NBA rumors: Jazz have waived Boris Diaw, making him a free agent

The Utah Jazz have waived power forward Boris Diaw ahead of his contract guarantee date, making him a free agent.

It looks like the Utah Jazz are trying for a quick reload after not being able to convince Gordon Hayward to stay in Salt Lake City. They let George Hill walk, but kept Joe Ingles. Then they went out and signed Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh, adding some veterans on the cheap to still be able to compete.

Obviously, the Jazz will build around their All-NBA center, Rudy Gobert, and see if they can compete in a loaded Western Conference. One player that will not be along for the ride is power forward Boris Diaw. The former Spur averaged 4.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 18 minutes per game last year with Jazz. Utah was looking to make the postseason and thus they added a lot of experienced veterans to help lead in the locker room.

On July 15, $7.5 million would become guaranteed to Boris Diaw, but the Utah Jazz decided ahead of time that it would be best to waive the 35-year-old forward.

Immediately when the news broke out earlier that Diaw would be a possible cut as a result of his guaranteed money, he took to Instagram to share his feelings about the Utah Jazz and the Salt Lake City community.

Diaw came in and did his job as a locker room-leading veteran to help steer a franchise that was amidst a postseason drought back to the playoffs. The Jazz did so last year, but appear to have taken a step backward with the loss of Hayward.

Next: NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 players that signed with the wrong team

It’ll be interesting to see where Diaw lands, as he can be a valuable stretch-four off the bench. He can shoot the three-pointer and play in the post as well. It’ll most likely be a championship contender looking to add Diaw on the veteran minimum, but we’ll see where the Frenchman plays next.