Former Wildcat, Johnny Juzang, signs $12 million deal with Utah Jazz

With all the player (and coach) turnover of late, I’d forgive you for forgetting about Johnny Juzang playing for Kentucky his freshman year. He did not see the court much that season, however, to be fair, he played behind Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley who just recently signed for slightly larger NBA contracts. Regardless, he bolted closer to home for UCLA after one year in Lexington where he served as a pivotal piece in the team’s Final Four run in 2021.

Now, after two years on a two-way contract and spending most of his time in the G League, the Cat-turned-Bruin is getting the big bucks. On Friday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the bomb that the Utah Jazz signed Juzang to a four-year $12 million deal to become part of the team’s rebuild effort.

Restricted free agent guard Johnny Juzang has agreed on a four-year, $12 million deal to return to the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN. Juzang played on consecutive two-way deals after going undrafted out of UCLA and now lands a long-term deal as part of the Jazz’s rebuild. pic.twitter.com/tWRHtOD3Rb

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2024

As the Jazz tanked late last year, Juzang saw significant minutes. He started five of the 20 games he played and averaged over seven points on 41.6 percent shooting from behind the arc. It’s a shooter’s league now and that type of efficient stroke has earned him a seven-digit paycheck.

The road from a two-way player to a multi-year, 10-plus million-dollar contract is not an easy one. Few players can make that leap, so the fact a former Wildcat did it, well, Big Blue Nation should applaud him, even if he took a historic national rival to the Final Four in the same year Kentucky floundered to its record in school history.

There has been no word on how much the fact his last name starts with a J and includes a Z factored into the Jazz’s decision to sign him long-term, but it couldn’t have hurt.

Seriously though, congrats to the former Wildcat.