SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz waived point guard Russell Westbrook on Saturday, creating the opportunity for him to potentially join the Denver Nuggets. Utah acquired Westbrook from the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday in a sign-and-trade deal for point guard Kris Dunn. The Jazz made the move with the anticipation they would buy out Westbrook’s contract so he could sign with the Nuggets. The Nuggets are in need of guard depth after parting with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson earlier this month. ESPN reported Denver was Westbrook’s expected destination. Utah got the right to swap second-round draft picks in 2030, the draft rights to center Balsa Koprivica and cash. The 35-year-old Westbrook averaged a career-low 11.1 points per game while mostly coming off the bench last season for the Clippers. They were bounced by Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link

The Utah Hockey Club will play its first regular-season game Oct. 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, marking the debut of the NHL in Salt Lake City following the team’s move from Arizona. That same night, the Florida Panthers will raise their first Stanley Cup banner to the rafters in Sunrise, Florida, before facing off against the Boston Bruins. The NHL released the list of home openers for each of its 32 teams Monday with the full 1,312-game regular-season schedule expected this week. Utah, which is expected to have a permanent name in time for the 2025-26 season, will play at the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, an arena that will undergo renovations to provide more unobstructed views for NHL games. The capacity is 16,200 for the inaugural season, with not all directly facing the ice, but the demand has been high with 30,000 season-ticket deposits. “We are thrilled to play the first regular season game in franchise history, at home, in front of our amazing fans,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said. “The eyes of the hockey world will be on Utah when we host the Blackhawks on that historic night, and we

Utah Hockey Club will be the name of the NHL team playing its games in Salt Lake City beginning this fall, with a long-term identity still to come. Smith Entertainment Group announced the move Thursday and unveiled the initial logos and jerseys that will be used in 2024-25 in concert with the $1.2 billion sale closing. Ryan Smith’s company, which also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz, bought the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes in April. “Today is a monumental day for the state of Utah as we officially close on the establishment of a new NHL franchise,” Smith said. “The NHL has been incredible to work with throughout this process, providing us with invaluable guidance and support. We have a ton of work to do — training camp starts in less than 100 days — and could not be more excited about what’s to come.” Commissioner Gary Bettman on behalf of the Board of Governors said he was delighted to welcome Utah to the league. “Congratulations to Ryan and Ashley Smith, their entire organization, the state of Utah and the fans as the club continues its exciting march toward puck drop in October,” Bettman said. The puck drops

The NHL team in Utah is down to six finalists for a name. Smith Entertainment Group announced Thursday the choices have been narrowed to Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom, Yeti and Utah Hockey Club, or Utah HC. Those are the options fans have to choose from after the process started with 20 possibilities and led to 520,000 votes. The public has until the end of the day June 20 in round two to determine the name. Players on Utah’s NHL hockey team are introduced Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Rick Bowmer Owner Ryan Smith has said he expects the jerseys to have Utah on them for the inaugural season. He told The Associated Press upon taking control of the franchise that the name would involve Utah in some way. Last week, SEG filed eight logo/wordmark applications involving the state name or Utah Hockey Club in light blue and black. That could end up being the name or a placeholder until branding company Doubleday & Cartwright develops long-term branding with a logo and color scheme that will be in place for the 2025-26 season. Smith’s group, which owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz, bought

The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at least initially, until a long-term name is determined. “We’ll start with Utah on the jersey and we’ll figure out the logo and everything else and what it is that we are,” new owner Ryan Smith told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We’re going to be Utah either way. We have the first part of the name. We don’t have the last.” Smith Entertainment Group, which bought the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes in a deal unanimously approved Thursday by the league’s Board of Governors, has already contracted ad agency Doubleday & Cartwright for rebranding efforts. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has the chance to reactivate the franchise if he’s able to build an arena. The short timeline of relocating the club could mean it has a placeholder name for the first season, like the Professional Women’s Hockey League did for year one or Washington’s NFL team had in 2020 and ’21 before becoming the Commanders. “It’ll be Utah something, obviously,” Smith said. “It’s really important that we’re not saying, ‘Hey, this has to be ready by the fall,’ especially

PHOENIX (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sat next to the former Arizona Coyotes owner in a downtown Phoenix hotel meeting room, trying to put a positive spin on the funeral for a franchise. Later Friday, Bettman sat next to the new Coyotes owner in Salt Lake City to bask in the excitement of the league’s newest city and a fan base that had been itching for another team to join the NBA’s Utah Jazz. One day, two drastically different news conferences for the same hockey team. Arizona Coyotes Chairman and Governor Alex Meruelo, left, speaks as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, listens as they hold a news conference regarding a provision for Arizona to get an expansion team if a new arena is built within the next five years with the announcement of the current team relocating to Salt Lake City, Friday, April 19, 2024, in Phoenix. The Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City after NHL Board of Governors voted Thursday to approve a $1.2 billion sale from Meruelo to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, with Meruelo retaining the Coyotes’ name, logo and trademark. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Ross D. Franklin “If you look back from the

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Kevin Young wants to turn BYU into a breeding ground for NBA talent. Young, who was introduced as the Cougars’ new head basketball coach on Wednesday night, said he plans to use his NBA experience and player development skills to turn Provo into an NBA pipeline for the players while building a consistently successful program in the Big 12. It’s a major selling point Young used when he first met with his current roster that’s already seen three major contributors — Dallin Hall, Aly Khalifa and Richie Saunders — enter the transfer portal since Mark Pope left to coach Kentucky. “These guys are all hungry to get better,” Young said. “That’s been obvious since I talked to them. They’re just dying to get better and dying to have a little specificity on what that looks like for each one of them.” BYU has a coach who has the experience to back up the NBA development talk. He spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Suns in 2020. After one season on the Phoenix coaching staff, Young was promoted to associate head coach in 2021. Joining BYU qualified as an

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City. The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $1.2 billion sale from Alex Meruelo to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, clearing the way for the franchise’s move to Utah next season. The deal includes a provision for Arizona to get an expansion team if a new arena is built within the next five years. The deal will be facilitated through the NHL, with $200 million going to league owners as a relocation fee. “We expressed our interest publicly with the NHL,” Ryan Smith told The Associated Press. “It’s probably been two years where we’ve said, ‘Hey, look, we really believe Utah can be an incredible hockey town.’ You look at all the demographics, we were just talking about the Olympics and you think about the Olympics coming back. It all kind of made sense.” Smith will take over the franchise’s hockey operations and Meruelo will maintain his business operations in Arizona in an effort to secure and develop a tract of land for a new arena in north Phoenix. Meruelo also retains ownership of the Tucson Roadrunners, the franchise’s AHL affiliate,

PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU hired Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young to replace Mark Pope, who left to coach Kentucky, the school’s athletic director announced Tuesday. Young will continue to coach with the Suns during the NBA playoffs before joining BYU, but he will work on retaining current players, contacting recruits and assembling a coaching staff during the playoffs. “Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a press release. “He has risen to the top of NBA assistant coaching ranks. He has been a lead candidate for NBA head coaching jobs and has been instrumental in developing top-level NBA talent. Kevin will bring a new perspective, with an extensive NBA background to our program. He is a phenomenal fit at BYU.” This is Young’s first head coaching job at the NCAA Division I level. The Salt Lake City native spent eight seasons coaching in the NBA G-League, with head coaching stints at the Utah Flash, Iowa Energy and Delaware 87ers. Young spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Suns in 2020. He was promoted to associate head coach in