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Omaha forward Deng Mayar died in a drowning incident in Utah, the school confirmed Sunday. Mayar was 22. While swimming at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah, Mayar and a friend, Sa Mafutaga, both began to struggle to stay afloat, according to the Herriman Police Department.
Utah plans to keep Georges Niang
Sources say Utah plans to keep veteran big man Georges Niang after reacquiring Niang this week in a trade with Boston.
Bobby Marks: Utah is acquiring Georges Niang with part of the $26.6M John Collins Trade Exception. Niang is on an expiring $8.2M contract. Celtics tax bill drops from $73.1M to $30.4M. They are now $10.2M below the 2nd apron and $1.7M over the 1st.
Shams Charania: Niang returns to Utah now and his salary goes into the massive John Collins trade exception along with two draft assets. The move allows the Celtics have more salary relief below the second apron.
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Timberwolves, Johnny Juzang agree to one-year deal
Shams Charania: Free agent guard Johnny Juzang has agreed to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN. Juzang played his first three NBA seasons in Utah and averaged 8.9 points and 38% 3-point shooting in 19.8 minutes per game in 2024-25.
Lawson Lovering has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. Lovering went undrafted out of Utah this year and played for the Grizzlies in Summer League. Lovering averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.9 minutes across seven games.
Utah not interested in Cam Thomas?
As of July 25, the Utah Jazz are the only team aside from Brooklyn with meaningful spending power. But league sources are skeptical about Utah’s interest. “Utah holds the cards for restricted free agency if they want to. It’s not just Cam, but he’s one of the RFAs who I don’t see as being appealing for the Jazz. They’re building around defense, size, and versatility,” a Western Conference scout explained to FastbreakJournal.com. “Cam is a pure scorer, but he doesn’t fit the long-term vision they’re selling internally.”
Bobby Marks: Utah announced that they have waived Jaden Springer. Springer had a July 25 guarantee date that would have saw the protection in his contract increase from $0 to $400K.
Frank Layden (1932-2025)
Frank Layden, known around Utah for his impact in the basketball community, has died at the age of 93. Layden passed away Wednesday, the Deseret News confirmed. ABC 4’s Wesley Ruff was the first to report the news.
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Layden went 277-294 during the regular season as the Jazz’s head coach. Under Layden, Utah made the playoffs five times, reaching the conference semifinals three times. One of his greatest accomplishments as an NBA executive with the Jazz was drafting Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone in back-to-back years, turning the franchise into a perennial playoff contender and eventually leading the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998.
Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Timberwolves to target Bradley Beal after Suns buyout
Some confirmed suitors for Bradley Beal include the LA Clippers — fresh off agreeing to trade Norman Powell to Miami in a three-team deal that will bring back Utah's John Collins — as well as the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee and Minnesota. Miami was widely anticipated to be in that mix, but the Heat's agreed-to acquisition of Norman Powell would appear to rule them out of the Beal chase
Shams Charania: Miami is acquiring a major scoring punch in Powell while the Clippers find a dynamic lob threat. Both Powell and Collins are coming off strong seasons. Utah has turned Collins' expiring deal into an asset in the form of a second-rounder in return.
VJ Edgecombe scores 28 points in summer league debut
The first day of NBA Summer League action culminated in a matchup between two top-5 picks in Utah: V.J. Edgecombe and the Philadelphia 76ers vs. Ace Bailey and the Utah Jazz. Only one of them posted a star-level performance. That was Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. A high-motor, high-athleticism wing, Edgecombe looked like the best player on a floor full of guys who saw NBA action last season, posting 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
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