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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have signed center Cody Zeller to a training camp deal, according to a report from The Athletic.
Zeller, who was the No. 4 pick in 2013, was waived in February after a disappointing stint with the Portland Trail Blazers. Before that season, though, he had an eight-season run with the Charlotte Hornets where he averaged 8.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Zeller will turn 30 next month.
Utah also reportedly came to terms with center Micah Potter on a two-way contract. Potter, 24, played at both Ohio State and Wisconsin during his collegiate career. He averaged 14.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce last season.
Last January, Zeller underwent knee surgery to address a patellar injury and was waived by the Blazers before he was fully healthy. The deal gives the Jazz a chance to see if the one-time high draft pick still can help an NBA team.
And Utah appears to need some help at center.
Rookie Walker Kessler and Udoka Azubuike are the only traditional big men currently on the roster. Jarred Vanderbilt could also see some time there.
But it remains to be seen who on the Jazz will even reach opening night still on the roster. The team currently has 17 players with guaranteed deals and will need to trim that down to 15 for when the season begins.
"We'll have those decisions to make," general manager Justin Zanik said last week. "That will be in combination with our staff and coach. And then certainly there are always conversations going on with teams as they try to tweak things as preseason get started or other things so we'll see how it goes."
Translation: The Jazz are still in talks with teams about their veterans Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay.
So whether or not Zeller is on the team long term (and by long term, we mean past training camp and nothing more), could be determined by whether or not the Jazz can find deals for those players.
If they can, there's a spot for him to regain some value. If they can't, it'll be hard to find even a spot for him on the roster.
As Potter, he fills the two-way spot that was left vacant after the Jazz released Xavier Sneed last week. Two-way contracts allow teams to carry two extra players on their roster. Essentially it's a development contract with the players sharing time between the NBA club and G League affiliate.
