The Utah Jazz are waiving point guard Jared Butler and center Cody Zeller. The transactions were reported by Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Parting ways with Zeller was expected, but moving on from Butler is a bit of a surprise.
The Jazz selected Butler in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft after he led Baylor to a National Championship while earning the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
The second-year pro was always on the bubble of making this year's squad, but it appeared he was trending upward after a strong showing against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Although, when the rubber met the road, the Jazz brain trust chose shooting guard Leandro Bolmaro, who may have a higher ceiling due to his size (6-foot-6) and wingspan (6-foot-8). Bolmaro’s kryptonite has been his three-point shooting, but the Jazz will have time to work with the former first-round pick as he's under team control through 2026.
The Jazz brought in Zeller last month, but his fate was sealed when the team traded Bojan Bogdanovic away in exchange for Kelly Olynyk. That left four centers vying for three spots, and the Jazz chose to go with the younger Udoka Azubuike.
With the waiving of Butler, Zeller, and Stanley Johnson on Friday, the Jazz are at the required 15-man roster heading into the 2022-23 season.
Here's your 2022-23 Utah Jazz squad to start the season.
- Ochai Agbaji | SG
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker | SG
- Udoka Azubuike | C
- Malik Beasley | SG
- Leandro Bolmaro | SG
- Jordan Clarkson | SG
- Mike Conley | PG
- Simone Fontecchio | SF
- Rudy Gay | SF
- Talen Horton-Tucker | SG
- Walker Kessler | C
- Lauri Markkanen | SF
- Kelly Olynyk | C
- Collin Sexton | PG
- Jarred Vanderbilt | PF
The season opener is October 19 vs. the Denver Nuggets in Salt Lake City.
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