5:34pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from both teams.
2:05pm: the Jazz are trading starting forward Royce O’Neale to the nets for a first-round pick, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Brooklyn is using a $11.3MM trade exception it created in the James Harden trade with Philadelphia, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
The pick headed to Utah is a 2023 first-rounder, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Brooklyn is sending the lesser of its own, Houston’s, or Philadelphia’s first-round pick, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.
The Sixers sent their first rounder for next season to the Nets in the same Harden deal. Houston has the right to swap its pick with Brooklyn’s next season, courtesy of the four-way swap in 2021 that landed Harden in Brooklyn.
O’Neale has a $9.2MM salary next season and a $9.5MM salary for 2023/24. However, the last year is guaranteed is only guaranteed for $2.5MM.
O’Neale, noted for his defensive prowess, has been a fixture in Utah’s lineup for the last three seasons. He averaged 7.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.5 APG in 31.2 MPG this past season while appearing in 77 regular season games.
The acquisition of O’Neale will likely diminish the possibility of the Nets re-signing free agent swingman Bruce Brown. On the flip side, Utah’s decision to trade one of its starters signals that other moves are on the way. The first-rounder will give it an asset to dangle for another trade.