Category: Utah Jazz Blog

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has waived forwards Jack Cooley and JJ O’Brien. Following the moves, Utah’s roster now stands at 18 players.

Cooley (6-9, 260, Notre Dame) appeared in two preseason games for Utah, averaging 1.5 rebounds in 3.3 minutes of action. He saw action in 16 games for the Jazz last season after being called up from the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede.

O’Brien (6-7, 228, San Diego State) appeared in one preseason game for the Jazz. He was signed as a free agent on Aug. 28 after competing for the Jazz entries in both the Utah Jazz Summer League and NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

The Utah Jazz will hold a free open practice on Friday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and no ticket is needed for admission.

The event will give Jazz fans an inside look at a Jazz practice and will feature returnees Trevor Booker, Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles, 2015 first round draft pick Trey Lyles, as well as rookies Raul Neto and Tibor Pleiss.

Head Coach Quin Snyder will lead the practice and wear a microphone to describe the drills and real-game scenarios that they will showcase. Jazz radio broadcaster David Locke will also be on hand to interview players throughout the evening.

Select concession stands will be open during the event, including new food options, such as Chick-fil-A and CupBop Korean BBQ. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be discounted 10 percent.

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz forward Trevor Booker:

Booker underwent a minor outpatient surgical procedure today to repair a nasal fracture, which he sustained in a recent pickup basketball game. The successful procedure was performed in Salt Lake City by Dr. Richard Orlandi of University of Utah Health Care.

Booker is expected to be ready for full basketball activity at the start of training camp.

The Utah Jazz today announced that Jordan Brady has been named an assistant coach on Idaho Stampede Head Coach Dean Cooper’s staff. Brady replaces Andrae Patterson, who joined the Jazz front office staff as player personnel/player programs coordinator earlier this offseason.

“Jordan has a bright future ahead of him,” said Stampede coach Dean Cooper. “He brings a lot of D-League experience from being both a coach and a player. He’s a talented young coach who will be a valuable part of our player development.”

Brady adds a unique combination of both playing and coaching experience at a professional level. Last season, he served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, and previously worked as an assistant for the Bakersfield Jam (2013-14) and Iowa Energy (2012-13). Prior to coaching, he played professionally for four seasons, including three in the NBA D-League. He then played two seasons with the Utah Flash (2009-11) before splitting the 2011-12 campaign between the D-Fenders and Stampede. Brady appeared in 15 games for the Stampede, averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. Brady spent the 2008-09 season overseas with Luxembourg Racing.

The Vernal, Utah, native played his final two collegiate seasons at Utah Valley University (2006-08), after having begun his career in junior college (Dawson Community College and Salt Lake Community College).

The Utah Jazz have signed free agent forward J.J. O’Brien.

The deal is likely non-guaranteed and merely brings O’Brien to training camp.

O’Brien (6-7, 220, San Diego State) played one season at University of Utah (2010-11) before transferring to San Diego State (2011-15) to finish his collegiate career. He averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists during his senior campaign with the Aztecs. O’Brien earned a 2014 All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention after posting eight double-figure scoring efforts and logging two games with 10-or-more rebounds as a junior.

The 23-year-old forward was a member of the Utah Jazz at the 2015 Utah Jazz Summer League where he saw action in all three games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes. He also played with the Jazz entry in the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, owning averages of 4.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.8 minutes.

A native of San Diego, O’Brien played high school basketball at Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed center Jeff Withey to a multi-year contract.

Withey (7-0, 222, Kansas) spent the past two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 3.0 points on 52.3 percent shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 0.72 blocks in 9.9 minutes over 95 career games (four starts). He scored 10-plus points on three occasions during the 2014-15 campaign, including a season-high 14 points and a career-tying-high eight boards on March 20 at Golden State. Withey has nine career games with three-or-more blocks, including two five-block games. The 7-0 center was originally selected in the second round (39th overall selection) of the 2013 NBA Draft by Portland prior to being traded to New Orleans.

According to Yahoo Sports it is a two-year, partially guaranteed contract. 

Prior to the NBA, Withey played four seasons at Kansas (2009-13), averaging 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds during his senior campaign. He finished his career as the all-time career shot block leader for both Kansas and the Big 12, ending his Jayhawks tenure with 312 total blocks. Withey was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons (2012, 2013) and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2013. During the 2011-12 season, he set an NCAA Tournament record for most blocks in a single tournament with 31 rejections in helping KU to an appearance in the Final Four and National Championship Game.

A native of San Diego, Calif., Withey’s last name is pronounced “WITH-ee.”

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has promoted Mark McKown to director of sports science/assistant coach and Isaiah Wright to head strength and conditioning coach.

McKown will enter his 19th season with the Jazz in 2015-16 and became the team’s first full-time strength-and-conditioning coach upon his arrival 1997. McKown, in conjunction with Wright, has helped the Jazz become one of the league’s most progressive franchises in the implementation of applied sports science. The Gaffney, S.C. native graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and physical education from the University of South Carolina Upstate as well as a master’s in sports science from the United States Sports Academy.

Wright will enter his third season with the Jazz strength and conditioning staff after spending 2012-13 as a strength and conditioning intern. The Salt Lake City native previously spent seven years with the franchise working with the team’s equipment staff as a team attendant. Wright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Utah.

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed free agent guard/forward Treveon Graham (TRAY-vee-on).

Until we hear otherwise, we will assume this is a non-guaranteed deal that merely brings Graham to training camp.

Graham (6-6, 220, VCU) played four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University, serving as team captain and averaging 16.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists during his senior campaign. He was also named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team for the second-straight year (2014, 2015). He ranked eighth in the conference in scoring during the 2014-15 season and logged 28 games of 10-or-more points. Graham also led VCU to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2012-15). In 2013, he competed for Team USA at the 2013 University World Games in Kazan, Russia.

A native of Temple Hills, Md., Graham played high school basketball at St. Mary’s Ryken High School in Leonardtown, Md.