The Utah Jazz won’t be chasing postseason glory this year, so they might as well use the remainder of the season to get a look at some young prospects, right?
Well, that’s exactly what the team is doing. On Monday the Jazz waived Otto Porter Jr. and signed forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. Additionally, according to team sources, the team plans to sign forward Darius Bazley and waive Taevion Kinsey on Tuesday.
Lofton, 21, was the G League Rookie of the Year last season while with the Memphis Grizzlies G League affiliate. Memphis waived Lofton in December and he signed a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers only to be waived earlier this month.
Though Lofton went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech in 2022, he’s an intriguing prospect. The biggest question mark surrounding the 6-foot-7 forward has always been his conditioning and mobility.
Bazley was technically drafted by the Jazz, but sent to the Grizzlies as part of the deal to acquire Mike Conley. He was then rerouted to the Oklahoma City Thunder and has also played for the Phoenix Suns and Sixers.
Both players were signed to non-guaranteed, three-year deals, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The length of the deals gives the Jazz control and flexibility. It allows the Jazz to see what Lofton and Bazley can offer throughout the remainder of this season, while also being able to work them out throughout the offseason and into the 2024-25 training camp. If they choose to keep them on the roster they can move forward and if they decide to part ways they can waive them without worrying about a financial hit.
Recently the Jazz’s front-court depth, or lack thereof, was tested with Lauri Markkanen, Taylor Hendricks and Walker Kessler all sidelined due to injury. Though Kessler (right foot sprain) has since returned and Markkanen (right quad contusion) is working his way back to being able to return, adding Lofton and Bazley gives the Jazz a little more depth outside of John Collins and Ömer Yurtseven.
Porter was acquired by the Jazz in the trade that sent Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors, but has not been with the team (a move to waive him has been expected).
Kinsey, who has been playing for the G League SLC Stars, was called up on Saturday by the Jazz for a 10-day contract.
