It’s no secret to even casual viewers of the NBA that the Utah Jazz have a few big men. In fact, Utah is hoarding so many big men that they could be sponsored by Casual Male XL. But this may not necessarily be a bad thing. That’s not to say that the Jazz are without issues. One of the key issues facing the Jazz is consistent wing play. Sure, Gordon Hayward has arrived from Butler to have a surprisingly decent career so far in the NBA, but that won’t be enough to keep this team in playoff contention consistently. Hayward, a third year baller, has shown steady improvement over the past three seasons and seems to be good enough to start. However, the Jazz don’t have a standout 2 guard at this point and Hayward probably won’t make an All-Star team as long as he plays in the league.
Enter OJ Mayo. He’s already a proven scorer who is one bad team away from being a star, in my opinion. He’s already shown flashes of greatness, including a 40 point outing against the Rockets in Houston. Plus, he’s proven to be at least capable of consistency, only having 8 games of less than 10 points from October through February. Adding his scoring ability would tremendously help. Based on this year’s stats, he would have been the 2nd leading scorer, 6th in RPG, and 2nd in dimes. Consider that he declined over the last 2 months of the season and that he would have been the primary offensive option on this team, then those numbers look even more impressive. OJ Mayo would warrant a multi-year deal that would cost a solid chunk of money, so the Jazz would have to build around him as well as their young frontcourt.
The Jazz will undoubtedly have a ton of money to work with this season as their players currently under contract after the 2012/2013 season are only guaranteed to cost them about $25.7 million. That’s a $40 million difference from the past season. Since they will be roughly $30-35 million under next year’s cap, they will have a lot of options in free agency. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap should walk, however Millsap may make an interesting sign-and-trade option for the Jazz. Assuming that were to happen, that may be something they could use to bring in a different SG, or maybe a top-tier point guard, to reshape the franchise. Other big decisions will be Mo Williams, Randy Foye, and Earl Watson. I’d say at most they should bring back Randy Foye for a backup PG/SG role.
The next step after bringing in a potential star at SG would be to bring in a veteran PG, such as Jose Calderon or Jeff Teague, to run the team. There isn’t a ton of talent in the draft pool at PG aside from Burke, but if a player like Michael Carter-Williams or CJ McCollum were to fall to the 14th pick, the Jazz could select one of them to be a point guard of the future. Signing a FA like Calderon or Teague would give the rookie a good veteran to learn under. Another interesting idea might be Jarrett Jack if they are unable to land a bigger name at PG. With the way Jack has played in the playoffs this year, expect him to garner much more attention this offseason from potential suitors.
From a backup standpoint, ironically their only issues would be post bench players. Aside from Favors and Kanter, the Jazz don’t have any post players signed through next season. This can, and should, be addressed through the draft as the Jazz will have 3 picks this year, including the Warriors first round pick that the Nets received and then traded to the Jazz within the Deron Williams trade. With a solid core of Hayward, Favors, and Kanter, plus the potential additions of players such as OJ Mayo and Jose Calderon, the Jazz could be setup for definite playoff contention for a few years to come.
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