The Utah Jazz continue to make the final touches on the 2023-24 roster. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic , Utah has informed Luka Samanic that he will be on the roster on opening night. The move guarantees Samanic an additional $400,000 for the current year. Samanic’s salary of 2.066 million becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster on January 10.
The 6-foot-9 forward out of Croatia was selected with the No. 19 overall pick of the 2019 draft by the San Antonio Spurs. In two seasons in San Antonio, Samanic only suited up 36 times under Spurs head coach Greg Popovich, averaging 3.8 points per contest.
After his stint with the Spurs, Samanic has bounced around the G-League with three different teams, which included making the All-NBA G League second team in 2023.
Samanic may have earned his way onto the opening-day roster due to a strong performance in the 2023 Summer League. There, he averaged 16.7 ppg while hauling in seven rebounds.
Getting consistent minutes could be challenging with where the roster stands heading into opening night.
Although Samanic can play both forward positions, it appears that Kelly Olynyk is slated as the backup power forward. At the same time, Ochai Abaji should stake claim to the minutes at the backup small forward position.
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