Month: June 2026

The Utah Jazz are only a few days away from deciding who they’ll be landing on with their second-overall pick in this year’s draft.

With final workouts for guys like AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson reportedly happening this coming week, Utah is in the final stages of deciding upon how they’ll be setting up the draft board rolling into the end of the month, and sorting out who their top two names in the class might ultimately be.

But don’t expect those on the inside of the Jazz’s building to be spreading much information around as to who they’ll be preferring–– especially not for team president Austin Ainge.

Austin Ainge Explains the Secrecy of Utah’s Draft Process

Ainge recently appeared on KSL Sports Zone’s Scotty G. & The Coach to discuss a bit of the Jazz’s draft process and how this month has panned out, where he also dove into just how secret his decision-making actually is behind-the-scenes.

Simply put, the circle of who Ainge is discussing his upcoming plans with is extremely small–– to the point where his own wife won’t even know how the Jazz’s pick will go.

“Everywhere I walk, people ask. But, we don’t tell anybody,” Ainge said. “I don’t tell my wife. I don’t tell some of the people on my staff that I work with every day where I’m leaning. On top of the competitive advantages, and the trades that that could kill, and some of the other things that would harm.”

“There’s huge betting markets now. Some guy I play golf with makes half a million dollars on who the draft is, then the FBI is knocking on my door. We can’t be having that.”

There’s clear limited upside and obvious downside to airing out your pick to more people than necessary. Knowing this, Ainge is keeping his and Utah’s plans close to the vest, and it seems like he’ll continue to do so.

But we at least have some inkling as to who the Jazz will be narrowing down from between three names, based on how the top of the board is shaping up to be for this year’s class: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer.

In some order, those three are virtual locks to be picks one, two, and three off the board.

Various scouts and experts have had those three prospects graded in every combination there is. And in due time, the Jazz will be finalizing their own rankings so they’ll be ready to go once draft night comes.

Jazz Nearing the Final Steps of Scouting Process

As to how far along the Jazz and Ainge are in that process, those final rankings will be settled once the team gets everyone in the building for a visit. Most of their work, to this point, has already been done. But now just comes the time to finish up what’s been a diligent, careful, and months-long scouting process.

“You have [decide] to at some point, right?” Ainge said of the Jazz’s draft board. “I think at some point after we get everybody in and spend our time with them, that’s kind of the final bit of information that we haven’t been able to gather. I don’t want to overrate that and say everything comes down to a few meetings with us. But, we’ll just try to not lock it in until then.”

“And pretty shortly thereafter, we’ll kind of just say, ‘Alright, this is what we’re going to do. This is number one, this is number two. If one’s there, we take him. If one’s gone, we’ll take two. And that’s the way we’ll do it.”

The clock is slowly ticking before the final verdict is revealed on who Utah will add as the next cornerstone of their franchise. Expect Ainge and Co. to keep Jazz fans on the edge of their seats until then.

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Utah has finalized its deal with the private equity group Otro Capital, the Utes announced Friday.

The announcement has been in the works for months; the school’s board of trustees approved the general idea in December. But Friday’s announcement officially makes Utah the first athletic department in college sports to team up with private equity.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Utah officials have touted a nine-figure impact to the program. Athletic director Mark Harlan called it a “really innovative solution that could carry the University of Utah into the future in a really productive manner.”

The deal includes the formation of a new entity, Crimson Brand Partners, that is intended to modernize and streamline the Utes’ 19 sports. Former New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns executive Matt Webb will serve as the entity’s CEO. Harlan will chair its board.

When it launches July 1 at the start of the fiscal year, Crimson Brand Partners will handle the commercial aspects of Utah sports like ticketing, branding and sponsorships. The Utes will retain control of issues like fundraising, coaching, recruiting and scheduling.

Although Otro — an investment group with a portfolio that includes Alpine’s Formula 1 racing team — will have a stake in Crimson Brand Partners, the company will make annual reports to the university’s board of trustees and foundation.

“There’s no road map,” Webb said. “We’re certainly building the plane as we’re flying.”

The reasons for embracing private equity outlined Friday were largely the same as they were in December when Utah made its first public steps to this deal. The Utes are in a Power 4 conference (the Big 12) but are not a financial juggernaut like Ohio State or Georgia. That puts Utah in a tough position as it competes at the national level against bigger, richer programs. Instead of pursuing more money from the academic side or cutting sports, the Utes decided outside investors could allow their athletics to keep competing at a high level.

Questions and concerns arose as terms were being finalized. A letter from the state auditor to the board of trustees last month raised “significant risks” about the deal unless the Utes slash spending or spike revenue. Utah athletics reported $4.69 million more in revenue than expenses in 2025, but only after, auditor Tina Cannon said, using $19.4 million in reserves.

“There is a profound risk that financial gains and investor returns may be prioritized over long-term and long-held institutional values,” the letter from Cannon said.

In a news conference Friday, Harlan said he was “very comfortable” with the governance structure and steps the Utes have taken to protect themselves financially. Harlan said inaction also brings uncertainty.

“I would argue there’s more risks of not doing anything based on the climate we’re in and the rising costs,” Harlan said.

Private equity has been circling around college sports outside Utah, too. In April, the Big 12 closed on a deal with a venture from RedBird and Weatherford Capital that will provide at least $12.5 million to the conference as the start of a broader partnership. Other schools, including Florida State, have also considered private equity.

Utah’s deal comes in the wake of the athletic department clearly searching for more significant revenue streams.

This week, the Salt Lake Tribune obtained detailed documents from a consulting firm Utah hired to review the university’s athletic department operations in 2024. Employees were granted anonymity during the firm’s interview process, and among the chief concerns were tickets to games given away for free, an inadequate  game-day experience and employee burnout.

