Latest news with #JusufNurkic
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jackson Merrill's incredible home run robbery
Why did the Jazz trade Collin Sexton? Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor looks at Utah's surprising trade that sent the shooting guard to Hornets - along with a future second round pick - in return for Jusuf Nurkic. Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. 1:30 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hornets acquire Collin Sexton from Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic, per reports
Hornets acquire Collin Sexton from Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic, per reports originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Days after the 2025 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets are making moves again. On Sunday, the Utah Jazz traded guard Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick to the Hornets for center Jusuf Nurkic, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Advertisement Sexton spent the past three seasons in Utah and averaged 18.4 points and 4.2 assists. He's led the Jazz in total points in each of the past two seasons and recorded career-highs in 3-point percentage (41%) and free throw percentage (87%) this past year. Nurkic, 30, is on an expiring deal worth around $19 million. He becomes the second big man heading out of Charlotte. Mark Williams was sent to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for two first-round picks in a draft night deal. The Hornets selected 7-foot-1 defensive beast Ryan Kalkbrenner with No. 34 overall. The four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year averaged 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game at Creighton. Related: Hornets Introduce New Era With 2025 Draft Picks Sexton will likely replace Tre Mann, who is a restricted free agent this summer. If the Hornets work Sexton into the equation, it will come with a contract extension after having one year remaining on his existing deal. The Jazz are flipping parts of their roster after selecting Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. in last week's draft. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Trading Collin Sexton clears the way for Jazz's young players
Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) drives toward the hoop with Portland Trail Blazers guard Rayan Rupert (21) following behind as they play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Jazz won 133-126 in OT. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News At a different time, with a different roster, Collin Sexton could have been a great piece of a successful puzzle for the Utah Jazz. But as things stand, this wasn't the right place or time for Sexton to be in Utah. On Sunday, the Jazz agreed to trade Sexton and a 2030 second-rounder to the Charlotte Hornets for Jusuf Nurkic. Advertisement There are two main reasons for the Jazz to make this deal. One, the Jazz needed to clear the way for some of the younger players on the roster. With Keyonte George, Isaiah Collier, Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr., John Tonje, Brice Sensabaugh and Cody Williams all needing some back court time, the Jazz need to open up the roster a little bit. Yes, some of these players will have the ball in their hands more than others, some profile as more of a shooting guard and some of them will play more as a wing than a traditional guard, but the point still stands that the Jazz roster is perimeter heavy. The second reason the Jazz do this is to get a high efficiency player who is not going to be a part of the future off the roster. Let's say that the Jazz's young players all have breakout or unexpectedly impressive rookie seasons and that they all gel together to form the perfect competing machine, netting the Jazz more wins than they had planned. If that happens, the Jazz are willing to live with the consequences (losing a top-8 protected pick to OKC next year). Advertisement But, that's not likely to happen. The more likely scenario is that the young players struggle at times and have some growing pains, as all young players do. And without a more experienced player there to pick up some of the slack (Sexton), even if the rookies and younger players perform well, they probably don't perform well enough for the Jazz to win too many games and they keep their 2026 top-8 pick. A lot of people might have been a bit surprised that the Jazz were the team that had to give up a future pick in the trade (the more favorable of the selection between the Jazz and L.A. Clippers' picks in 2023). And yes, it seems counterintuitive that the team giving up the more reliable, younger player is the one adding assets to the deal. But there are a couple of things to consider. As soon as the Jazz start dealing these more veteran players — Sexton, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson — it signals to other teams that they need to get rid of guys in order to make room for young players and fewer wins. At that point, the Jazz don't have a lot of leverage. And, it's getting harder and harder for undersized guards to make real impact when it comes to the late stages of the post season. That's not to say that Sexton isn't valuable. He is a hardworking, determined, efficient player who is willing to do anything asked of him. But in this instance, the Jazz weren't really operating from a position of power. That being said, the Jazz got what they wanted out of this situation. They got a player making similar money, that balances the roster a little bit more, who probably isn't going to impact winning.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Calls Mount for Danny Ainge's Firing After Jazz Trade on Sunday
Calls Mount for Danny Ainge's Firing After Jazz Trade on Sunday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Danny Ainge made a name for himself back when he was in the Boston Celtics' front office. He assembled the team that won a title back in 2008 and played a big part in constructing the team that won another last year. Advertisement Since stepping down with the Celtics in 2021, Ainge has been employed with the Utah Jazz for almost three years now. The Jazz have been rebuilding since Ainge joined them, and the team wasted no time getting to work in 2025. On Sunday, ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that the Jazz have traded Collin Sexton and a second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Jusuf Nurkic. The Jazz are rebuilding and have young guards, so trading Sexton made sense. However, this trade did not get a warm reception on the Jazz's end. Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge© Rob Gray-Imagn Images Utah was criticized for having to attach an asset with Sexton, who is younger than Nurkic and is coming off a season where he averaged 18.4 points. Nurkic, by contrast, is coming off a season where he averaged 8.9 points, which is a far cry from what he averaged at his peak when he was fully healthy in Portland, averaging 15.6. Advertisement Because of this, many said Ainge should lose his job for making this trade. To be fair, Ainge has never called the shots in Utah, as he's their CEO. His son, Austin, is the President of Basketball Operations. Nonetheless, fans demanded that Danny lose his job. "Fire Danny ainge," one fan demanded. "Jazz need to fire Danny Ainge it's that time," another wrote. "What Danny Ainge is doing to Utah should get him fired," one declared. "he's so washed lmfaooo" "Ainge needs to be kicked outta the nba he's actively destroying the Jazz lol" another claimed. Others didn't necessarily demand that he lose his job, but still criticized him nonetheless. Advertisement "There's people who still think Danny Ainge is a good GM," one wrote. "Sexton's return was nothing? Ainge ain't the man he used to be," another wrote. "We gotta stop talking about Danny Ainge like he the boogeyman like he literally just traded a good player and a second rounder for a guy that sucks at the sport," one declared. Ainge has not brought the same success to Utah that he did to Boston, but it took him five years after the Celtics hired him in 2003 to bring a title to the franchise. Related: Celtics Make $2 Million Move Before NBA Free Agency Related: New Report Reveals Who the Celtics Will Not Trade This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
National Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Hornets acquire Sexton from Jazz for Nurkic, draft pick, AP source says
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz for centre Jusuf Nurkic and a future second-round draft pick, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday. Article content The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made official by the NBA. Article content Article content Sexton, a seven-year NBA veteran, played in 63 games last season for the Jazz, averaging 18.4 points and 4.2 assists per game. His best NBA season came in 2020-21 when he averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Article content Article content The Jazz drafted Walter Clayton in the first round and also have Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George in the backcourt, making Sexton expendable. Article content Nurkic was acquired in a trade with the Suns last year. He played in 26 games and averaged 9.2 points for Charlotte. Article content The move leaves the Hornets particularly thin at centre. Article content They traded away centre Mark Williams on the first night of the NBA draft and also dealt away Nick Richards last year. That potentially leaves 6-foot-9 Moussa Diabate as the team's starting centre, although the team did draft 7-footer Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner in the second round. Article content
