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» Wednesday, March 20 2013 |
![]() Most Jazz fans probably didn’t know Leslie was on the team because he never played a minute during his short stay with the franchise. The 6-foot-4 Leslie had been signed to a 10-day contract March 10 after averaging 16.1 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA’s D-League, but was released Tuesday morning. “He did nothing wrong. We made sure he understood that,’’ said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin. “He was great. He appreciated the opportunity to come in and for us to get a look at him and our franchise and see if it’s a good fit. He’s a good guy and hopefully down the road we’ll get to know him a lot better.’’ Deseret News |
» Tuesday, March 19 2013 |
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Utah Jazz: Travis Leslie’s 10-day contract has expired and the Jazz have elected not to sign him to another 10-day contract. Twitter |
» Monday, March 18 2013 |
![]() So, if “Plan A” doesn’t work out for the Sixers, what is the best possible option at center? The more I think about it, the more I tend to agree with the targeting of Utah soon-to-be- unrestricted free-agent Al Jefferson. Philadelphia Inquirer ![]() The Jazz signed Travis Leslie to a 10-day contract on March 10, meaning it will expire Wednesday. Corbin likes what he’s seen from Leslie, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who averaged 16.1 points and 7.4 rebounds with Santa Cruz in the D-League before coming to Utah. "Great worker, good size," Corbin said. "We haven’t gotten a feel for him in a game, whether he is only a ‘2’ or if he can play some ‘3.’ But he’s very good at attacking the rim, and I think he can be a good defender with his body size. He’s showed himself well in practice." Will the Jazz re-sign Leslie? "We’ll evaluate it," Corbin said. "I like what I’ve seen." Salt Lake Tribune |
» Sunday, March 17 2013 |
![]() With 9:23 left, the Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol scored from the lane, cutting Utah’s lead to 71-67. As he turned, Derrick Favors accidentally stepped on his heel and Gasol lost his shoe. Gasol angrily motioned at the closest official, perhaps thinking Favors had intentionally flattened his tire. Play continued, however, and Favors ended up driving to the basket on the ensuing possession. Gasol reached around and whacked him with his shoe. A non-shooting foul was called, and the Jazz inbounded. "I didn’t know he had his shoe," Favors said. "I thought it was his hand or something." Salt Lake Tribune Favors knew he had stepped on Gasol’s shoe, "but I didn’t do it on purpose. It just kind of happened. ... I think he was mad at the refs because he didn’t have his shoe. I don’t know." Corbin laughed when reminded of the incident prior to Sunday morning’s practice. "I’ve never seen a shoe foul," he said. "I thought it might be a flagrant, but I guess they didn’t see it that way. He hit him pretty good with his shoe, though." Salt Lake Tribune |
» Saturday, March 16 2013 |
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Meanwhile, the Jazz are expected to sign and keep either Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap (both unrestricted), but not both. Like the Hawks, the Jazz are more likely to get involved in a sign-and-trade then just let either player walk away for nothing. FOXSports Ohio Q: Why, in your own words, didn't a buyout with the Jazz happen before the March 1 deadline so you could find a new team before the playoffs? Raja Bell: I just didn't have a guaranteed opportunity to play somewhere else. I didn't have a firm commitment from another team and those were the conditions that Utah put on the table. They told me that if I came to them with an opportunity to play somewhere else, they would buy me out. There were a lot of teams saying they wanted to do something ... but I didn't have a bird in the hand at any time. Or I would have taken it. ESPN.com Q: How hard was it then to hear your name linked constantly with the Lakers and how much Mike D'Antoni apparently wanted to bring you in and then not end up with them? Bell: Unfortunately it became almost comical at the end. I heard Jalen [Rose] and Magic [Johnson] saying (on ESPN's "NBA Countdown" show) that they thought I'd be with the Lakers within a day or two, which was frustrating because, knowing what was going on (with L.A.'s luxury-tax concerns), I knew it probably wasn't going to happen. ESPN.com Q: And if nothing materializes before the end of this season? A: I like to think that I'm a realist, but I have to see what kind of opportunities are out there for me. It's not totally in my control. But I'll be looking for an opportunity [this summer] to prove that I can still do it and that whatever happened in Utah was just an anomaly. At this point in my career, I've got a lot of experience, playing for a lot of different teams and playing with all kinds of different players and personalities, so I think I have something to offer that goes beyond just the minutes on the floor. If you asked any of the young fellas that played with me in my elder statesman role, I think they'd say I was pretty good to them. ESPN.com |
