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The franchise that brought you John Stockton is ready to play without a point guard at times this year.

Utah Jazz coach Quin Sndyer has tinkered throughout the preseason with lineups made up of three wing players, two big men and no traditional point guard. And the Jazz's most recent roster moves seem to be a sign that Snyder has liked what he's seen from that lineup. Utah on Tuesday waived swingman Treveon Graham and point guard Bryce Cotton, leaving the Jazz with just two healthy point guards on the roster heading into the regular season.

Snyder called the cuts "really difficult" and said he hoped making a move several days before the deadline to trim the roster down to 15 players would give Graham and Cotton a better chance to land with another team before the start of the regular season.

But the coach also praised the progress of point guards Trey Burke and Raul Neto, both of whom will be asked this season to help fill the void left by injured point guard Danté Exum, as well as the versatility of the Jazz's wing players.

"I think we've got good ball handlers on the wings, and you get to a point where you have to make tough decisions," Snyder said, explaining the cuts. "… We have Joe [Ingles]. We have Alec [Burks]. We have Rodney [Hood] and Gordon [Hayward]. Those guys can all handle the ball and make plays."

Cotton, 23, was a D-League call up last season who played his way into a non-guaranteed contract with the Jazz. He appeared in 15 games with Utah last season, averaging 5.3 points per contest, but he hadn't played well in his only two preseason appearances this fall.

Graham also appeared in just two preseason games after being signed as an undrafted rookie this summer.

Also factoring into the front office's decision is the play of center Jeff Withey, who has impressed coaches and front office officials with his play, averaging 5.6 points, 4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game over five preseason contests.

With Tuesday's cuts, the Jazz roster now stands at 15 players, the maximum allowed by NBA rules. That should be good news for Withey and swingmen Elijah Millsap and Chris Johnson, all of whom entered camp without fully guaranteed deals. Snyder would not confirm the team's roster was completely set for the start of the regular season, but said "if you look at the numbers that we have on our team, you could probably deduce that."

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