Morning Jazz 04-30-14

Big news in the NBA yesterday involving Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling. His punishment for his racist remarks was handed down by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. You can read about it below. However, if you’ve been keeping up with us here at The J Notes, you’ve seen a lot of new Utah Jazz content being pushed out daily. If you missed any of it, or any of the other great Jazz content from around the web, you can check it all out below in today’s edition of the “Morning Jazz”.

Adam Silver bans Donald Sterling for life (reaction) (via Purpleandblues.com)

Today, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling would be banned for life from the NBA.

Effective immediately, Sterling is not allowed at any NBA basketball games. He also cannot be allowed in the Clippers facilities or have any interaction with business or player personnel decision making. In addition to the ban, Sterling is being fined $2.5 Million, which is the maximum amount by the NBA.

Commissioner Silver is pushing the NBA owners to push to force Sterling to sell the Clippers organization, which Silver says he is confident he has full support of.

To see the video of the press conference where Silver announces the punishment, you can watch it below. (Continue reading here)

Season in review: Diante Garrett (via Purpleandblues.com)

Diante Garrett will always be the guy that got the Utah Jazz their first win of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on November 13th.  Garrett was a sight for sore eyes as the Jazz arguably had no point guard play up until this game with John Lucas and Jamal Tinsley.  Garrett had just 7 points and 5 assists, but his presence on the court as a long guy that could defend was something the Utah Jazz desperately needed.

Diante averaged 3.5 points, 1.7 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 14 minutes a game backing up Trey Burke for the majority of the season.  Dennis Lindsey had his eye on Garrett and without much delay cut Jamal and brought in Diante.  Garrett played 19 games for the Suns the previous year but was unable to stay with the team. (Continue reading here) 

NBA Mock Draft: Orlando Magic get top pick (via Purpleandblues.com)

With the NBA Lottery coming up on May 20th, the order of the lottery teams is still undetermined. However, there are plenty of mock drafts out there that you can look at that have the Utah Jazz drafting fourth in this year’s NBA Draft. As great as that is, there is a very, very slim chance that the Jazz actually draft fourth overall.

There are a lot of different scenarios where the Jazz could land in this draft. The Jazz could be anywhere from the first overall pick, to the seventh. In this “What If” scenario, we take a look at one of the possible scenarios where the Jazz could land in the draft and who they could take. See the results below. (Continue reading here)

Season in review: Marvin Williams (via Purpleandblues.com)

Marvelous Marvin Williams had quite the bounce back year after playing injured all of the previous season.   The crazy thing is Marvin got back to all of his career numbers this last season almost exactly across the board.  Averaging 9.7 points (10.8 career), 5.1 rebounds (5.1 career), 1.2 assists (1.3 career), .5 blocks (.5 career), .8 steals (.8 career).  The main difference in Marvin’s game this year compared to past years was his lack of penetration.  Marvin went to the line 2 less time per game and shot 2 more 3′s a game.

Best game:

Playing 66 games this year due to lingering injuries Marvin produced a great January and February.  In fact he has a 3-game stretch where he score over 20 in each game and was lights out.  At the first of February he scored 23 against both the Heat and Raptors and 21 against the Mavericks.  The most memorable for me was the game against the Mavericks where he scored all 21 points in a the first 18 minutes of the game, including the Jazz’s first 14 of 19.

What needs to Improve: (Continue reading here)

Why Gordon Hayward could get a max deal (via Purpleandblues.com)

As everyone knows by now, Utah Jazz wing man Gordon Hayward will be a restricted free agent this off season after him and the Jazz couldn’t agree to a contract extension last fall. There has been a lot of speculation since last fall about what will happen with Hayward.

Hayward has the option to sign an offer sheet from any team that he wants. The Jazz have the opportunity that they can match that same offer and keep him on the Jazz roster. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said after the season that he was hoping to keep Hayward a Jazz man for a long time.

As much as we would like to know what Hayward might be thinking, the other speculation around Hayward is how much he is worth. With the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns more than likely going to go after Hayward, it makes one curious to see what other teams are willing to offer him and try and steal him away from Utah. (Continue reading here)

Jazz CEO, Greg Miller, applauds NBA’s decision on Donald Sterling (via DeseretNews.com)

Following NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s press conference Tuesday, in which he banned L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA for life, Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller spoke out on the situation in a statement released by the Jazz organization.

“On behalf of the Miller family, we support the decisive action by Commissioner Silver and the NBA to reaffirm that there is no place for racism and hatred in our league,’’ Miller said. “The Jazz organization and all the teams in the NBA should act as national leaders in promoting inclusiveness and diversity. We have a responsibility in our communities to fight against discrimination and ignorance and showcase sports as an example of respect and tolerance. While this situation has been inexcusable, I hope it serves the greater purpose of reinforcing our vigilance against this type of behavior.” (Continue reading here)

Q&A: Gordon Hayward in the Philippines  (via UtahJazz.com)

Jazz forward Gordon Hayward joined WNBA legend Tina Thompson for Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Philippines. From April 25-27, the two served as coaches and instructors at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila for a national training camp. The training camp was the culmination of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program for the top 50 boys and top 24 girls from their respective regions. The camp focuses on teaching core values of sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude and respect for the game.

Did you ever think you’d be teaching basketball to kids of the Philippines?

I never thought I would come to the Philippines to do that, no. It was a cool idea that was brought to me and I decided to take the opportunity.

Why did you agree to do it?

I had never been to the Philippines, so it was a chance for me to come to a new country. Also, any time you get the chance to give back and teach basketball to kids you’ve gotta jump all over that. (Continue reading here)

ICYMI – PODCAST: Hayward from the Phillippines (via weareutahjazz.com/lockedonjazz)

Utah Jazz radio voice David Locke touches base with Gordon Hayward, who’s in the Philippines for an NBA/WNBA event. They also discuss Tyrone Corbin’s contract not being renewed. (Listen Here)

Be sure to check back in with us here at The J Notes all off season long, as we will be bringing you a lot of Jazz related stuff including the draft and free agency. Also, be sure to check out our NBA Playoff coverage every day.