Another longtime member of the Utah Jazz is on his way out to facilitate the team's path toward legitimate championship contention. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Jazz will release backup point guard Raul Neto to free up enough cap space to complete the Mike Conley trade.
The Utah Jazz are planning to waive guard Raul Neto in order to create space to complete the Mike Conley Jr. trade, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Neto will become a strong option as a reserve point guard on the market.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2019
Just less than two weeks ago, Utah agreed to send Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, and a protected future first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Conley. The deal can't be officially completed until the moratorium on player movement ends on July 6, and the financial complications of bringing in Conley's mammoth salary always ensured the Jazz would have to shed additional money to create enough space to fit him under the cap.
Neto has quietly established himself as a reliable if unspectacular reserve since the Jazz made him the No. 47 overall pick of the 2013 draft – when healthy, at least. Fighting through a series of nagging injuries last season, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 assists in 12.8 minutes per game, making just 37 appearances. Fortunately, doctors discovered in the spring that the source of Neto's frequent pain was a pinched nerve in his back, an issue he plans to address during the offseason in hopes of being fully healthy going forward.
More of a caretaker than a playmaker, Neto should nevertheless catch on with a team in need of some stability at backup point guard. Due to his limitations as a shooter and lack of overall dynamism, though, the four-year pro will likely be left to wait out the market before finding his new home in the NBA.
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