The Utah Jazz have signed guard Josh Christopher to a two-way contract. The team has waived forward Joey Hauser to make space for the signing.
The 6-foot-5 guard from Arizona State spent the last two seasons playing for the Houston Rockets, where he averaged 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 15.4 minutes per game. Drafted with the 24th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Christopher struggled to carve out a role in the Rockets’ young guard core, only shooting 23.6 percent from behind the arc last season.
However, at only 21 years old, Christopher offers Utah upside at the two-way contract slot. In his single season at Arizona State, he averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. With a 6-foot-9 wingspan and top shelf athleticism, Christopher projected to make an impact as a slasher and defender out of the draft.
Struggles with shooting have kept Christopher off the floor, and he spent much of last season splitting time between the Rockets and the G-League. He averaged 24 points and 6.4 assists on 52.1 percent shooting across eight games for Rio Grande Valley.
Hauser, who signed a two-way contract with the Jazz immediately after the Summer League, failed to make the court in either of Utah’s preseason games. The forward from Michigan State made 46 percent of his attempts from three in his final season with the Spartans and was considered one of the best shooters in the 2023 draft.
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