Former Jazzmen Found New Homes In Free Agency

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Free agency is in full swing and players who used to play for the Utah Jazz are finding new homes to continue their NBA careers.

From July 1, when teams can officially talk to free agents to July 5, 8 former Jazzmen that were free agents have either re-signed with their current team or is playing for a new team.

Two players that were on the roster last season are finding new homes as free agents after the Jazz have been very aggressive in free agency.

Utah acquired Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies and sent Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, the 23rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a future first round pick. They have also signed Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis, Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay.

They were forced to deal Derrick Favors to the New Orleans Pelicans to create cap space for Conley and Bogdanovic.

Here are the 8 players that will sign new contracts as free agents:

Enes Kanter

Kanter will reunite with former Jazzman Gordon Hayward in Boston and will sign a two-year, $10 million contract with the Celtics.

He was drafted by the Jazz with the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. After four and a half seasons with Utah, he was dealt to Oklahoma City. Kanter played two and a half seasons with the Thunder before joining the New York Knicks.

Last season, the Knicks waived Kanter, making him a free agent and signed with the Trail Blazers.

With Utah, Kanter averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 265 games played.

During the 2018-19 season, he averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds with the Blazers.

Breaking: Enes Kanter is signing a two-year, $10 million deal with the Celtics, which includes a second-year player option, his agent told SNY. pic.twitter.com/Xq8pVlpKjt

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 1, 2019

George Hill

Hill was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks from the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 7, 2018. He will remain in Milwaukee after agreeing to a three-year deal worth $29 million.

After being traded by the Indiana Pacers to Utah before the 2016-17 season and played one season with the Jazz and had the best season of his career, averaging 16.9 points and 4.2 assists.

During the following off-season, he signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings, but was traded to Cleveland during the regular season.

With the Bucks, Hill posted 6.8 points and 2.1 assists per game.

George Hill gave the Bucks a spark in the playoffs, and now he's coming back to do it again!#Bucks pic.twitter.com/CoFoqSpygT

— Bucks Nation (@BucksNationCP) July 1, 2019

Wesley Matthews

Through his 10-year career in the NBA, Matthews has played for 5 different teams. He will join his sixth different team after agreeing to a veteran minimum contract. Matthews surprised the NBA after a big rookie season after signing with the Jazz as undrafted free agent during the 2009-10 season, averaging 9.4 points per game.

He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent after the lone season in Utah and spent the next five seasons with the Blazers. After signing with the Dallas Mavericks and spending three and a half seasons with the team, he was sent to the New York Knicks in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. He was waived and signed with the Indiana Pacers for the rest of last season.

Free agent G Wesley Matthews has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019

Alec Burks

Burks will be on the move once again, agreeing to a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the last year, Burks has been on the move a lot since the Jazz traded him last season for Kyle Korver. He was drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and played seven-plus years in Utah. After he was traded to Cleveland, he played 34 games for the Cavaliers before being dealt nearly three months later to the Sacramento Kings.

With Utah, Burks averaged 9.6 points per game, 11.6 points with the Cavaliers and just 1.7 points in Sacramento.

The Thunder are signing guard Alec Burks, according to a league source. A 6-foot-6 ball-handling guard with a career 35.5 percentage from 3 that will help boost their second unit rotation.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 1, 2019

Raul Neto

The Jazz had to waive Raul Neto to open the salary cap space to complete the Mike Conley trade. He spent four seasons with the Jazz, posting 4.8 points per game throughout his career and 5.3 per game this past season.

Neto will sign a one-year veteran minimum deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Former Utah Jazz guard Raul Neto has agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to a Deseret News source. He will sign on July 6th.

— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) July 4, 2019

Ricky Rubio

It was an emotional departure for Rubio because of the Jazz acquiring Conley, it was certain that he would not return to Utah. Rubio will sign a three-year, $51 million deal with the Phoenix Suns.

Rubio played six seasons with the Timberwolves when he was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He was traded in the off-season before the 2017-18 season to the Jazz and spent two seasons in Utah. He averaged 10.3 points and 8.5 assists per game with the Timberwolves and 12.9 points and 5.7 assists per game with the Jazz.

Rubio confirmed to Phoenix for 3 years and 51 million

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 30, 2019

Rodney Hood

Since being drafted by the Jazz as the 23rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Rodney Hood has played with three teams during his career. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017-18 season for Derrick Rose (waived shortly after) and Jae Crowder. This past season, he was traded by the Cavaliers to the Portland Trail Blazers. While with Utah, Hood averaged 13.1 points per game in three and a half seasons.

With Cleveland, he posted 11.7 points per game and recorded 9.6 points per game in 27 games played in Portland. Hood will re-sign with the Trail Blazers after agreeing on a two-year deal worth $16 million.

Neil Olshey had traded for Kent Bazemore as protection in case Blazers lost Hood in free agency. Now, Hood and Bazemore return together and Blazers remain among the elite of the Western Conference. https://t.co/2YUYUN1LKJ

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019

DeMarre Carroll

In 10 seasons in the NBA, DeMarre Carroll is a well-traveled veteran. He was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009 and spent one and a half seasons in Memphis before going to the Houston Rockets for the rest of the 2010-11 season. After just 4 games with the Denver Nuggets in 2011, he was waived by the Nuggets and was signed by the Jazz for the rest of the 2011-12 season and the following season.

Carroll averaged 5.7 points per game in Utah before joining the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets for two seasons each.

He will sign a two-year, $13 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

Still Unsigned

Some notable former Jazzmen that remain without a contract agreement includes Ian Clark, Jonas Jerebko, Trey Burke, Trey Lyles (restricted free agent), Kyle Korver (will be a free agent after buyout from Phoenix) and Thabo Sefolosha.