Giant Duke Basketball Product Gets Another Shot in NBA
At the beginning of March, former Duke basketball big man Vernon Carey Jr. got waived by the Washington Wizards. But it didn't take long for the 22-year-old NBA Blue Devil to land with another franchise.
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According to a tweet from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday afternoon, the Utah Jazz have signed Carey to a deal that includes the remainder of this season and extends through 2023-24.
There's no word yet on how much of next season's money is guaranteed. However, Wojnarowski noted that Carey, now a third-year pro after going No. 32 overall to the Charlotte Hornets at the 2020 NBA Draft following a sensational one-and-done Duke basketball campaign, will play for the Jazz during Summer League action in July.
And perhaps there's a chance the 6-foot-10 bruiser will see minutes when Utah plays at the Los Angeles Lakers at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, the last day of the regular season. It seems unlikely he would be on the floor for the Jazz's home game against the Denver Nuggets at 3:30 p..m. Saturday.
The rebuilding Jazz (36-44) were eliminated from playoff contention earlier this week.
Vernon Carey Jr. has played only 37 games in the NBA between his time with the Hornets and Wizards, posting career averages of 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds across 5.1 minutes per game.
At Duke, he became the 2019-20 ACC Rookie of the Year and a consensus second-team All-American after leading the Blue Devils, who finished 25-6 but missed out on the postseason due to the cancellation of March Madness that year, with his 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.
With the addition of Vernon Carey Jr., 24 former Duke basketball players are on active contracts in the NBA.
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