The Utah Jazz announced on Wednesday that the team has waived forwards Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Darius Bazley.
Both players signed non-guaranteed, three-year deals with the Jazz back in March. Those deals gave the Jazz control over the players through the end of the 2023-24 season and Summer League, while also giving the team some flexibility moving forward.
Lofton and Bazley’s deals had a number of trigger dates that would have guaranteed them portions of their contracts. One of those trigger dates was July 25, when roughly $400,000 would have been paid to each player if they remained on the Jazz roster.
With the players waived, the Jazz save a little bit of money and open up two roster spots.
Once rookie Kyle Filipowski signs his deal, the Jazz will have 13 players under contract — Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, Drew Eubanks, Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Filipowski and Johnny Juzang — and they’ll also have Jason Preston and Taevion Kinsey on two-way deals.
This gives the Jazz two open roster spots and an open two-way spot.