Jazz notebook: Evans may not make Jazz, but he'll make Junior Jazz trip

SALT LAKE CITY — Jeremy Evans hasn't been signed to a guaranteed contract for the 2010-11 season, but he could make some headway in replacing Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews as a fan favorite.

And at the very least, the Jazz's second-round pick will get to know the Beehive State — he might even learn that is Utah's nickname — and the intermountain area a whole lot better this summer.

In a rite of passage, the Jazz picked Evans to go on the annual Junior Jazz road trip. The barnstorming tour will cover 4,000 miles over five states between July 26 and Aug. 13.

This will be the 26th year the organization has sponsored a road trip for the Junior Jazz, the NBA's largest and longest-running youth basketball league.

Evans will join the likes of Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, Kyrylo Fesenko and C.J. Miles as participants in the tour.

The Western Kentucky forward will help teach kids in hourlong basketball clinics, sign autographs and be available for pictures.

Evans' first week will have him traveling from Dugway to Ely, Nev., Fredonia, Ariz., and Tropic, Utah.

He'll go from Logan to Price to Moab in Week 2 (Aug. 3 to 7) followed by stops in southern Idaho, Wyoming and Morgan in the final week.

In all, Evans will visit 41 cities in the only tour of its like by an NBA franchise.

"Giving back to our communities is extremely important to us," Jazz president Randy Rigby said in a prepared statement.?"Junior Jazz road trips have become an annual tradition, and we are excited that this year Jeremy will have the opportunity to visit with Jazz fans throughout the intermountain region."

Evans participated with the Jazz at the Orlando Pro Summer League and is expected to battle for a roster spot at fall camp.

KUDOS FOR O'CONNOR: Kevin O'Connor was named the second-best general manager in the NBA by SBNation Basketball, trailing only Miami's Pat Riley. The Rockets' Daryl Morey, the Thunder's Sam Presti and the Nuggets' Mark Warkentien round out the top five. Indiana's Larry Bird was ranked dead last.

"O'Connor may be the most underappreciated GM in basketball," wrote editor Mike Prada, who lauded the 11-year Jazz executive for fitting players into Jerry Sloan's system. "Nobody does a better job of sticking to a plan."