We got a little bit of information today about the trade talks the Utah Jazz had with the Atlanta Hawks regarding Dejounte Murray and what it would have cost. If you don’t remember, Jake Fischer reported those talks at the trade deadline. He had mentioned the Jazz when he reported the Hawks being 50/50 on whether they would trade Murray.

Today, we got some interesting info from Ben Anderson at KSL, who shed some light on what that trade would have cost the Jazz, and it was Keyonte George. It’s on the Jazz Notes Podcast and it’s a little before the 38:00 mark.

Here’s what Anderson said:

I will tell you that there was some talk about Dejounte Murray to the Jazz at the trade deadline and it was going to cost the Jazz Keyonte George and the Jazz said no.

This can be viewed in multiple ways, but the first is that the Jazz are very high on Keyonte George, as they should be. George showed incredible flashes in summer league and during the season, like when he hit 9 threes against the Golden State Warriors. That said, with all the vets on the team, there were a lot of missed opportunities for him to develop. Once the trade deadline came, it was clear the Jazz wanted to pivot to the development of their rookies, and George was given the reins to the offense as the full-time point guard. He still had moments, but it was a struggle for George at times as he adjusted to the increased responsibilities.

But that’s okay! That’s exactly what the Jazz wanted. Along with the benefit of rising in the draft it allowed George to play the point guard position, something he hadn’t done in College or the NBA. It allowed him to learn what it takes to take his game to the next level too. If George can learn that point guard position, or at the very least improve his playmaking, he can combine that with his scoring and become a special player for the Jazz in the future.

The other thing to consider is that this might be a sign of Utah’s future. So much has been said about the Jazz potentially going big game hunting, but reports like this tell a different story. If we’re going on what the Jazz have actually done recently, we may be looking at a very youth-focused rebuild next season.

A 21-year-old rancher with a history of running away vanished last month while walking to her new job in an “extremely rural” part of Utah.

Elizibeth “Lizzy” Green was reported missing April 17 after she failed to show up to her shift at the ranch in the remote community of Callao, the Juab County Sheriff’s Office said.

“I’m kind of at the point where I think maybe she had somebody pick her up,” Vanessa Simmons, Green’s mother, told 2KUTV Monday.

“I just don’t know who that is, or if they actually picked her up, or if they didn’t come and then she went trying to walk through the desert.”

According to a search warrant, Green had a history of mental health issues and had run away from home in the past, but this instance proved much more distressing.

Green typically maintained an open line of communication with her family when she ran away, and usually returned within a day or so, those close to the young woman told cops.

This time, however, her phone and social media accounts have gone silent, and all attempts to ping her devices have turned up fruitless, the warrant states.

The sheer remoteness of the Callao community has also raised alarm bells for investigators.

Callao, originally part of the Pony Express, is located in northern Snake Valley. Less than 12,000 people populate the entirety of Juab County, according to the Census Bureau.

“This area of our county is approximately three hours away from any major cities and requires travel on dirty roads,” the warrant states.

Deputies descended on the unnamed ranch just one day after Green vanished but found no trace of the young woman.

The ranch owner told authorities she never arrived for her shift and that he hadn’t had any contact with his new employee.

Search and rescue teams also combed the walking route Green would have taken to her job, as well as the surrounding area, but were “unable to locate Elizibeth or anything to determine where she could have gone,” according to the warrant.

“Based on the information that we have received, we are concerned about the possibility that Elizibeth is in danger of serious bodily injury or death,” the warrant states.

“It is unknown if Elizibeth is in danger and lost in the vast desert, or if someone that she was communicating with met with her and is holding her against her will.”

Green was last seen wearing a pink tie-dye high-cut hoodie, a light blue pair of jeans and black Converse sneakers, according to a missing person poster. She was also carrying a white backpack purse.

She stands at 5’11,” has brown hair and “green or hazel eyes depending on what she is wearing,” her mother said.

PROVO, Utah (KSL.com) — A 4th District judge on Monday ordered Kent Cody Barlow, a man charged with causing the deaths of two Eagle Mountain toddlers, to stand trial for two counts of murder.

Two 3-year-old boys, Odin Jeffrey Ratliff and Hunter Charlie Jackson, were playing a horse corral and were killed when a car left the road and veered into Cedar Valley Stables on May 2, 2022.

