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Jazz Affiliate Trades for Familiar Utah Sharpshooter Chasing NBA Dream
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- Jazz Affiliate Trades for Familiar Utah Sharpshooter Chasing NBA Dream
(Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images)
Taylor Funk is coming back to Utah.
And if everything goes right … the Utah Jazz probably wouldn't mind if his next stop eventually takes him a little farther north.
The Salt Lake City Stars acquired Funk's NBA G League rights from the San Diego Clippers in exchange for the rights to guard Max Abmas and forward Daniel Batcho, KSL Sports reported .
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So, no … Funk isn't suddenly joining the Jazz.
This is a G League rights trade, and acquiring Funk doesn't guarantee he'll ever get an opportunity with Utah's NBA roster. But the Stars did just trade the rights to two players for a 6-foot-8 forward who has spent the past three seasons trying to earn exactly that kind of chance.
And this particular stop comes with a pretty familiar backdrop.
Funk spent his final college season at Utah State after five years at Saint Joseph's, averaging 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists across 34 starts for the Aggies in 2022-23.
He also shot 37% from 3-point range — connecting on 81 of his 219 attempts.
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Then came the professional climb.
Funk went undrafted in 2023 before playing Summer League with the Miami Heat. He began his G League career with the Maine Celtics, was traded to the Capital City Go-Go in December 2023 and eventually landed with San Diego.
He averaged 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists across 41 games with the Clippers last season, making 25 starts.
Now Salt Lake City becomes G League stop No. 4.
And while there's no reason to pretend a G League rights trade is some sort of franchise-altering move … there is an obvious reason Funk is worth keeping an eye on.
He can shoot.
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Utah State already got a pretty good look at that.
Funk's 81 made 3-pointers during his lone season in Logan ranked 11th on the program's single-season list, while his 219 attempts ranked seventh.
Three years later, he's returning to the same state with a much different objective.
The Stars aren't Utah State, and Salt Lake City isn't Logan. Funk also isn't coming back to Utah as an established NBA player — he's still trying to become one.
That's what makes the move interesting from the Jazz's perspective.
Salt Lake City gives players an opportunity to develop one step below Utah's NBA roster, and Funk now gets his shot in a market that already knows what his shooting can look like when it's working.
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Maybe that's as far as this goes.
Most G League transactions don't end with somebody walking into an NBA rotation. Funk still has to turn the Stars' acquisition of his rights into something more before there's any reason to start talking about what he could eventually offer the Jazz.
But that's a conversation for another day.
For now, Utah's G League affiliate gave up the rights to two players for a 6-foot-8 forward who has already produced at this level — and whose most obvious skill happens to translate pretty well anywhere basketball is played.
Funk is back in Utah.
The NBA is still the ultimate destination … but he won't have to go very far if he eventually gets there.
