SALT LAKE CITY — Although a great deal of conversation around the Utah Jazz through two preseason games has centered on topics such as Ricky Rubio’s poor shooting, the strong play of Dante Exum and Alec Burks, and Derrick Favors’ role this season after being hobbled with injury a year ago, there’s one item that perhaps hasn’t gotten as much attention but must be solved before the regular season begins.
Who will be the team’s 15th man this season?
Utah currently has 18 players on contract for the upcoming season, with Eric Griffin and Nate Wolters being on two-way deals, which means they’ll spend most of the season with the G-League’s Salt Lake City Stars.
In essence, the battle for the Jazz’s final roster spot is down to big man Joel Bolomboy, point guard Raul Neto and wing Royce O’Neale as the team turns its attention to its first preseason game against an NBA team Friday night when the Phoenix Suns come to Salt Lake City.
Although statistics haven’t been well kept through Utah’s first two preseason games, Bolomboy and O’Neale have played well, while Neto missed Wednesday’s contest against Israel’s Maccabi Haifa due to left quadriceps tightness.
Bolomboy has a guaranteed salary of $1.3 million for the upcoming season, Neto has a salary of $1.4 million that won’t be guaranteed until Jan. 10, while O’Neale has a guaranteed salary of $815,000.
One person familiar with the situation the trio finds itself in is Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, who himself was a fringe NBA player after finishing his collegiate career at Duke in 1989.
“Those guys have been terrific,” Snyder said after Wednesday’s practice. “You know, it’s hard to be 16-20 in camp. You don’t get as many reps, so psychologically everybody’s just got to be ready to go.”
While Bolomboy and Neto are more known commodities to Utah, O’Neale is in his first season with the Jazz after spending his first two post-college years in Europe.
“It just makes me work even harder,” he said of being at the end of the roster. “I mean, I’m a hard worker myself, so just being at the end just makes me work hard and want to get better each day. Whether I’m at the end or the front, it doesn’t matter.”
GOBERT SNUBBED? On Wednesday, the NBA released its annual survey of the league’s 30 general managers. The GMs answered questions on a variety of topics, from which team they think will win the championship to what rule needs the most change.
The question that got the most reaction from the Jazz was who the best center in the league is, as Rudy Gobert was not in the top four, getting relegated to the “also receiving votes” section.
When someone on Twitter noted that it was sad Gobert isn’t considered a top-four center, the 27th overall pick of the 2013 draft responded by saying, “They didn’t consider me a top-26 pick either.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was the top vote-getter in the center category, followed by Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins.
Gobert was voted the best interior defender and the third-best defensive player in the league overall.
Former University of Utah forward Kyle Kuzma was voted the second biggest steal of the 2017 draft behind Dennis Smith Jr., while Utah rookie and former Salt Lake City resident Caleb Swanigan tied for third.
The Jazz were voted the third-best defensive team in the league behind Golden State and San Antonio, while Quin Snyder finished tied for third with Steve Kerr and Erik Spoelstra among coaches when it comes to best defensive schemes (Gregg Popovich and Tom Thibodeau took the top two spots).
Rubio finished tied for third in the best-passer category with James Harden and John Wall. LeBron James and Chris Paul took the top two spots.
SUNS REUNION: Friday’s game against Phoenix will give two people in the Suns organization the chance to return to Salt Lake City after previously playing for the Jazz. Earl Watson is in his second full season as the Suns’ head coach, while Elijah Millsap, who played for Utah for exactly a year from January 2015 to 2016, is attempting to stick on the roster. He played for Phoenix’s G-League team last season, leading the Northern Arizona Suns in scoring.