazz after trade from Cavaliers

The Utah Jazz acquired Jordan Clarkson via trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 23. He made his debut with them on Thursday night.

The Utah Jazz acquired Jordan Clarkson via trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 23. He made his debut with them on Thursday night.

The main reason for the move is that the Jazz have an anemic offense when Donovan Mitchell is not on the court. Their offensive rating in these minutes (100.4) has been far below the league average (109.1) so far this season. Cleveland, meanwhile, had scored well (110.5) with Clarkson in December. He has long shown he is capable of massive scoring eruptions any given night.

Dennis Lindsey, Utah’s executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke about Clarkson before his debut with the Jazz (via Deseret.com):

“There was a little bit of a duh-factor being 28th in bench scoring. We needed to add someone that could just go and get a shot … He was a player that Quin asked me about this summer so it’s not the first conversation we’ve had about him.”

During his first game for the franchise, he showcased his ability to get a quick bucket off the bench. He scored nine points in his first nine minutes with the new squad.

He was held scoreless for the remainder of the game as the Jazz, though. The beginning of the match showed why the team was willing to move on from a former lottery pick in Dante Exum. The latter half showed why both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers have been so willing to move on from him via trade as too often he can vanish.

While he has shown he can play one-through-three, the 27-yar-old has spent 86 percent of his minutes as the shooting guard this season. That will be his primary position, though his experience as a point guard and small forward will make him valuable as veteran Mike Conley recovers from a hamstring issue over the next few weeks.

He was able to slide into the three alongside Mitchell as well as Emmanuel Mudiay in the backcourt. However, he spent a few possessions as the point with Mitchell and Joe Ingles on the wing.

But more likely than not, his primary role (once Conley returns from his injury) will be as a scoring sparkplug during minutes without Mitchell. This is mostly because he’s a high-usage, ball-dominant player that requires the rock to make his biggest impact. The 6-foot-5 guard has averaged 59.7 touches per 36 minutes during his professional career, indicating it will be hard for him to do much while Mitchell is on the court.

Meanwhile, one of the other advantages of his addition is that it allows Royce O’Neale to play his natural position as their backup small forward. O’Neale has spent 57 percent of his minutes in 2019-20 at shooting guard out of necessity, though it has not been his best position.

According to Cleaning the Glass, for example, the Jazz have been outscored by 1.0 point per 100 possessions when O’Neale has played the two. But they have outscored their opponents by 14.4 points per 100 when he has played at the three.

During his debut, the guard was actually held scoreless on catch-and-shoot opportunities. This is another way he can surely make a difference for his new offense once he gets more in rhythm.

Only five teams have taken fewer catch-and-shoot three-pointers per game than Utah (20.8) so far this season. But the Jazz lead the NBA in three-point percentage (42.4 percent) on these attempts.

Clarkson is currently shooting 39-for-93 (41.9 percent) on three-pointers off the catch. Considering how well Utah has been on these attempts, they will have another weapon in the arsenal with Clarkson as a viable option on their team.

[lawrence-related id=1210547]

The HoopsHype Daily: With the Dante Exum for Jordan Clarkson swap, the great NBA trade drought of 2020 is over

Jordan Clarkson is going to Utah and Dante Exum is going to Cleveland but, more importantly, let the NBA trade season begin!

REJOICE, WE HAVE A TRADE! After a dry spell that lasted 160 days, the great NBA trade drought of 2019 is finally over. It wasn’t a major deal that ended the drought, but this could signal more deals are on the way, particularly as we enter January. On Monday, the Cavaliers agreed to send Jordan Clarkson to Utah in exchange for 2014 draft bust Dante Exum and two future second-round picks.

Clarkson will surely provide a boost to the Jazz’s bench scoring, as the explosive guard is averaging 14.6 points this season while shooting over 37 percent from beyond the arc. For a Utah team that ranks 21st league-wide in offensive efficiency, Clarkson could wind up being a big addition. What’s more, considering the 27-year-old is on the final year of his contract, this deal looks like it could be a savvy rental for the Jazz.

On the other side of things, Exum heads to a Cleveland team in the early stages of a complete rebuild. The Australian ball-handler is the exact type of player the Cavs should be targeting: He’s young, has upside and desperately needs a change of scenery. Perhaps going to Cleveland will help Exum start to resemble the player who was drafted fifth overall five years ago. His deal is relatively team-friendly, too, with the Cavaliers only owing Exum two years and $19.2 million.

MORE POTENTIAL TRADE TARGETS: ESPN reports back from the Las Vegas G League Showcase, where execs from every team convened this past weekend. Apparently various league execs believe Evan Fournier could be traded before February. League execs also voted Jrue Holiday as the player teams would be most willing to risk assets in order to acquire.

