Only three players are left for now, anyway from the original field of seven in the competition for the Jazz's small-forward vacancy. Saturday morning, the Jazz cut forwards Tommy Collier and Tom Schafer and guards Monroe Douglass and Vince Hamilton before the last practice of rookie-free agent camp.
The nine-player Jazz entry for the California Summer League includes second-year players Eric Leckner, Jim Les and Jose Ortiz, plus guards Junie Lewis, Joe Hillman and Eric Johnson and forwards Darrell Battles, Raymond Brown and Dave Colbert. The 6-foot-6 Battles (Southern) and the 6-8 Brown (Idaho) are rookies, while the 6-8 Colbert (Dayton) has played in Australia. An early favorite to make the team, NBA veteran Ben McDonald, failed his physical exam and was sent home before the camp. Another forward, Tom Sheehy, missed the camp with an ankle injury and may join the Jazz in Los Angeles.Otherwise, the Jazz may already have their training-camp roster set. "That's conceivable," said Coach Jerry Sloan. "We'll just have to see how they develop."
The Jazz may still look elsewhere for a quick, athletic forward. For now, adding first-round draft choice Blue Edwards and subtracting forward Marc Iavaroni, the Jazz have 18 players on the projected roster for training camp, opening Oct. 6 at Westminster College.
"All the guys we kept, we've been pleasantly surprised with, really," said player personnel director Scott Layden.
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The signings of first-rounders Todd Lichti with Denver and Roy Marble with Atlanta should help the Jazz and Edwards come closer to a contract agreement. "It seems like each year, it's a domino effect," Layden noted. "As soon as a couple of guys sign, everybody falls in line."
Edwards' agent, William Pollak, has apparently waited for signings that would help establish the going salary rate for players like Edwards, drafted at No. 21 in the first round. Because Lichti (No. 15) and Marble (No. 23) are off-guards, their contracts will likely set the boundaries for the Jazz and Edwards. Last summer, the breakthrough in talks regarding Leckner came after attorney Bob Woolf, who represents Leckner and Sacramento guard Ricky Berry, completed Berry's contract. Berry was drafted right after Leckner.
Marble, overlooked by the Jazz, reportedly signed for three years and about $1.2 million. Lichti's deal is for five years and $3.5 million, according to the Denver Post. Both deals represent big increases in the NBA's rookie-salary structure.