One of Argentina’s biggest basketball prospects, Leandro Bolmaro, has been waived just yesterday by the Jazz. The player, who came into the Utah camp last summer via the exchange for Rudy Gobert from Minnesota will now have to look for a new team.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania was the first to report this Thursday afternoon that the Jazz are getting rid of their guard Leandro Bolmaro, who came to Utah from the Timberwolves in a package next to Walker Kessler, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Patrick Beverley. Only hours later, the team’s administration confirmed the move.
The Argentinian 22-year-old was the 23rd pick of the 2020 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, from a pick that originally belonged to the Jazz, but during that same transfer window he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In his first spell in the NBA, he participated in 35 matches, but then spent his rookie year mostly playing for the Iowa Wolves in the G-League, only to be included in the Gobert trade that resulted in him becoming a Jazz player.
Check out one of his best performances in the G-League, as he dropped 25 points, won 6 rebounds and handed out 5 assists a year ago for the Iowa side:
You could say the same thing happened in this sophomore campaign for Bolmaro, as he only appeared in 14 games so far, and hasn’t started once in a match. In only 4.9 minutes per contest, the youngster was able to average 0.4 points, 0.5 rebound, and 0.5 assists, even worse than his rookie year’s stats in Minnesota.
What’s interesting about this movement is the Jazz had no real reason to do it, as the player had a good relationship in the locker room and working well in training, unlike last year’s waive of players like Stanley Johnson and Jared Butler. Also, with Bolmaro in the roster, the Jazz squad still had an extra spot to fill.
As Utah camp will now have two roster spots open, it could even become three if another team ends up signing veteran star Russell Westbrook, as there is still time until March 1st if the athlete wants to be eligible to play in the playoffs for another franchise.
As the club heads towards rebuilding its team, it is a common strategy to leave some roster spots open so they have time to identify new talent and develop potential players they want to bring into the squad.
Not too long ago, we included the Argentinian in our Top 5 players who might be eyeing their return to Europe after this season, as Bolmaro was once a part of Barcelona’s basketball club in the EuroLeague.
Leandro Bolmaro reportedly will be waived by Utah Jazz 👀
Which EuroLeague team could use Argentinian’s addition? pic.twitter.com/KJVltNaLAw
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) February 16, 2023
A few of our favorite sport betting sites believe the Jazz possess only the 22nd best odds (+30000) to lift the NBA trophy this year, tied in possibilities with other teams like the Chicago Bulls or Oklahoma City Thunder. The squad from Utah currently sits in the Western Conference’s 11th place with a 29-31 record.
The Utah side already played all their contests before the All-Star weekend and will compete until next Thursday, February 23rd against the Thunder (8:00 p.m. CST).
