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The Utah Jazz have assigned forward Elijah Hughes to the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team.
Hughes (6-6, 226, Syracuse) has appeared in six games with the Jazz this season, averaging 2.7 points in 4.5 minutes per game.
Through yesterday’s games, the Jazz have the best record in the NBA. But do they have an NBA MVP candidate? Or two? Via the Salt Lake Tribune:
Donovan Mitchell is certainly the Jazz’s highest-profile player. He averages 24 points per game, has the Adidas shoe deal and ranks fourth in the Western Conference guards in All-Star votes — the only Jazzman to appear in the top 10. He’s unquestionably the Jazz’s offensive leader, and even as a younger player, is the most important player voice in the Jazz’s locker room. Over the course of the winning streak, he’s been terrific in multiple facets: scoring, playmaking, rebounding, you name it, he’s done it…
Rudy Gobert is another plausible candidate. He leads Las Vegas’ odds as the most likely player to be named Defensive Player of the Year, which would be the third of his career. He has taken yet another defensive leap this season, getting more blocks per minute than he’s had since his rookie year.
He’s being increasingly recognized for his offensive contributions, too.
The best records in the league through yesterday’s games belong, in order, to the Jazz, Lakers, Sixers, Clippers, Bucks and Suns. Those squads have .600 or better records. And if you’re going to pick out MVP candidates from that list, both Mitchell and Gobert do at least deserve consideration.
Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month and Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in December and January.
It’s Rivers’ 12th career Coach of the Month award and his first since Nov. 2018. The only coach who has received the award more often than Rivers is San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, who has earned Coach of the Month honors 17 times since the NBA first began awarding Coach of the Month by conference in 2002-03. Phil Jackson, George Karl and Pat Riley were each named Coach of the Month on 12 occasions.
Rivers has coached the 76ers to an Eastern Conference-leading 15-6 start through the first 21 games of the season, including a 20-point comeback victory at Indiana last night. Rivers’ 76ers lead the league in blocks and fast-break points per game, while also ranking in the top five in steals per game, free throws made and attempted per game and opponent field-goal percentage.
Philadelphia’s 106.8 defensive rating is the best in the Eastern Conference, third in the NBA, while the team is 9-1 on the season when holding its opponent to fewer than 110 points. The team’s starting five – Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, Seth Curry and Ben Simmons – is a perfect 11-0 when playing together. The unit’s 13.8 net rating is the best in the Eastern Conference among lineups that have played at least 200 minutes together, while holding opponents to .444 shooting from the field.
The 76ers earned 14 wins within their first 20 games for the first time since 2000 and led the East through 20 contests for the first time since 2000-01. Philadelphia sports the best home record in the NBA at 10-1. The team swept three of the four two-game series it played in over the first month-plus of the season.
Rivers joins Brett Brown, Larry Brown, Jim Lynam and Billy Cunningham as 76ers coaches to capture a Coach of the Month award.
The award is Snyder’s second career Coach of the Month award, previously garnering the accolade for games played in March and April of 2017-18.
Snyder helped the Jazz to a 15-5 (.750) record to start the 2020-21 season, the second-best record in the NBA. The team posted an NBA season-best 11-game winning streak from Jan. 8 to Jan. 29. The streak marked the eighth time in team history that the Jazz have won 11-straight games and is the second such streak during Snyder’s tenure as head coach (Jan. 24, 2018 – Feb. 14, 2018).
During the month of January, the team set an NBA record for the most threes ever made in a calendar month, knocking down 285 three-point field goals during the month. The team currently leads the NBA in threes made per contest (17.0) and rebounds per game (49.4). Utah has connected on 15 threes in 10-straight games, which ties an NBA record, also knocking down a franchise-record 25 threes in a 131-118 win at Milwaukee on Jan. 8
Over the course of Utah’s 11-game win streak, the team outscored their opponents 117.0 – 101.4, while also knocking down 18.5 threes per contest on 41.9 percent from beyond the arc, holding opponents to 42.8 percent from the field and 30.7 from three-point range.
Snyder is the third coach in Jazz history to win multiple Coach of the Month honors, along with Frank Layden (twice) and Jerry Sloan (10 times).
The Utah Jazz have assigned center Udoka Azubuike to the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team.
Azubuike (7-0, 270, Kansas) has appeared in 12 games with the Jazz this season, averaging 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per game.
The Stars will begin their season on Wednesday, Feb. 10 against the Erie BayHawks at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.
The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tomorrow between the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Because of ongoing contact tracing with the Wizards, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tomorrow’s game against the Jazz.
The NBA season is little over two weeks old, so it’s a bit early to jump to big conclusions. But it’s perfectly reasonable to start what’s happened so far, which is, the Jazz aren’t off to a great start this season.
The Salt Lake Tribune:
Is a 4-4 Jazz record a disappointment? Is it familiar? Is it… both?
