Jazz sign Joel Bolomboy to contract


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SALT LAKE CITY — The local guy can stay close by.

The Utah Jazz signed former Weber State forward Joel Bolomboy to a contract Friday, giving more clarity to his situation in the 2016-17 season.

Bolomboy was the 52nd pick of the 2016 NBA Draft this June, as well as the Jazz's first selection of the draft. He won the 2016 Big Sky Conference MVP award last season and is the Big Sky's all-time leader in rebounds.

Terms of the contract were not released, so it's a little bit uncertain what Bolomboy's status is moving forward. The two sides can negotiate any terms; there's not a salary scale for second rounders like Bolomboy. In particular, the length and guarantee status of Bolomboy's contract is unknown.

What this signing does mean, though, is that the Jazz would now have to waive Bolomboy in order to get him off the roster. With 17 players now under contract, the Jazz will have to waive two players to get to the roster limit of 15 players by the end of preseason. Chris Johnson is likely out, but now the Jazz will have to waive either Bolomboy, Jeff Withey, or Tibor Pleiss.

Withey is almost certainly safe: his minimum deal and good play last season mean the Jazz would be foolish to let him go.

Pleiss is a difficult cut, given his $3 million guarantee for the upcoming season. But the Jazz have been somewhat dissatisfied with his performance so far, in both practices and games, sources say. He still looks somewhat confused on the court about his positioning and role in Snyder's offense and his defense has been about as expected; that is to say, not great. I'd expect Pleiss to be waived, despite the guarantee.

If the Jazz did choose to waive Bolomboy now, his rights would no longer belong to the Jazz, as they would with a player who signs overseas. But as long as they keep him on the 15-man roster, they can send him to the D-League SLC Stars as frequently as they'd like. That might make Bolomboy the ideal development candidate in the first year of having a D-League affiliate in the Salt Lake area.

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Andy Larsen

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