Get to know the newest member of the Utah Jazz, two-way player Erik McCree, and how he can potentially help the Jazz during the 2017-18 NBA season.
The Utah Jazz made a move on Thursday afternoon, adding a player to their roster with the calendar year nearing an end.
The Jazz announced the signing of Erik McCree to a two-way contract, making him eligible to shift back and forth from the Jazz and Utah’s G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars.
In a move related to the McCree signing, Utah announced it waived center/forward Eric Griffin, the franchise’s first two-way player.
The signing of McCree isn’t a huge move or one that is expected to make a large impact at the NBA level anytime soon, but it’s an addition that could add some value in the future, especially if the Jazz continue to have bad luck with injuries like they have early on in 2017-18.
So, who is McCree and what can he bring to either Utah or Salt Lake City? Let’s take a look.
McCree, who turned 24 years old on Wednesday, is a 6’8″, 225-pound forward out of Louisiana Tech University. At Louisiana Tech, where he played for three years, McCree maintained a career average of 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3.
Going undrafted before the season, McCree joined the Houston Rockets during Summer League action and ended up playing spending some time on the Miami Heat training camp roster prior to the year.
After being waived by the Heat, he signed to play for Miami’s G League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he remained for 13 games until he was released.
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During his span with the Skyforce at the beginning of the G League season, McCree experienced some quality playing time, averaging 29 minutes per game and starting eight of those games.
In the 13 games, McCree averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds 1.1 assists and 0.6 steals per game. He also shot 41 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from deep and 81.1 percent from the free throw line.
As a 24-year-old forward that joins guard Nate Wolters as Utah’s two two-way players, McCree offers a decent amount of upside to both the Jazz and the Stars.
McCree is a player that likes to get to the basket as much as possible, with the capability and willingness to let it go from 3. In his 13 games in the G League earlier this season, 58 percent of his shot attempts came from inside the 3-point arc, while 42 percent of those shots coming from deep.
According to NBA G League website, McCree averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.8 steals per 36 minutes in the G-League. In the NBA, that translates to a projected 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks.
In the same projections, the site projects that McCree could average 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, one assist, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks, while shooting 39.6 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from 3, if he indeed ends up spending time with the Jazz at the NBA level.
Yes, they are projections, but those numbers give you an idea of the type of player that McCree could become.
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This move is not a groundbreaking one for the Jazz by any means, but the addition of McCree as a two-way player both in Utah and Salt Lake City could have some potential benefits as the season progresses.