JAZZ WAIVE VETERAN: Utah is reportedly waiving veteran forward Jeff Green, which was surprising, considering the news came out less than an hour after the Jazz lost to the Heat on Monday night. Green was averaging 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds this season.

In a related move, Utah is reportedly signing G League guard Rayjon Tucker, who averaged 23.8 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Bucks’ G League squad this year.

PARSONS OPENS UP: We had a nice conversation with Chandler Parsons, who opened up about the injuries he’s suffered and the idea that he’s the most overpaid player in the league. Parsons told us: “I think anybody with a brain in my situation would have taken the contract. Should I have predicted that I was going to be hurt and took less or took half the money? That’s psychotic. Now the contract is what it was and, obviously, I didn’t live up to it.”

💰 Can’t say he’s wrong. Parsons is on the final year of a four-year, $94.4 million contract; he’s the 45th-highest paid player in the league this season.

MVP RANKINGS: We have ranked the Top 10 players in the 2019-20 MVP race. Giannis is holding steady while LeBron is starting to slip.

UNCLE DENNIS: The Athletic dropped a bombshell report on Kawhi Leonard’s free agency, where Sam Amick said league sources told him Uncle Dennis, Kawhi’s infamous uncle/agent, was asking teams for part ownership of whichever team Leonard signed with, a private plane that could be used at any point, a house and a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money. The league reportedly launched an investigation into the accusations, but they found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clippers.

🤦 Shoot your shot, Uncle Dennis.

WAITERS DONE? League execs refer to Dion Waiters’ contract as one of the most untradeable they’ve ever seen, and believe the mercurial 2-guard’s NBA career could be over, barring a huge change in the situation between him and Miami.

LEBRON VS. KAWHI: Bleacher Report talks to league execs about the Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James rivalry. The duo reportedly respects each other but don’t exactly admire each other. 

COLLINS RETURNS: John Collins returned last night after a 25-game suspension related to taking a banned substance. He talked about leaning on his teammates and what being gone for so long was like. Collins went off for 27 points and 10 rebounds in his return game, but the Hawks fell to the Cavs 121-118 in what was their eighth loss in a row.

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: Ja Morant discusses what skills he’d like to pick from other star players. For starters, he chose LeBron’s strength and Kyrie’s ball-handling. Smart kid.

FIZDALE FINDS LANDING SPOT: David Fizdale has found his next job, but it won’t be as a coach. The former Grizzlies and Knicks head man is returning to ESPN as an NBA analyst, according to SNY.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

Click here for the answer.

Feel super free to forward this newsletter to your friends. Subscribe here.

Grading the Dante Exum-Jordan Clarkson trade for both Jazz and Cavaliers

We break down the deal between the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers which involved Dante Exum and Jordan Clarkson.

On Monday night the Jazz and Cavaliers reportedly agreed to a trade that will see former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum traded to Cleveland, along with two second-round draft picks, for Jordan Clarkson. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The second-round picks heading to Cleveland from the Jazz are in 2022 (via San Antonio) and 2023 (via Golden State).

Clarkson, a five-year veteran of the league, spent the majority of his career with the Lakers before joining the Cavaliers in 2018. This season he is averaging 16.8 points per game, and will provide the Jazz with some much needed bench scoring for a team that has struggled offensively for much of the season.

So, that’s the deal. How do we grade it?

Cavaliers: A-

This is pretty clearly an asset grab, and the chance to take a flyer on a player in Dante Exum who has a good pedigree — he was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Exum has never really put it together for the Jazz. There was a torn ACL, and recurring injuries, and rumblings that head coach Quin Snyder didn’t like Exum. SLC Dunk has a really nice breakdown of everything that went wrong with the relationship.

But now Exum gets a fresh start. He’s just 24 years old, and has shown ability in flashes. In Cleveland, he should get his chances.

Will it work? Who knows.

But it’s not like the Cavaliers were going anywhere with Jordan Clarkson, and they basically got gifted two draft picks (second rounders, but still) to see if they can revive Exum’s career. If they don’t, he’s only got one year left on his current contract. That’s a fantastic gamble, if you ask me.

Jazz: B-

Jordan Clarkson is a nice player, and will provide the Jazz’s laboring offense (currently 21st in the league) with a bit of pop. Mike Conley has struggled to find his game since arriving in Utah, and if the team is done with Exum, they might as well give up a couple draft picks and bring someone in they think can score the basketball.

Still, for a win-now trade, this feels pretty … tepid. The Jazz are currently in sixth in the Western Conference, and this trade should help them get going. But are they winning a title with Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Conley in his current iteration, and Clarkson? I mean, maybe they win a playoff series?

