NBA Notes: Jazz, Donovan Mitchell, Warriors, Celtics

Jazz

Despite some reports and rumors to the contrary, the Jazz didn’t trade Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers out of any sort of spite, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on a recent podcast.

“I’ve seen some reports, forgive me I can’t remember who, said ‘Well, the Jazz were upset Donovan Mitchell maybe wasn’t all-in forever with Utah and as punishment we’ll send him to a place he doesn’t want to go do,'” Lowe said, via RealGM.

“Emotions can play into this. I’ve been assured by the Utah side that ‘No, look, we’re mature people. Yes, we were upset with particularly the Mavs’ game incident, but we’re not going to make decisions based on those kind of things that now happened four months ago or whatever. We’ve made the best deal possible.'”

• Jazz newcomer Collin Sexton is expected to arrive in Utah this week, as we relayed here. Fellow newcomer Lauri Markkanen may take a bit longer, though, as he’s playing in the FIBA EuroBasket.

Warriors

• The Warriors may be saving their final roster spot for Andre Iguodala, the veteran wing who is currently a restricted free agent, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype.
• If they don’t re-sign Iguodala, there’s a chance they could just leave the spot open, given how much it would cost the rigning champs in additional luxury taxes, per Gozlan.
• In case you missed it, the Warriors recently brought in some veterans for workouts, including Ben McLemore and Elfrid Payton. You can read that full post here.

Celtics

• New signee Noah Vonleh received a non-guaranteed deal with the Celtics, per Keith Smith of Spotrac. Vonleh, 27, is 6-foot-10 and did not play in the NBA last season.
• In case you missed it, the idea of Carmelo Anthony signing with the Celtics is beginning to gain traction. Boston is looking for a fill-in for the injured Danilo Gallinari, and Anthony has proven he can still score off the bench. We have that full post here.