Former First-Round Pick, Maine Celtic Gets NBA Opportunity with Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz made this signing with more than the current campaign in mind.

At 35-40, the Utah Jazz are two games out of the play-in tournament with seven left on their schedule.

This season has gone better than pundits anticipated and perhaps surpassed internal expectations, as Lauri Markkanen blossomed into an All-Star and potential All-NBA player, and Walker Kessler's proven to be one of the top rookies in the 2022 draft class.

Former Celtic lead assistant Will Hardy has impressed in his first opportunity as an NBA head coach. And in parting with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Danny Ainge has again accumulated a bevy of first-round draft picks.

Utah also collected a top-four protected 2024 first-round selection from the Lakers in a three-team trade where Mike Conley went to the Timberwolves, and the Jazz dealt Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to Los Angeles, who also got D'Angelo Russell.

So, while Utah has been a pleasant surprise this season, though it's made it unlikely it earns the chance to draft prized prospect Victor Wembanyama or another highly touted player like Scoot Henderson, the Jazz are more optimistic about what they can evolve into than where they are in the NBA's hierarchy presently.

With their future in mind, they're using the final seven games of this season to mine for potential diamonds in the rough, hoping to find someone who can become a contributor beyond the home stretch of the current campaign.

That search has led them to sign Maine Celtics center Luka Samanic to a 10-day deal, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The former first-round pick, who the San Antonio Spurs selected 19th overall at the 2019 draft, is averaging 20.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in the G League this season.

Samanic, who earned G League Player of the Month for generating 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game in November, helped lead the Maine Celtics to a 19-13 record and the four seed in the playoffs, which start for them on Wednesday against the Cleveland Charge.

Further Reading

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