Jazz Signing Denzel Valentine, Reverse Course On James Ennis

The Jazz are signing shooting guard Denzel Valentine to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Utah’s decision to add Valentine came after initial reports it had agreed to a similar deal with veteran swingman James Ennis. But that never came to fruition, as Wojnarowski noted.

Valentine was acquired by the Knicks last week as part of a three-way trade that sent Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo to the Cavaliers. He was waived by New York shortly thereafter.

Valentine, 28, is 6-foot-4 and averaged 2.9 points in 22 appearances in his first season in Cleveland. 

He was named AP Player of the Year as a senior at Michigan State in 2016, and was then selected by the Bulls with the No. 14 overall pick in the NBA draft that followed.

He averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in four seasons with Chicago, appearing in 232 regular-season games overall.