Former Jazz Rotation Pieces Are Now Fighting For Something Utah Lacks

Former Utah Jazz players, including John Konchar, are seizing their opportunity to join the New York Knicks in the pursuit of another championship run.

The New York Knicks are loading up for training camp, and a cluster of familiar Utah Jazz names is part of the mix.

According to The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, the Knicks have signed John Konchar, Drew Eubanks, Ochai Agbaji, Bruce Brown, and James Wiseman to Exhibit 9 contracts, which are training camp deals. Konchar had already been confirmed as one of the latest additions, but he is not the only Jazz alum headed into camp with New York.

Agbaji was included in the package Utah received from Cleveland in the Donovan Mitchell trade. He spent a year and a half with the Jazz before being sent to Toronto. Eubanks joined Utah as a free agent in 2024, then was traded during the season to the Los Angeles Clippers.

That group will also be trying to earn a spot alongside another former Jazz player, Jordan Clarkson, who played with Agbaji and Eubanks before Utah moved on from them.

For all of these players, the situation has changed quickly. Not long ago, they had stable roles and regular minutes. Now they’re in camp trying to show the Knicks they still belong.

There’s also a broader point here: none of these guys are random names. They’re veterans who have stuck around the league for years. New York is in the rare position of sorting through proven players and deciding who, if anyone, deserves a roster spot and maybe eventually a role.

And the reason they’re in that spot is pretty simple. The Knicks have been one of the NBA’s most impressive teams over the past few years, and that gives them real pull with players looking for a chance.

It may not be long before Utah is in a similar conversation. Nobody is calling the Jazz title favorites, but if they start looking like a winning team with winning habits, they could become the kind of place solid veterans like Konchar and Eubanks would fight to join on a training camp deal.

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