Utah Jazz waive Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Darius Bazley

The Utah Jazz announced on Wednesday that the team has waived forwards Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Darius Bazley.

Both players signed non-guaranteed, three-year deals with the Jazz back in March. Those deals gave the Jazz control over the players through the end of the 2023-24 season and Summer League, while also giving the team some flexibility moving forward.

Lofton and Bazley’s deals had a number of trigger dates that would have guaranteed them portions of their contracts. One of those trigger dates was July 25, when roughly $400,000 would have been paid to each player if they remained on the Jazz roster.

With the players waived, the Jazz save a little bit of money and open up two roster spots.

Once rookie Kyle Filipowski signs his deal, the Jazz will have 13 players under contract — Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, Drew Eubanks, Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Filipowski and Johnny Juzang — and they’ll also have Jason Preston and Taevion Kinsey on two-way deals.

This gives the Jazz two open roster spots and an open two-way spot.