Roster Cuts Loom: 3 without D or D without 3?

William Howard is locked in a battled with fellow Euro veteran Stanton Kidd for Utah’s final roster spot. (Nick Bolerjack/utahjazz.com)

The Jazz face the task of shaving their roster down before the regular season starts next week. Across the NBA, teams are cutting players from their training camp rosters, as the Jazz did with Trevon Blueitt over the weekend, and most of these cuts are hardly noticed and quickly forgotten. In the fall of 2014, not many people noticed when the Clippers cut a small forward from Australia who averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 assists and 3.0 rebounds for Maccabi Tel Aviv the previous season. The Jazz noticed, however, and claimed his contract off waivers. Joe Ingles quickly became a core part of the Jazz rotation, heart of the team and took over as a starter when Gordon Hayward departed for greener color schemes.

In the summer of 2017 Jazz fans were already excited about the dynamic shooting guard acquired in the draft and heartbroken about a departed free agent. Outside of Utah and even among most inside Utah, not many people were paying attention to the battle for the 15th and final roster spot between former Weber State standout Joel Bolomboy and a little-known Baylor graduate who had spent three years overseas, most recently averaging 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds for Spain’s Gran Canaria while shooting .338 from three. But Royce O’Neale easily won the training camp battle and quickly became a core part of the Jazz rotation. Since then, he has established himself as an elite perimeter defender with the ability to shoot from range. Much like Ingles, Royce is in many ways part of the heart of the Utah Jazz.

As these things go, Utah hit home runs with the way O’Neale and Ingles have both flourished for the Jazz. Most free agent signings involving undrafted players from overseas leagues don’t work out nearly as well.

As the final cut date approaches, the Jazz once again find themselves considering a pair of unheralded wings with experience overseason that Ingles and O’Neale did. By all accounts, the 15th roster spot will belong to one of these two players, one a wing defensive specialist with a shaky shot, and the other a solid outside shooter who has some work to do on D.

William Howard, France 

6’8” Wing, born 10/25/1993

William Howard is still getting used to the United States. It was clear at media day that English is still a struggle for him, though having fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert on the team must be a comfort. In 2018-19, Howard played for Limoges in France’s nation league and EuroCup competions, averaging 10.6 points, 2.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds. 

Entering his age 26 season, Howard has the size to potentially guard multiple positions but defense has been one of his bigger weaknesses. Among his strengths, Howard can shoot the ball. He averaged .455 from 3 on 4.1 attempts per game last year and his career average in international play is .368. He has played a little under 12 minutes per game in 3 pre-season games so far where he has shot a respectable .375 from 3. Unfortunately, all of his makes come from going 3-for-3 against Adelaide as he was unable to make any of his attempts against the Bucks or the Pelicans.

Draft Express’s old website still has some old scouting profiles on Howard from 2010 and 2011, which provide interesting insight into his potential for growth. Back in 2010, Jonathan Givony noted that a young Howard earned some comparisons to former Jazzman Thabo Sefolosha. He also noted Howard’s excellent basketball IQ and instinct for defense, noting that he lacked strength but had great timing and effort on that end. A year later, Givony again noted Howard’s defensive tools but lacked lateral quickness and toughness. If Howard makes the cut over Kidd, I’d imagine the Jazz are hoping that Gobert and the coaching staff can help translate the instinct and tools he demonstrated as a teenager into the toughness and strength Howard needs to thrive in the NBA.

Stanton Kidd, Colorado State

6’7” Wing, born 3/18/1992

Kidd played for the Jazz summer league team in 2017-18 and made such an impact that the Jazz looked into offering him a full contract. Unfortunately, he did not have an NBA buy-out in his contract with Turkish team Darassafaka and so was not signed at that time. The Jazz invited him back for summer league this year and while he didn’t look quite as impressive, he earned a partially-guaranteed contract and a chance to fight for a roster spot in fall camp.

Where Howard is a potential 3&D wing who needs a lot of work on D, Kidd is in many ways his inverse. Kidd averaged .299 from three on 2.6 attempts per game in his two seasons with Darussafaka. His college shooting numbers were more impressive, shooting .392 from the college line in his 2 years of college ball. Over his 2 summer league appearances he shot .328 from 3. Unfortunately, he has not looked great in pre-season going 1-for-10 from deep in the four games played. Overall, Kidd’s three-point shooting can probably best be described as inconsistent.

In contrast, Kidd’s defense has looked solid at all levels. He has the strength and athleticism that Howard lacks. He has good lateral movement and the ability to recover on defense. Kidd’s biggest question on defense will be how well he learns the team concepts so key to Jazz defense. His on-ball defense is good and his size and speed mean that he should be able to competently defend multiple positions.

By opening night, the Jazz will need to cut the roster down from the current 20 players to 15, plus the two 2-way contracts that went to recent Jazz draftees Justin Wright-Foreman and Jarrell Brantley. By most reports, the 15th and final full roster spot will be a battle between Kidd and Howard.  Will the Jazz choose the shooter and hope he develops his defense or the defender and hope he develops his shot? 

Here’s hoping whoever gets the final roster spot can flourish with the Jazz in the same way Ingles and O’Neale have before him.