According to the report from the Tribune, employees from various departments said they had inconsistent communication with the department’s leadership.

“It’s just week-to-week survival,” said one employee in the report.

In the year since the report, Utah had a ticket revenue increase of $3.3 million from football, men’s basketball and gymnastics.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney became a symbol of middle power resistance after a celebrated speech earlier this year, but he is expected to be more muted in his criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump at an upcoming summit in Europe. Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, helped make him an international political star in January, when he declared the global rules-based order over and condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries. The prime minister received widespread praise and attention for his remarks and upstaged Trump at the gathering.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

TOOELE, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah man has been arrested in connection with multiple Tooele County wildfires.

Timothy West, 39, has been arrested on three counts of arson (second-degree felony), one count of causing a catastrophe (Class A misdemeanor), and one count of damaging a jail (third-degree felony).

According to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, the arrest comes after two fires were reported in Tooele County on June 10, one in the Lake Point area and the other in Stockton.

The Stockton Fire Department, which is made up completely of volunteer firefighters, evacuated several residents, including Diann Hickman. Hickman said, “There were tall flames. They looked like they were right behind our house, but they were actually just to the side.”

She continued, “If they would have been here five, ten minutes later, we wouldn’t have a house.”

“The fire department got here, they attacked it, they put it out, I don’t want to say record time, but they did a very fast job of putting out the flames,” added Stockton Mayor Joe Johnston.

Unfortunately, while these fires were put out quickly, the concern over wildfires remains high. Utah Fire Info reports that there have been 239 fires this year and 204 of those have been human caused.

The sentiment is especially felt in Stockton, after the South Mountain Fire burned over 1800 acres just a few miles away. Johnson stated, “I cringe every time I walk out the front door at my house every day. I’m like, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ It’s a tinder box out here.”

With high fire danger, fire officials are asking Utah residents to do what they can to prevent fires. Karl Hunt, with Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, stated “Prevention is the key to fighting wildfire. It’s easier to prevent a wildfire than it is to fight a wildfire.”

“We have a town ordinance where if your weeds are a certain height, they need to be below ten inches. That needs to be taken care of,” added Johnston. “There are a lot of residents in this town that have not really accomplished that yet and they need to mitigate any potential fire risk that could happen.”

Ongoing investigation

As for the Lake Point and Stockton fires, the investigation is ongoing. However, witness statements, surveillance footage, and vehicle descriptions placed Timothy West on scene of both. While he reportedly knocked on doors to notify residents of the fire, he did not live in or near the area, did not appear to have a reason to be there, and had previous arson convictions.

Due to the circumstances, West was booked into the Tooele County Jail.

During the process of transporting him to the booking area, he stated he would “rather die than go to prison,” and said “it was strike three”, indicating he knew the fires were arson and had been involved. While being booked into jail, officers found a soot-like substance on West’s boots.

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Court records show that West has a history of arson, with prior convictions in 2010 and 2014. In 2010, he plead guilty to arson and causing a catastrophe. In 2014, West plead guilty to two counts of arson.

The 2014 fire was on the East Mountain in north Stockton. Damages exceeded $5,000 in value. There are no further details on the 2010 conviction.

The sheriff’s office is requesting residents and businesses in Stockton to review any surveillance or security camera footage and report any suspicious activity or relevant information relatd to this fire to Tooele County Dispatch at (435) 882-5600.

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Utah is suffering from such dry conditions that a group of kids with a lighter and a squirrel managed to start separate brush fires within hours, according to local media reports.

The ongoing severe drought in Utah has created the perfect conditions for destructive fires, prompting officials to warn that this year’s fire season could be particularly severe. Those concerns were highlighted Tuesday after firefighters battled two separate blazes in northern Utah.

A squirrel tangled in a power line managed to spark a half-acre brush fire Tuesday morning in Layton, a suburb of Salt Lake City, according to local outlet FOX 13. Later that day, a group of children reportedly started a brush fire that burned an acre in Saratoga Springs, a city on the northwestern shore of Utah Lake. Media reports indicated they were playing with matches, but the Saratoga Springs Fire Department later confirmed it was a lighter.

Both fires were extinguished, and it appears no one was injured, according to FOX 13. The Independent has requested more information from fire officials in Layton and Saratoga Springs.

This comes as firefighters battle multiple major blazes throughout the state.

The South Mountain Fire in northwestern Utah has burned through more than 1,800 acres and was at 40 percent containment as of Wednesday morning. The Tower Fire, which is burning near the small town of Scipio in central Utah, is currently 34 percent contained after spreading to more than 1,300 acres.

Utah fire officials have warned the ongoing drought, combined with warmer temperatures and low snowfall earlier this year, led to lots of dry vegetation that could serve as fuel for destructive fires.

“This year’s conditions, even more than recent years, are raising concern,” Salt Lake City Fire Chief Karl Lieb said at a press conference last month.

“If we all take this seriously now, our agencies and the public together, we can reduce the number of fires, limit how fast they spread, and better protect the communities we all care about,” Unified Fire Chief Dominic Burchett added.

Officials are asking residents to take steps to prevent wildfires, such as refraining from starting campfires on windy days and exercising caution when shooting outdoors.

“We identify target shooting as one of the behaviors that contribute to human-caused wildfires in the state,” a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and Estate Lands told ABC 4 this week.

Last year, fires burned more than 165,000 acres in Utah, which cost the state more than $191 million, according to KSL News. Still, firefighters managed to keep 92 percent of those fires under 10 acres.