» Thursday, March 14 2013 |
![]() Durant and DeMarre Carroll got into it again tonight. Carroll hip-checked Durant with 5:47 left in the third quarter. Durant took exception. Then Westbrook took exception. Westbrook ran over and elbowed Carroll in the chest. Those two then started talking smack. The irony of the whole thing was that Carroll did to Durant exactly what he didn’t appreciate Durant doing to his buddy Burks back in Utah a month ago. Check the 2:30 mark here. Oklahoman Durant: “I was just trying to get my teammate away from it all. I seen Russ over there by himself. That was the first thing I was concerned with. It was a hard foul. That’s it. I did the same thing to one of their guys in Utah so I couldn’t be too upset about it. I was just running over there to get Russell. I seen him in a see of blue of Utah guys. So I just tried to go over there and get him out of that because I knew he came to my rescue there as well.” Oklahoman Durant: “Ain’t nobody gon fight out here first off. It wasn’t that hard of a foul. I’m glad I was able to get two free throws out of it. But other than that I was just trying to go over there and get Russ.” Oklahoman ![]() Watson played for Brown for three seasons in Memphis, back when Watson said he "didn’t know anything about the NBA, I was just a blank canvas. His influence has, I guess, cultured me, and made me the man I am today." The two usually talk about family, Watson said, and basketball. But Watson has more specific things to discuss with Brown these days. "This summer, though, I want to spend time with him in New Jersey so I can get his philosophy on coaching strategy," Watson said. Salt Lake Tribune The reason? Watson knows his playing days are numbered. He said he likes to have a plan two or three years out, and by then, he knows it could be time to transition into coaching. "I want to get everything," Watson said. "As much as possible. Because he’s a wealth of knowledge, and you can only get better when you put yourself around people who are better." Salt Lake Tribune |
» Wednesday, March 13 2013 |
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And you thought Enes Kanter’s game was only blossoming on the court. The free-spirited Turkish ballplayer showed up for Monday’s Jazz-Pistons contest wearing a fedora, sparkling gold jacket, jeans and snake shoes. “He makes it look good,” teammate Al Jefferson told reporters. “It’s not like it don’t look good on him.” In a Rodman-Gaga-I’m-rich-enough-to-dress-strange sort of way. Deseret News Teammates whooped and cheered for the 22-year-old Leslie. Like orphans left behind when a happy family adopts a friend, they celebrated, but no doubt wondered when their time would come. And when it did, what would they do with it? That is the question now facing Leslie, who signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz on Sunday, filling the roster spot created when they waived Raja Bell. "He gets 10 days there to leave an impression on the coaches and the front office," said Bjorkgren. Salt Lake Tribune |
» Tuesday, March 12 2013 |
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And you thought Enes Kanter’s game was only blossoming on the court. The free-spirited Turkish ballplayer showed up for Monday’s Jazz-Pistons contest wearing a fedora, sparkling gold jacket, jeans and snake shoes. “He makes it look good,” teammate Al Jefferson told reporters. “It’s not like it don’t look good on him.” In a Rodman-Gaga-I’m-rich-enough-to-dress-strange sort of way. Deseret News Utah wants a point guard. If the Jazz are going to take a poisonous salary attached to something they really want, that prize is going to be a lead ball handler. Had they found one, perhaps they'd have done something. But they didn't. The Millsap–for–Eric Bledsoe talks never got serious, per three sources close to the (non-)talks, and the trade market wasn't teeming with quality point guards beyond Bledsoe — especially since Utah can wait to spend in the offseason. Grantland That desire to qualify for the postseason is one reason Utah held on to both its starting big men, according to multiple sources familiar with the team's thinking. The Jazz weren't proactive at the deadline, but they did engage some teams with offers and potential offers, including Toronto and Detroit,3 according to sources around the league. They came away with nothing, not even a second-round pick or a trade exception, in part because they just couldn't find a deal that brought back a truly useful asset without an unfavorable long-term contract attached. Grantland |
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