Raul Lopez will sign with the Jazz and then undergo knee surgery as early as this week, the Deseret News has learned.
     
Lopez, a first-round draft pick from Spain, suffered a knee injury while playing in an exhibition game with the Spanish national team in August. The injury was severe enough to raise questions of whether he would ever play again, but the Jazz apparently have decided he's worth the risk, even though he'll likely miss this entire season.
     
Newspapers in Spain, meanwhile, have reported that Lopez will sign a deal for the low end of the rookie scale. NBA collective-bargaining rules specify a base figure for draft picks, depending on their draft position, but teams can negotiate a deal within an 80-120 percent range of that figure.