Fansided

Jazz and PG Jamaal Tinsley have ‘mutual interest’ in reuniting

By Brad Rowland

Apr 5, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) is defended by New Orleans Hornets point guard Brian Roberts (22) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 95-83. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) is defended by New Orleans Hornets point guard Brian Roberts (22) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 95-83. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Apr 5, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) is defended by New Orleans Hornets point guard Brian Roberts (22) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 95-83. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard Jamaal Tinsley (6) is defended by New Orleans Hornets point guard Brian Roberts (22) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 95-83. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

When the Utah Jazz lost rookie (and lottery pick) point guard Trey Burke for several weeks, it opened up a massive hole in their backcourt. After all, they paid a hefty price for Burke’s services and for a team rumored to be “tanking”, the cupboard is pretty bare. Bare enough, in fact, that it appears that the Jazz are looking for a little bit of comfort in an old friend.

News that Tinsley and the Jazz could be reuniting shouldn’t surprise anyone. The 35-year-old point guard from Iowa State (by way of Brooklyn) actually started 32 games for Utah last season, and while he certainly didn’t blow anyone away, he should be quite familiar with the system that is in place in Salt Lake City.

In 18.5 minutes per game, Tinsley did average 4.4 assists per contest (good for nearly 9 per 36 minutes), and he’s been a good distributor (career 6.1 assists in 26.6 minutes) everywhere he has been. Unfortunately, there was never a point where Tinsley could shoot, and he is a career 39% FG and 30% 3-point shooter at this level.

For a team with little to no expectations, they could do a lot worse than Tinsley, and even when Burke comes back, it would be nice for the rookie to have some veteran leadership around. This makes all the sense in the world.

Home/NBA