2021′s slow start to the season has brought down the spirits of Jazz fans, and that’s understandable: the loss side of the ledger has seen some disappointing defeats. Utah’s loss to Phoenix is more acceptable given that they rank first in the conference right now, sure. But losses to Brooklyn (sans Kevin Durant), the New York Knicks, and worst of all, the Minnesota Timberwolves, have made for some disappointing nights.
And yet, this isn’t anything new for Jazz fans. In the Quin Snyder era, the Jazz have always started at least somewhat below expectations. Then, they surge on to have a solid remainder of the season, and end up with a quality record.
The Deseret News:
In [Donovan] Mitchell’s rookie season, the Jazz started out 5-5 on the year before racking up quite a few losses and then bouncing back at the end of the season and finishing off the year with a 29-6 run. They were bounced in the second round of the playoffs.
In Mitchell’s second year, the Jazz started with a 4-6 record and played pretty up and down throughout the season before they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Last season, the Jazz started out with a 6-4 record and racked up most of their losses toward the end of the season. Again, they only survived a single playoff round.
Leading the Jazz in scoring through eight games are Mitchell at 21.3 points per game, Mike Conley at 17.4 PPG, Jordan Clarkson off the bench at 15.5 PPG, Rudy Gobert at 13.9 PPG, Bojan Bogdanovic at 11.8 PPG, and Joe Ingles off the bench at 10.0 PPG.
The team’s offense and defense has been close to the league average this season thus far.
Their upcoming opponents are the Bucks, Pistons, Cavs and Wizards.
The Jazz beat the Clippers 106-100 Friday night. And Jazz point guard Mike Conley did serious work. Via the Salt Lake Tribune:
The Jazz are gonna need Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic to perform offensively at the level they’re capable of. Neither is right now, but on Friday, it didn’t matter so much with Mike Conley playing arguably his best game in a Jazz uniform.
He didn’t grab the game by the throat — he just let it come to him, making the smart, patient reads he talked about after the Phoenix loss. When he needed to swing the ball, he did. When he needed to let it fly, he did. The former earned him six assists. And when it was the latter, he was incredibly efficient: 33 points on 11-for-20 shooting, including 7 of 14 from deep.
After Conley’s 33, the second-leading Jazz scorer was Donovan Mitchell with a modest 15 points on 14 shots.
In the loss for the Clippers, Paul George had 25 points on 22 shots, plus eight rebounds, four assists, six steals and five turnovers, while Kawhi Leonard had 20 points on 19 shots, plus 16 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks.
The Utah Jazz have waived guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Malcolm Miller.
Ferrell (6-0, 178, Indiana) has four years of NBA experience with the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings, owning career averages of 7.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 assists in 20.4 minutes per contest. In 2019-20 he saw action in 50 games for the Kings, averaging 4.4 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per contests.
Miller (6-7, 210, Holy Cross) has played in three NBA seasons with the Toronto Raptors, where he’s averaged 2.0 points on 43.4 percent from the field in 55 career contests (five starts). The Gaithersburg, MD., native has appeared in 97 games (79 starts) in the G League with the Maine Red Claws and Toronto 905, owning career averages of 12.1 points on 46.2 percent from the field, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game.
The Utah Jazz have signed guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Malcolm Miller.
Also, the Jazz waived guard Trevon Bluiett, center Romaro Gill, forward Tre Scott and guard Jake Toolson.
Ferrell (6-0, 178, Indiana) has four years of NBA experience with the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings, owning career averages of 7.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 assists in 20.4 minutes per contest. In 2019-20 he saw action in 50 games for the Kings, averaging 4.4 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per contests.
During the 2016-17 season he appeared in 18 games (all starts) with the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League, averaging 18.7 points, 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.7 minutes per contest, being named a 2016-17 G League All-Star.
Miller (6-7, 210, Holy Cross) has played in three NBA seasons with the Toronto Raptors, where he’s averaged 2.0 points on 43.4 percent from the field in 55 career contests (five starts). The Gaithersburg, MD., native has appeared in 97 games (79 starts) in the G League with the Maine Red Claws and Toronto 905, owning career averages of 12.1 points on 46.2 percent from the field, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game.
Bluiett (6-6, 198, Xavier) appeared in 41 games (15 starts) in 2019-20 with the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 14.9 points on 48.7 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from three, along with 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.3 minutes per contest.
Gill (7-2, 255, Seton Hall) posted averages of 7.8 points on 62.8 percent shooting, to go with 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 30 games during 2019-20. He ranked third in the NCAA and first in the BIG EAST in blocks per game, helping him earn 2019-20 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and BIG EAST Most Improved Player.
Scott (6-8, 225, Cincinnati) was a four-year collegiate player and in 2019-20 posted averages of 11.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.7 minutes per game. Following his senior season, he was named 2019-20 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, AAC Most Improved Player, First Team All-AAC and earned the AAC’s Sportsmanship Award.
