Coming out of high school, Vernon Carey Jr. was one of the top basketball players in the country. A consensus five-star recruit out of NSU University School, Carey was a McDonalds All-American and he played on the famed Nike EYBL circuit. He committed to Duke over schools such as Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Louisville and Kansas. He had strong freshman season at Duke before declaring for the NBA Draft as an early entrant. But the success he found early on has not materialized in the NBA. On Friday, Vernon Carey Jr. found himself on the fringe again as the Utah Jazz made the decision to cut him as per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.

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After declaring for the NBA Draft after only one season at Duke, Vernon Carey was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the No, 32 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He had some strong performances for the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets G League affiliate, but he was never able to make a dent in the rotation The Hornets ended up shipping him off to the Washington Wizards after one and a half seasons. The Wizards ended up cutting him halfway through last season and he was signed by the Jazz.

Vernon Carey never appeared in a single game for the Jazz as they signed him near the end of the regular season with any eye on this upcoming season. He was signed to a non-guaranteed deal and despite a solid showing in the recent Salt Lake Summer League, they made the decision to cut him. Through three games in summer league, Carey averaged 10.3 points per game, 6.o rebounds and 0.7 assists.