In 2017, the Utah Jazz signed a little known forward from Baylor to a three year, partially guaranteed contract. Having spent his professional career bouncing around summer league camps and Euroleague teams, this 24 year old forward appeared as nothing more than an end-of-bench addition to a Utah roster attempting to find it’s identity in the post-Gordon Hayward era.
Five years later, that forward, Royce O’Neale, holds one of the most outstanding undrafted NBA careers in recent history.
But Thursday afternoon, O’Neale’s time with Utah came to an end. Initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, O’Neale was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for a future first round pick:
The Nets are acquiring the Jazz's Royce O'Neal in a trade for a 2023 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN.