Major concern over Dante Exum injury

Here’s the Deseret News reporting on promising young Jazz guard Dante Exum, who may have suffered a very serious injury:

Major concern over Dante Exum injury

In 2014, Rudy Gobert’s time spent playing with his national team was instrumental in the French center’s successful second year in the NBA.

That was the best-case scenario for a pro playing for his country.

Dante Exum just experienced the worst-case scenario.

The Australian point guard injured his left knee Tuesday while playing for the Boomers in an international friendly game against Slovenia.

Initial concern is that Exum might have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a source told the Deseret News.

Exum will return to Utah for further evaluation on his knee by the team’s doctors at the University of Utah Health Care, the Jazz announced shortly after the injury occurred on the other side of the world.

Dante Exum suffers knee injury

Dante Exum suffers knee injury

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard Danté Exum:

Exum suffered a left knee injury today while competing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Exum was initially treated on site and will now return to Salt Lake City for further medical evaluation by the Utah Jazz medical staff and official healthcare partner University of Utah Health Care.

Further updates will be provided soon.

Utah Jazz sign center Tibor Pleiss

The Utah Jazz announced yesterday the team has signed center Tibor Pleiss to a multi-year contract.

Pleiss (7-3, 262, Germany) most recently played for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB in Spain, averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game last season. He also shot 62.3 percent from the floor (134-of-215) and was 71-of-82 from the free throw line (86.6 percent). The 25-year-old center logged a career-high 12.4 points on 58.3 percent shooting (270-of-463) and 6.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per contest with Laboral Kutxa Vitoria of Spain in 2013-14. A member of the Germany Men’s National Team, Pleiss began his career with Brose Baskets Bamberg of Germany in 2009.

The Jazz acquired the rights to Pleiss from Oklahoma City as part of a three-team trade, which also included Detroit, on February 19, 2015.

The German center was originally selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round (31st overall pick) of the 2010 NBA Draft. His rights were then traded to the Atlanta Hawks before eventually being moved to Oklahoma City.

Utah Jazz re-sign Joe Ingles

Utah Jazz re-sign Joe Ingles

The Utah Jazz announced today the team has re-signed forward Joe Ingles to a multi-year contract.

Ingles (6-8, 216, Australia) appeared in 79 games (32 starts) for the Jazz in 2014-15, averaging 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.2 minutes in his first NBA season. A veteran of international play, Ingles ranked sixth among qualified rookies in assists with 2.3 per game and fifth in steals with 0.9 per game. He scored in double figures 16 times and handed out five-or-more assists 10 times, leading the team in assists on 11 occasions. Post All-Star break, Ingles connected on 42.7 percent of his three-point shots (38-of-89), marking the third-best percentage among NBA rookies.

The 27-year-old forward has played professionally since the age of 18, beginning his career with the South Dragons of Australia’s National Basketball League (2006-09). He has also played for CB Granada in Spain (2009-10), three seasons for FC Barcelona (2010-13) of the Liga ACB, and spent the 2013-14 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League, where he helped Maccabi to win the Euroleague Championship. The native of Happy Valley, South Australia, has also been a member of the Australian National Team since 2008, representing the Boomers in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

Ingles originally joined the Jazz after being claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 27, 2014.

Jazz sign rookie Trey Lyles

trey lyles

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed 2015 first-round draft pick forward Trey Lyles (12th overall).

Players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft are guaranteed to receive a contract if they want to come to the league right away. So, this signing is standard — though, it came later than expected. 

Lyles spent one season at the University of Kentucky. As a freshman, the 19-year-old forward was named to the 2015 All-SEC Freshman Team and helped lead the Wildcats to a 2015 NCAA Final Four appearance.

A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the 6-10, 241-pound Lyles averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 36 contests during his sole season at Kentucky. As a high school senior, Lyles was named 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball and the 2014 Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year. In addition, he participated in the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. Lyles has also played internationally for both Canada and the United States.

Lyles will wear jersey No. 41 for the Jazz.

Jeremy Evans will sign with Mavericks

Jeremy Evans will sign with Mavericks

Jeremy Evans will sign with Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have had an impressive offseason. And after striking agreements with starter-level talent these past few days, they’re solidifying their bench a bit. Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting on an athletic former member of the Utah Jazz who will take his hops to Texas:

The Utah Jazz have lost their former NBA slam dunk champion.

A free agent forward, Jeremy Evans announced via Twitter on Sunday afternoon that he had reached a deal to join the Mavericks. According to an ESPN report, the deal is for two years at the league minimum.

The 27-year-old Evans was a second-round pick by the Jazz in 2010. But after being a regular rotation player two seasons ago for coach Tyrone Corbin, Evans saw his minutes and role dramatically reduced last season under new coach Quin Snyder.

“If I’m here, I’m going to be so happy,” Evans said during his exit interview in April. “I feel like this is my home. If not, I know it’s still going to be a bright future and wish everybody the best.”

Thunder trade Luke Ridnour to Raptors

It’s happened again.

IT’S HAPPENED AGAIN.

Veteran NBA guard Luke Ridnour has been traded yet again.

luke ridnour traded

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired a trade exception and the rights to forward Tomislav Zubcic from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Ridnour and cash considerations, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

The Thunder will have one year from today to exercise the trade exception.

Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen will join staff of German national team this summer

The German Basketball Federation announced today that Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen will join the coaching staff of the German men’s national team this summer. He will join Head Coach Chris Fleming during the preparation heading into the European Championship, also known as EuroBasket 2015, from Sept. 5 – 20. The preliminary round featuring Germany, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, Italy and Iceland will be played in Berlin, Germany. The best four teams will advance to the final round in Lille, France.

“Alex is a big asset for our national team,” said Head Coach Fleming. “He has proven at multiple places to be a coach who can develop young players. The dynamic improved performance of Rudy Gobert at the Jazz has a lot to do with the excellent work of Alex. He played for several years in Europe and is very well versed in international basketball.”

Jensen is entering his third season as a member of the Jazz coaching staff. Before joining the Jazz, Jensen spent two seasons (57-43, .557) as the first-ever head coach of the Canton Charge of the D-League from 2011-13, advancing the Cleveland Cavaliers-owned team to the playoffs in both seasons. He was named the 2013 Dennis Johnson NBA D-League Coach of the Year after leading the Charge to a franchise-best 30 victories and an East Division title. Jensen then coached the D-League Select Team in the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, leading his squad to a 4-1 record against NBA team entries and advancing them to the quarterfinals of the inaugural summer league tournament. Jensen began his coaching career as an assistant under Rick Majerus at Saint Louis University from 2007-11.

A native of Bountiful, Utah, Jensen attended Viewmont High School there, leading the Vikings to a state basketball title as a junior and was named Utah’s Mr. Basketball in 1994. Jensen played four seasons at the University of Utah (1994-95, 1997-00) under Majerus and helped the Utes to the NCAA Championship game in 1998. Following his collegiate career, Jensen played seven professional seasons in Turkey and one season with the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA. While playing in Europe, Jensen was named All-FIBA Europe Cup Defender of the Year in 2004, along with being named to the All-FIBA Europe Cup First Team.

Utah Jazz hire Jeff Watkinson and Zach Guthrie

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has hired Jeff Watkinson as assistant coach/integrated player development and Zach Guthrie as manager of basketball strategy/technology.

For the past three seasons, Watkinson served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Atlanta Hawks (2012-15), who won a franchise-record 60 games in 2014-15 en route to the best record in the Eastern Conference. He rejoins Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder after working with him in Atlanta (2013-14) and also at the University of Missouri (2001-06). Before working for the Hawks, Watkinson owned and operated Wat Training, where he worked with NBA players, including Pelicans guard Eric Gordon, to improve their strength, conditioning and basketball development skills. Prior to the NBA, Watkinson served as the head strength and conditioning coach at Indiana University from 2006-10, after holding similar positions at Missouri, Clemson, Charlotte and College of Charleston.

A native of Chicago, Watkinson began his studies in 1989 at Kishwaukee College in Malta, Ill., where he earned an associate’s degree in pre-medicine. He then received a baseball scholarship to attend North Carolina State, where he played for two years and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine in 1993. Watkinson went on to earn a master’s degree in exercise science from Indiana in 1996.

Guthrie arrives in Utah after spending three years with the Orlando Magic as the manager of advanced scouting from 2012-15. Prior to his time in Orlando, Guthrie spent two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, ascending to the role of assistant video coordinator.

Guthrie got his start as a basketball operations intern with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League in 2007, where he worked closely under Coach Snyder, then the Toros’ head coach. The San Antonio native graduated in 2010 from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in business.

Jazz name Brian Zettler head athletic trainer

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has named Brian Zettler as the fourth head athletic trainer in franchise history. In addition, Nick Asay has been promoted to assistant trainer and Adam Klauke has been named the team’s equipment manager.

Zettler recently completed his 19th season in professional basketball and his 12th season with the Jazz, having served as the assistant trainer/equipment manager since the 2004-05 season. Prior to joining the Jazz, Zettler spent three seasons as the head athletic trainer with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. He concurrently spent four seasons assisting the Dallas Cowboys athletic training department. Zettler also worked with the Dallas Mavericks athletic training staff from 1997 until his departure to Utah. Before working in professional sports, he spent three years as the head athletic trainer at the Southwestern Assemblies of God University where he founded the school’s sports medicine program.

The Waxahachie, Texas native earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M in 1993 and a dual master’s degrees in science and education from the University of North Texas in 1998 and 1999. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Consultant (NCSA), a Performance Enhancement Specialist and Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM). He was co-founder and elected inaugural president of the National Basketball Equipment Managers Association (NBAEMA) in 2013.

Zettler replaces longtime Jazz head athletic Trainer, Gary Briggs, who retired following the 2014-15 season after 33 NBA seasons, including 15 with Utah.

Asay spent the last two seasons assisting the Jazz athletic training staff and has worked for the franchise for six years total. In his new role, he will be a traveling member of the team’s training staff while continuing to work closely with the University of Utah Health Care, the official Jazz healthcare provider. Asay previously spent four seasons working for the University of Utah Health Care, serving as their head athletic trainer at Herriman High School from 2011-14.

The Salt Lake Valley native completed his undergraduate degree in athletic training and also received his master’s degree in sports psychology at the University of Utah. Asay served as the head athletic trainer for former Jazz NBA Development League affiliate, Utah Flash, from 2007-09. He previously worked as an athletic trainer for the University of Utah baseball team from 2004-06 and the Washington Nationals’ minor league affiliate, the Vermont Lake Monsters, from 2006-07.

Klauke has been with the Jazz for 16 years in various capacities in basketball operations, serving as the team’s assistant equipment manager and Zions Bank Basketball Center facility coordinator for the past three seasons. In addition to his time with the Jazz, Klauke spent 12 seasons with the Salt Lake Bees. Beginning as a program seller and bat boy, he served as assistant clubhouse manager for eight years.

A 2009 graduate of the University of Utah, Klauke earned a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and education.