Keith signs new 2 year deal w/ the Utah Jazz

[jacojdm]

no cavs, no rockets...it's back to salt lake. he'll fight for playing time among three point guards.

Jazz, McLeod agree to 2-year deal
Saturday, October 1, 2005
By JOSH WEIR Repository sports writer

Keith McLeod’s long summer of waiting ended late Friday afternoon.

The Utah Jazz agreed to terms with McLeod, a restricted free agent, on a two-year, $3-million contract, according to league sources. The guaranteed portion of the deal is $1.3 million per year. However, the agreement contains likely incentives that can push it to the overall $3 million mark. The second year of the contract is a club option.

McLeod will be in Salt Lake City on Monday to take a physical, which he must pass before signing the contract. The Jazz open training camp the next day in Boise, Idaho.

After playing 33 games for Minnesota during the 2003-04 season, McLeod started 47 of 53 games last year for the Jazz, averaging 7.8 points, a team-high 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

Injuries to his hamstring, wrist and groin cost him 29 games, but the 6-foot-2 point guard still managed to score in double figures 17 times and have a solid 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio during his first-full year in the NBA.

“What people don’t understand is that Keith is making one of the toughest transitions any NBA player can make, going from a 2-guard or combo guard to an NBA point guard,” McLeod’s agent, Mark Termini, said. “A lot of accomplished players have tried that and failed at it.”

McLeod’s high school and college résumé includes the 1998 Ohio High School Mr. Basketball while at McKinley and the 2002 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year while at Bowling Green, yet he went undrafted and spent time playing in Italy before landing with Minnesota in 2003.

Several teams were rumored to be interested in McLeod, but Toronto and Utah were the only clubs to announce it publicly.

McLeod is one of three point guards on the Jazz roster, joining first-round pick Deron Williams and journeyman Milt Palacio.

http://cantonrep.com/index.php?Category ... 44804&r=14

[UK Peregrine]

Here's a new article on Keith that I thought I'd throw in this thread instead of starting another. It's a great, short read with a picture of Keith.

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_3105317

[ZiggyZoomba]

And another blurb in the Salt Lake City Tribune:

http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_3108132

Keith McLeod remembers the day he was selected, the moment the phone rang and his status as a world-class player was confirmed.
No, not the NBA draft. This is a more exclusive league.
LeBron's league.
While working out at home in Canton, Ohio, last summer, trying to stay in shape while his agent shopped for a free-agent contract, McLeod got a call one day from a friend of Cavs superstar LeBron James. The message: Come on up to Akron to play with LeBron.
"When it's time to play, LeBron has his guys call around - you've got to like that," McLeod said of his summer summons. "They just say, 'LeBron's got a game,' and you go. We played twice, three times a week up there."
McLeod knew he was taking a chance, considering he didn't have a contract at the time, but couldn't pass up such high-level competition. And it was worth it, McLeod said: He found out he could hold his own.
Is he competitive with James one-on-one? "Yeah, because we're two different guys," McLeod said. "Up top, I'd go by him, but he would post me up down low."

[TG1996]

My office was offering suite tickets for tomorrow night's Pacers-Jazz game... figures that the Thursday I have to work, that comes around.

[ZiggyZoomba]

My office was offering suite tickets for tomorrow night's Pacers-Jazz game... figures that the Thursday I have to work, that comes around.

Oh man, you should have grabbed them. I'd have driven to Indy for that.

[TG1996]

9 points, 3 assists, 2 steals in 13 minutes tonight vs. the Pacers