With one standard roster spot remaining, a crowded field of training camp invitees battles to prove their value before potentially heading to the G League affiliate.
Most of the questions surrounding the Utah Jazz as training camp begins this week will be about the starting lineups and the key additions. The more enticing storyline should be geared toward the end of the roster and who makes the final cuts.
Utah has 14 players on standard contracts, and its two-way slots are filled by Trey Alexander, Tamar Bates and Blake Hinson. That leaves the 15th roster spot as the only clear opening, with a crowded group chasing it.
Harrison Ingram, Jonas Aidoo. and Jaelen House are a few names that are on training camp deals.
Most of them are on Exhibit 10 contracts, one-year minimum deals that carry no guaranteed money, so the Jazz can cut a player at any point before the season without owing him his salary.
The path for each player depends on position.
The Jazz's standard roster already carries Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, Jaxson Hayes and Kyle Filipowski in the frontcourt. That makes the climb steepest for bigs. Aidoo and Hinson would have to beat established veterans or a young player with a guaranteed deal.
The backcourt and wing rotations are also deep, so Ingram and House don't have an obvious opening either.
Given the roster math, most of the group is likely headed to Salt Lake City's G League affiliate. Signing a camp deal gives players a chance to prove their worth in the preseason
Exhibit 10 also lets a player earn a bonus for spending time with the affiliate if they are waived, so the process is as much a pipeline as it is a chance to make the league.
The two-way route is more difficult because Utah has no vacancy.
An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way contract before the season, but that would require the Jazz to move on from one of the mentioned players first.
A camp standout could force the Jazz's hand, but the two-way group looks set.
The open 15th spot also matters for the two-way players. When a team isn't carrying a full 15-man roster, its two-way players can be active for a combined 90 "under-15" games.
Leaving the spot empty gives Utah payroll flexibility but also limits how often the two-way players can suit up. Filling it may end up mattering from a logistics aspect rather than talent-hunting.
Preseason will settle most of this.
The players with the best chance are the ones who fill a need the roster doesn't already cover, whether a defender, an extra shooter or a ball handler.
Everyone else is playing for a spot on the Salt Lake City Stars and for the next injury or roster move that opens a door.