Toolson (6-5, 205, BYU) spent two seasons at BYU (2014-16) before transferring to Utah Valley (2017-19) and then returning to BYU (2019-20) for his final collegiate season. During 2019-20, he posted averages of 15.2 points on 47.2 percent from the field and 47.0 percent from three, along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.6 minutes per contest, garnering 2019-20 All-WCC First Team accolades. During his last season at Utah Valley, he was named the 2018-19 WAC Player of the Year.
The Utah Jazz today announced that tech entrepreneur and Qualtrics founder, Ryan Smith, and his wife Ashley, are the new majority owners of the Utah Jazz and affiliated businesses following a unanimous vote of approval by the NBA Board of Governors.
The transaction included the Utah Jazz, Vivint Arena, the NBA G League Salt Lake City Stars, and management operations of the Triple-A baseball affiliate Salt Lake Bees. A separate agreement and approval process are ongoing for The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM, 1280 AM). These properties will comprise the newly formed Smith Entertainment Group (SEG). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Per the Salt Lake Tribune, “the final sale price — which will see the Miller family retain a minority share — is for $1.66 billion, per multiple media reports.”
Smith, 42, is the co-founder of Qualtrics, the leader in customer experience and creator of the experience management (XM) category. Qualtrics helps organizations design and improve the four core experiences of business — customer, employee, product, and brand — on a single technology platform.
Tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian, and venture capitalist, Ryan Sweeney, partner at Accel, have also been announced as minority owners. Cannon-Brookes, based in Sydney, Australia, co-founded Atlassian in 2002 and has grown the company to more than 5,000 employees and 180,000 customers. He will be the first Australian to own a minority interest in an NBA franchise. Sweeney, one of the most successful investors in tech, joined Accel in 2009. Accel was the first investor in both Qualtrics and Atlassian and was an early investor in Facebook, Dropbox, GOAT, Slack, Spotify, and Squarespace, among many others.
Also per the Tribune, “Qualtrics has had a sponsorship deal with the Jazz to put the logo of their cancer charity, 5 For The Fight, on the team’s jerseys — a deal that last year was extended through the 2022-23 season. The partnership has thus far raised more than $26 million for cancer research.”
“Ryan Smith is a forward-thinking, community-minded entrepreneur and business leader who will be a fantastic addition to our league,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “As a life-long fan of the Utah Jazz and more recently as one of their key marketing partners, Ryan has demonstrated his deep commitment to the Jazz and the Utah community and there’s no doubt he will bring that same level of dedication to the operation of the team. We are also extraordinarily appreciative of Gail Miller, Greg Miller and the Miller family for 35 years of outstanding leadership and service and, on behalf of the entire NBA, thank them for always running a first-class organization in every way.”
Smith has been a strong corporate partner of the Jazz and co-founded “5 For The Fight” whose logo has been featured on the Jazz jersey since 2017. 5 For The Fight is the campaign to eradicate cancer by supporting groundbreaking cancer research and has raised more than $26 million. The patch, donated to 5 For The Fight by Qualtrics, is the first philanthropic jersey patch in the history of North American professional sports.
“I don’t think there has ever been a more exciting time to be in Utah. Not only do we have a great team and organization with the Jazz, but the trajectory of the state as a whole is unmatched. There is so much opportunity here and success breeds success,” said Ryan Smith, Qualtrics founder and owner of the Utah Jazz. “I grew up as a big Jazz fan, and that makes this day even more special. The Jazz have a phenomenal leadership team who will continue to guide the organization. We are all committed to building, and to building in Utah.”
Gail Miller and the Miller family announced the agreement on Oct. 28 to sell a majority interest in the Jazz after 35 years of stewardship. The Millers have retained a minority interest in the team.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Gail Miller and her family for placing their trust in Ashley and me to carry forward their amazing legacy. It would be impossible to overstate the far-reaching impact Gail has had blessing countless lives,” said Smith. “In addition, I couldn’t be more excited to have Mike Cannon-Brookes and Ryan Sweeney, two long-time friends and business partners, on this journey with us. They are the best in the world at what they do and are all in on Utah.”
“For us, the Jazz franchise is about love. It’s about coming together to love something bigger than individuals,” said Ashley Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz. “It’s about rallying behind this team. It’s about sharing experiences — sharing victories, losses, lessons learned, hard work and all the ups and downs of any great adventure. We are humbled and honored by Gail and her family’s decision to extend this stewardship to us. We are committed to the Miller’s vision, we are committed to Utah, and we are committed to the Jazz.”
Ryan Smith now serves as the NBA Governor of the Utah Jazz and its affiliates, and he has final decision-making authority for all business and basketball operations related to the team and other assets included in this transaction.