If they felt they needed to get Exum off the team, fine. But to give up two draft picks, even second rounders, to bring in Clarkson — who, again, I like! — feels a bit shortsighted. Assets are assets, and I’m not sure this is a trade that moves the needle.

[jwplayer hJOrVwm8-q2aasYxh]

Woj: Jordan Clarkson traded to Jazz for Dante Exum, picks

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Utah Jazz have acquired Klutch Sports guard Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Trade season is finally underway in the NBA, only a few days before Christmas and it involves a member of the Klutch Sports family.

The Utah Jazz made a move to add some scoring to their bench by trading for Cleveland’s Jordan Clarkson, who recently signed with Klutch Sports, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In exchange for Clarkson, the Cavs got two second-round picks from the Jazz and former lottery pick Dante Exum.

Clarkson, a free-agent at the end of this season, is having one of his better years in terms of shotting efficiency. His current 53.2% effective field goal would be his best single-season mark by a wide margin. The same goes for his 58.1% true shooting percentage.

The Jazz also needed the added scoring punch since Exum just never worked out for them and veteran guard Mike Conley was struggling, even before an injury that will keep him out for a few weeks.

This latest trade between the Jazz and Cavs is the first trade since Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul were traded for each other back in July.

The Jazz are 18-11, good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference. Cleveland is 8-21.

[lawrence-related id=15545,5321]

With outside help, Rockets blast up West standings on Sunday’s off day

With helpful results on Sunday’s NBA scoreboard, the Rockets moved up to the No. 3 spot in the West and are only a half-game back of No. 2.

The Houston Rockets didn’t have a game Sunday, but they may have still felt like winners based on results elsewhere in the NBA and how they impacted the race for seeding in the 2020 Western Conference playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks (19-10) and Los Angeles Clippers (22-10) blew leads of 30 points and 18 points, respectively, in close losses Sunday at Toronto and Oklahoma City.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers (24-6) were blown out by 24 points at Denver (20-8), representing their third consecutive defeat. LeBron James is out at the moment with a thoracic muscle strain in his rib cage area, as well as a nagging groin issue, according to ESPN.

It all resulted in a tremendous off day for the Rockets, who improved to 20-9 themselves with Saturday’s win at Phoenix.

The losses by the Mavs and Clippers pushed them behind Houston in the Western Conference standings, moving the Rockets to the West’s No. 3 seed. They’re only a half-game behind the Nuggets for the No. 2 seed, and suddenly just three back in the loss column of the Lakers for No. 1.

The Rockets and Lakers have yet to play any of their three head-to-head meetings of the 2019-20 season, so there’s ample opportunity for Houston to make a further push in the weeks and months ahead.

It’s quite a turn from just one week ago, when the Rockets were in the No. 5 spot and six games back of the Lakers in the loss column. They also had more losses than the Mavs and Clippers.

Now, after a 3-0 week, Houston has cut its deficit to the Lakers in half while leapfrogging both of the other two teams.

There’s a very long way to go, of course, with most teams only through approximately 30 games of the 82-game regular season. In other words, we’re still about 10 games out from even approaching the halfway point.

But the past week’s results are a good reminder of how quickly the standings can change — especially in the West, where the top six teams of the Lakers, Nuggets, Rockets, Clippers, Mavs, and Utah Jazz could be tightly bunched in the weeks ahead.

For the Rockets to continue their upward move, they’ll need to continue winning games at a high rate. They’ve currently won three games in a row and nine of 12, with Monday night’s game at Sacramento (12-17) offering their next opportunity to keep the momentum rolling.

[lawrence-related id=20317,20162,19929]

All-Decade Power Rankings: Golden State Warriors rule the 2010s

The Golden State Warriors were easily the most dominant NBA team in the 2010s decade. What teams followed them? Our full rankings included.

 

 

Banned Utah fan sues Russell Westbrook, Jazz for $100 million

The lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages from the Utah Jazz and Westbrook, who accused the fan of making racist comments at a March game.

Shane Keisel, who received a lifetime arena ban by the Utah Jazz in March, is now suing the team and Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook. The fan claims he was wrongly accused of yelling racist and derogatory remarks at Westbrook, who then played for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

According to the new lawsuit, Keisel and his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff, want a public apology and significant financial damages. The attorneys are seeking $68 million in damages for Keisel and $32 million for Huff on claims of defamation and infliction of emotional distress.

According to Benjamin Wood and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, attempts to reach Westbrook or his representation were not immediately successful. However, TMZ reported Tuesday that a source close to Westbrook referred to the lawsuit as “meritless.”

