Now that the Utah Jazz believe their young, up-and-coming team is ready to
compete in the Western Conference, GM Dennis Lindsey is adding some veteran
experience to help steady them in tough moments.
Wholesale Authentic
Jerseys .Lindsey made his latest move on Friday night, agreeing to
terms with Joe Johnson on a two-year deal worth $22 million, a person with
knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition
of anonymity because the deal cannot be signed until July 7.Johnson gives the
Jazz a proven scorer and level-headed veteran as they try to climb the ladder
with a promising young nucleus including Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gobert, Derrick
Favors and Rodney Hood.The seven-time All-Star turned 35 this week, but he
showed during the stretch run in Miami last season that he can still make big
shots when hes needed. Johnson shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range after coming
to the Heat from Brooklyn and has the ability to play power forward in small
ball lineups that gives coach Quin Snyder some more versatility to mix and
match.The Jazz went into the offseason looking to spend with a need for veteran
depth, another point guard and additional shooting. They added point guard
George Hill in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks to give them a tested
veteran on the ball and were aggressive in courting veterans once the free agent
market opened on Thursday night.One by one, many of Utahs targets were plucked
by others teams, but the Jazz quickly pivoted to Johnson, who will give them
another dimension off the bench.His scoring numbers have gradually decreased
over the last few years, and he averaged 12.2 points and shot 38 percent from
3-point range while playing with Brooklyn and Miami last season.But the Jazz
could see him playing a similar role to the one Paul Pierce -- a former teammate
of Johnsons in Brooklyn -- assumed with the Wizards two years ago. Pierces best
days are behind him, but he was able to play a complementary role in support of
John Wall, Bradley Beal and the rest of a young team that was learning to win.
Then, in crunch time, Pierce would assume more responsibility, take some of the
highest pressure shots and help catapult the Wizards to the Eastern Conference
semifinals.Johnson has a lot of the same qualities as Pierce. He is calm under
pressure, willing to take the biggest shots in a game and has the ability to use
his body to create space to get the shot off.The Jazz went 40-42 last season and
have not made the playoffs since 2012.The deal was first reported by
NBA.com.---AP Sports Writer Kareem Copeland in Salt Lake City contributed to
this report.
NFL
Jerseys Wholesale .35 million, one-year contract that avoided
salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477
at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup.
Wholesale Cheap
Jerseys . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber
were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No.
12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday.
http://www.cheapjerseysoff.org/ . Pierce was
ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a
bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to
be trying to wrap him up. New York lightweight Al Iaquinta has turned down an
offer to fight Thiago Alves at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 in Madison Square Garden due
to a contract holdout with the UFC.Iaquinta, 29, verbally agreed to the matchup
at first, but he said he couldnt bring himself to sign the official bout
agreement.The UFC declined to comment on the situation to ESPN.com.Riding a
four-fight win streak, Iaquinta (12-3) said he stood to make $26,000 to show and
$26,000 to win the fight in New York. He said he has three fights left on his
deal, which was negotiated in early 2015.I printed out the contract, went to
sign it and just said, I cant do it, Iaquinta told ESPN.com. As much as I would
love to be a superstar at Madison Square Garden, this is only going to last for
so long and then Im going to be stuck with the injuries.With the money theyre
paying me right now, its enough to get by, maybe. I could do that in any
profession and not risk the injuries. Health is so important to me after what
Ive been through the last 18 months.Iaquinta listed several factors that went
into his decision, including the UFCs apparel deal with Reebok that banned
individual sponsorships from appearing in the Octagon. Additionally, Iaquinta
underwent knee surgery late last year, and his experience with that greatly
affected his current perception.Iaquinta was 24 when he agreed to compete on the
UFCs The Ultimate Fighter reality series in 2012. He performed well, eventually
losing in the tournament final to fellow UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa.The show
required him to fight five times in three months. According to Iaquinta, he was
paid a flat $750 per week. Luckily, he made an extra $50,000 in bonus money for
having the best knockout and fight of the season. Looking back, Iaquinta said
that without those bonuses, appearing on the show would not have been worth
it.Especially because Iaquinta suffered a knee injury in the shows semifinals.
He initially had a patchwork surgery performed, he said, but the knee reached a
point last year that he felt a second procedure was necessary.When he informed
the UFC, Iaquinta said he was initially told the companys insurance would only
pick up $15,000 of a $60,000 operation. Eventually, the UFC did agree to pay for
the entire procedure, he said, but only after weeks of slow, frustrating
correspondence.I was talking to a woman at the UFC medical department and it was
almost like I was hassling her, Iaquinta said. Its like, This is your job. Youre
employed by the UFC. You have health benefits. Your job is to help me. Im not
burdening you. I wish I didnt have to call you. I actually hate calling you
because you make me feel like I shouldnt.I eventually said, So, youre telling me
a UFC fighter on a foour-fight win streak is going to have to start a GoFundMe
page to pay for a surgery -- is that what youre telling me right now? That was
what it took to get on the phone with [former UFC owner] Lorenzo Fertitta.
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Online. And even then, they wanted me to get a different surgery. I
ended up saying I was going in for the surgery either way, and I think that put
pressure on them.Iaquinta acknowledged it hasnt been long since he signed his
current four-fight deal. He has completed only one of those: a split-decision
win over Jorge Masvidal in April 2015.His mindset, however, has changed
tremendously in that time. After he was initially told hed have to pay for knee
surgery out of pocket, Iaquinta said he came to grips with the possibility that
his career was over. Now that hes accepted that once and prepared accordingly
(he received his real estate license earlier this year), it frees him to demand
a new deal.They sell you on the dream, Iaquinta said. You end up fighting for
less than youre worth, hoping one day you can make it. Ive already made it. Im
in the UFC.At first, the dream is making The Ultimate Fighter. When youre in The
Ultimate Fighter, its about making the UFC. Get into the UFC, the dream is
making it to that next contract. I got to the next contract and was told, Stay
in the good graces of the UFC. Dont piss them off, because if you ask for more
money, theyre not going to give it to you anyway, and God forbid you lose a
fight -- theyll cut you.Now, I really dont give a s--- if they cut me. I could
f------ care less.Iaquinta did not reveal the exact figure hes seeking, but he
said the UFC has shown no interest in renegotiating his current deal.Playing
into his decision, Iaquinta said the UFC informed him he is ineligible for the
promotions highly sought-after fight night bonuses, which usually consist of
$50,000 and are awarded at every event.Iaquinta said he was told his
ineligibility stems from several violations of the UFCs code of conduct.Im
really just fed up, Iaquinta said. Im fed up with the sport. I dont even call it
a sport anymore. They treat the wrong people right and the right people wrong.I
went to UFC 53 [in 2005] and I had such a different idea of this. Its where I
wanted to be. I watched every fight when I was young. This is all I wanted to
do. I thought these guys were superstars. I thought these guys were making
money, being on TV -- and now Im here and its totally different. I keep saying,
It cant be like this. This cant be how it is.Iaquinta fights out of Serra-Longo
Fight Team. He is 7-2 overall in the UFC with three knockouts.
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