Utah Jazz: Stars Acquire Rights to Aaron Craft
Following a trade to secure his returning player rights, Utah Jazz summer leaguer Aaron Craft could be back in the fold as a member of the Salt Lake City Stars.
With the 2016-17 basketball season nearing, the Utah Jazz have begun preparations for what figures to be one of the more important campaigns in recent years. However, the season is equally big for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, as the club makes the move to the Beehive State from Boise, Idaho.
The Stars added another potential piece for their inaugural season in Salt Lake on Thursday, completing a trade with the Golden State Warriors’ affiliate club in Santa Cruz to obtain returning player rights to point guard Aaron Craft. Salt Lake City also acquired a second-round pick in the deal, which sent Phil Pressey to the Warriors.
Craft reportedly inked a deal with the Italian club Aquila Basket Trento earlier this summer. If he returns stateside, the Stars will own his D-League rights.
Following a cup of coffee with Golden State during the 2014 preseason, Craft played in 80 games with Santa Cruz over the past two years. The 25-year-old averaged 13.5 points, 7.3 assists and just under two steals per contest in the D-League last season. He also spent time with Szolnoki Olaj KK in Hungary.
He played collegiately for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a two-time Academic All-American, a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and was the 2013 Big East Tournament MVP. Craft was also recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the best college defender in the nation in 2014.
Stars Acquire Returning Player Rights to Aaron Craft from Warriors https://t.co/X93mmk7qbK pic.twitter.com/parIIm97rK
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) September 15, 2016
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In July, Craft was on the Utah Jazz summer league squad and competed in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
In nine summer league games (five starts) with the Jazz, Craft averaged 6.4 points and three assists per game and shot 40 percent from three-point range. He also showed some of the defensive effort that garnered the aforementioned collegiate honors, as well as the 2015 D-League DPOY trophy.