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SALT LAKE CITY — Here's what is going on in the NBA's free agency period as it relates to the Utah Jazz.
Trevor Booker on Gordon Hayward
Former Jazz power forward Trevor Booker is now with the Brooklyn Nets, but he still has some knowledge on the Gordon Hayward situation given his two-year tenure in Utah. Booker went on Alex Kennedy's podcast and talked about why Hayward went to Utah, and how the Jazz will respond.
Click on the tweet below to view a transcript of Booker's comments regarding Hayward.
You can listen to the entirety of Kennedy's podcast with Booker here.
Rudy Gay, Olynyk, probably James Johnson sign elsewhere
Elsewhere in the NBA, multiple options that the Jazz were reported to be interested in have gone to other teams.
First is Milos Teodosic, who went to the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $12 million deal. Teodosic had been interested in the Jazz and vice versa. But the Jazz's trade for Ricky Rubio and his elite passing skills would have made acquiring Teodosic somewhat redundant. That being said, I'm very excited to see what Teodosic can do alongside the finishing skills of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Then, Boston's Kelly Olynyk signed with Miami on a 4-year, $50 million deal. The final year of the deal is a player option. Olynyk now figures to play both alongside and behind Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
James Johnson also signed with the Heat on a 4-year deal. Johnson was a versatile scoring and defending option for Miami last year, and was a big part of their 30-11 resurgence.
Finally, Rudy Gay signed for a two-year, $17 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs. They'll try to rehab him from his Achilles tear, and get the bulk of the value of the contract in the second year. If anybody can take advantage, it's the Spurs.
Crowder S&T "close"
Another log was added to the fire surrounding rumors of the Celtics completing a sign-and-trade agreement with Gordon Hayward that would send their small forward, Jae Crowder, to the Utah Jazz.
Again, the Jazz would likely have to trade an additional asset to the Celtics in order to entice them to trade Crowder to Utah instead of the other 28 teams. But Crowder would be a great fit in Utah as a 3-and-D combo forward, and his contract is great.