Per TMZ, the source said:

The lawsuit is meritless. The Jazz conducted their own investigation of the guy’s conduct at that game and based on their investigation, they decided to ban him from attending any future Jazz games.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the 4th District Court in Utah County on behalf of Keisel and Huff. In their story, Wood and Larsen explain the lawsuit’s details and allegations:

A video of Westbrook shouting at Keisel and Huff was widely circulated on social media, but Westbrook later said he was provoked by Keisel telling him to “get down on your knees like you used to.”

But in the lawsuit, attorneys for Keisel argue that Westbrook misheard or mischaracterized Keisel’s comments, and that Keisel had told Westbrook to wrap his knees to be better able to play later on in the game.

The lawsuit goes on to describe an escalating controversy in which Westbrook described Keisel’s comments as racist, Westbrook’s fans campaigned for Keisel to be fired from his job — which he ultimately was — and the Jazz took punitive action against Keisel based exclusively on Westbrook’s version of events.

Frank Zang, senior vice president of communications for the Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment ownership group, said in a newly released statement to The Salt Lake Tribune that there is no legal or factual basis for the lawsuit’s claims.

“The organization investigated the underlying incident and acted in an appropriate and responsible manner,” Zang said. “We intend to vigorously defend [against] the lawsuit.”

When the Jazz banned Keisel in March, their statement made it clear that other evidence from their investigation — including video review and eyewitness accounts — corroborated Westbrook’s story:

The organization conducted an investigation through video review and eyewitness accounts. The ban is based on excessive and derogatory verbal abuse directed at a player during the game that violated the NBA Code of Conduct.

The Utah Jazz will not tolerate fans who act inappropriately. There is no place in our game for personal attacks or disrespect.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy and play the game in a safe, positive and inclusive environment,” Steve Starks, president of the Jazz, said at the time. Offensive and abusive behavior does not reflect the values of the Miller family, our organization and the community. We all have a responsibility to respect the game of basketball and, more importantly, each other as human beings.”

Jazz players supported Westbrook after the game, with star guard Donovan Mitchell issuing a lengthy statement explaining his perspective.

In that statement, Mitchell noted that “this is not the first time something like this has happened in our arena.” In Westbrook’s own comments issued after that March 11 game, he indicated that many disrespectful things had been said to him in Utah over the course of his NBA career.

To that point, days after the first incident, the Jazz also permanently banned a second fan after video surfaced of another inappropriate interaction with Westbrook during the 2018 NBA playoffs.

Westbrook’s first visit to Salt Lake City of the 2019-20 season is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, when the Jazz host the Rockets.

[lawrence-related id=17342]

Banned Jazz fan files $100M suit against team, Russell Westbrook

The fan permanently banned from Utah Jazz games after a verbal altercation with Russell Westbrook last March filed a lawsuit on Monday.

The fan that was permanently banned from Vivint Smart Home Arena after a verbal altercation last year with Russell Westbrook is suing the point guard and the Utah Jazz.

The suit, filed on Monday, was obtained by the Salt Lake City Tribune.

In it, attorneys for Shane Keisel argue that “Keisel engaged only in typical crowd behavior when he and his girlfriend Jennifer Huff were subjected to a ‘tirade’ from and ‘irate’ Westbrook”.

Attorneys are seeking $68 million in damages for Keisel and $32 million for Huff for “defamation and emotional distress”.

The incident at the center of the lawsuit occurred last March when the Jazz were hosting Oklahoma City and the-Thunder point guard, Westbrook.

After that game, a video from Jazz beat writer Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News that went viral showed Westbrook in a heated exchange saying, “I’ll (expletive) you up. You and your wife”.

(Warning: The video contains explicit language.)

Westbrook claimed that the fan told him to “get down on your knees like you used to”, adding that the comment was “completely disrespectful, racial and completely inappropriate”.

Keisel said in an interview with KSL that he simply told Westbrook to “ice those knees up”, and the lawsuit reiterates those claims, stating, “Mr. Keisel’s heckling was of the same kind and caliber as that of the other audience members in the section.”

The Jazz issued Keisel a lifetime ban in March, while the NBA fined Westbrook $25,000 for “directing profanity and threatening language to a fan.”

Per the Salt Lake Tribune, neither attorneys for Keisel and Huff nor representatives for Westbrook had responded to attempts for comment.

Jazz fan suing team, Russell Westbrook after lifetime ban for degrading comments (Hoopshype)

Nine months after an incident at a Utah Jazz game, a basketball fan is suing the team and Russell Westbrook.

Nine months after an incident at a Utah Jazz game, a basketball fan is suing the team and Russell Westbrook.