Utah Jazz release Stanton Kidd, sign Juwan Morgan

The Jazz are shaking up the tail end of their bench, releasing Stanton Kidd and signing Juwan Morgan, the team announced Thursday.

Kidd, a 27-year-old rookie wing who excelled for the Jazz’s Summer League teams, won a training camp battle with French forward William Howard for the Jazz’s 15th and final regular-season roster spot.

However, while Kidd was lauded for his perimeter defense skills, his inconsistent shot was seen as an impediment to playing time. He wound up appearing in four regular season games, totaling 15 minutes played, zero points, three rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and three fouls. He missed all three of his shots attempted, including one from 3-point range.

Morgan, meanwhile, has been tied to the Jazz since the pre-draft process, when he came in for a group workout. Since then, he also appeared on the team’s Summer League entries in both Salt Lake and Las Vegas.

Morgan is a 6-foot-7, 232-pound four out of Indiana, who had signed with the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League following his training camp release from the Jazz. He played 128 games over four years for the Hoosiers.

As a junior, he averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds and shot 57.9% from the field. As a senior, he averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds, while shooting 55.8%.

Morgan averaged 15.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks in 26.1 minutes in five games for the Stars this season. He also shot 71.8% from the field.