SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz on Monday afternoon released their final roster for opening night, which brought about two significant announcements.
First, Frenchman William Howard was waived, which means Stanton Kidd is the last player to make the roster. Second, the long-awaited release of official player heights and weights was made public by the Jazz.
Entering training camp, Utah had 14 players with guaranteed contracts, meaning Howard and Kidd would battle for the 15th and final roster spot. The Jazz went with Kidd, a 6-foot-6, 218-pound, 27-year old who finished his collegiate career at Colorado State and has since played overseas.
This is his first time making an NBA roster.
“I think it was one day at a time with me,” he said at the Jazz’s media day last month of the last few years. “NBA was always the goal, but my main focus was just to get better as a player.”
As for official player measurements, the NBA has mandated that teams be more accurate in publishing them, as many players have historically been listed with different measurements from what they really are, depending on personal preference.
Of most significant note, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, Emmanuel Mudiay, Nigel Williams-Goss and Justin Wright-Foreman all “shrunk” two inches compared to the training camp roster released last month. Mitchell is now listed at 6-1, O’Neale 6-4 and Williams-Goss 6 feet (heights are without shoes).
Dante Exum has by far the biggest weight differential compared to the training camp roster. He is now listed at 214 pounds, up from the 190 listing last month.
