Johnny Juzang re-signing with Utah Jazz on two-way contract

Johnny Juzang is on the fringes of being a legitimate NBA player, but he’s trending toward the right side of that edge following another impressive Summer League performance.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Juzang is re-signing with the Utah Jazz on a two-way contract ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was not taken in the 2022 NBA Draft but was picked up by the Jazz on his first two-way deal around this time last year, which also resulted from an impressive stretch at Summer League.

Although Juzang actually missed Utah’s final 2023 Summer League game on Sunday due to a left quadriceps contusion, the franchise saw enough in prior outings to justify another two-way contract. Across six games for the Jazz in this year’s Summer League, the former Kentucky Wildcat/UCLA Bruin averaged 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 23.4 minutes per game on shooting splits of 50.7/51.5/62.5

Free agent G Johnny Juzang is returning to the Utah Jazz on a two-way contract, his agents Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of @excelbasketball tell ESPN. Juzang had a strong Vegas summer league, averaging 17.8 points.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2023

It’s unclear at this time how serious Juzang’s latest injury is, but he’ll have plenty of time to recover in time for the start of the 2023-24 season. He was also dealing with a minor ankle sprain ahead of this year’s Summer League, although he was able to make his return in time to shine for the Jazz. It was a good thing he did, too. Juzang lit up the box score on multiple occasions, popping off for 26 points in a win over the Timberwolves and then 24 more in a win over the Suns.

As a rookie in 2022-23, Juzang appeared in 18 games for the Jazz, averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per contest for Utah. He shot just 33.7 percent overall from the field and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc. When he wasn’t playing in the NBA, he was suiting up in the G League for the Jazz’s affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, where he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 31.7 minutes per game (17 appearances) on shootings splits of 42.9/36.4/90.7.

Prior to the NBA, Juzang only spent one season at Kentucky as a freshman in 2019-20. He was lauded as a four-star recruit out of high school but saw just 12.3 minutes per game at UK during his rookie campaign. The California native then transferred back home to UCLA for the following two seasons where he turned into an All-American under head coach Mick Cronin. Juzang was tabbed First-Team All-Pac-12 and Third-Team All-American as a junior with the Bruins before declaring for the NBA.