RELATED | Judge orders Utah man to stand trial in crash that killed 2 boys playing in corral

Judge Robert Lund ordered Barlow to stand trial for two counts of depraved indifference murder, a first-degree felony, and one count of possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. Lund said during a hearing on Friday that because of the significance of the case, he would issue a written rather than oral decision.

Barlow, 28, was initially charged with two counts of manslaughter rather than murder and was ordered to stand trial on those charges on July 28, 2022, by Lund. Several months later on March 13, 2023, prosecutors amended the charges, enhancing manslaughter to murder, a first-degree felony.

RELATED | Utah man charged with hitting, killing 2 boys playing in corral; prosecutor says no plea bargains

‘Depraved indifference’

Before deciding whether there was sufficient evidence to order Barlow to stand trial on the upgraded charges, Lund listened to evidence during four days throughout February and March. He also reviewed written arguments and listened to attorneys during a hearing on Friday.

Deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride argued Barlow’s actions meet the requirements for “depraved indifference murder.”

Benjamin Aldana, Barlow’s attorney, said the law for depraved indifference requires an action to be “specifically directed” at the person who is killed, and Barlow wasn’t aware of the toddlers. He said if someone had been visible, or if there was a home there instead of stables, maybe the depraved indifference statute would apply.

“That statute doesn’t apply here,” he said.

Lund’s decision says at 7:16 p.m. on May 2, 2022, Barlow lost control of his car and crashed it into Cedar Valley Stables. Lund says there were “at least 20 people” at the facility, mostly children learning to ride horses, and the facility is visible from several miles away.

“The single-car accident created a large debris field. Before colliding with the covered horse stalls, the car passed through multiple layers of fencing. … The car hit the structure with such force that it tore all the supporting beams out of the ground. With no support, the roof on the structure collapsed,” the order said.

It said the stable’s roof collapse killed both boys.

Three others who were in the car with Barlow testified that he was driving at a high rate of speed and ran a stop sign.

“All of them told (Barlow) multiple times to slow down. (He) ignored their pleas,” the order says.

It said GPS data from one of the passengers’ phones shows Barlow accelerated to 123 mph immediately before the crash and left the road traveling at 117 mph — the speed limit is 45 mph.

“(Barlow) took no precautions to minimize the risks that his driving posed to other people. To the contrary, his failure to heed the demands of his passengers to slow down and obey traffic laws together with his ingestion of a powerful mind-altering drug exacerbated the risks his behavior posed to others,” the order says.

It said a blood draw at the hospital showed Barlow had consumed “a large amount of methamphetamine” at some point before the crash.

Shortly before the crash, Barlow had been doing doughnuts in a field next to a baseball practice, a coach testified, and caused concern that he might hit someone. Other drivers also reported seeing a car move very quickly.

Lund’s order said Barlow “created a highly likely probability” of death.

The law for depraved indifference murder was modified two days after the crash that killed the two toddlers, changing the definition from causing “the death of another” to causing “the death of the other individual.”

Aldana has claimed this change created a new defense, but Lund said he finds the earlier version of the statute applies because the amendment was not made retroactive to incidents that happened before the law was changed.

Motion to disqualify Lund

On Sunday, ahead of the decision to order Barlow to stand trial, Aldana filed a motion asking Lund to recuse himself from the case. He said Lund’s insistence on holding the trial for Barlow in September shows he is not impartial, as Aldana contends he may not have enough time to prepare Barlow’s defense.

Lund set the trial in September before knowing whether the trial would be for manslaughter or murder, while the preliminary hearing was scheduled for January, the motion said. The January hearing was delayed to February and March after Aldana tested positive for COVID-19. It wasn’t until Monday that Barlow and his attorney learned whether the trial would be for manslaughter or murder, Aldana said.

When Aldana said Friday that there might not be time to prepare for the trial by September, Lund said he has known about the trial for a while. He told Aldana the trial dates were “firm.”

Aldana’s motion said the case history shows Lund “holds a bias against Mr. Barlow” and his defense team.

“The fact that the court has repeatedly required that a trial setting be in place for this case … says something,” he said.

Aldana said requiring a case to go to trial four months after Barlow was ordered to stand trial will negate his right to a fair trial in the double-murder case.

This is the second time Aldana has made a request for the judge to recuse himself in this case.