Utah Jazz: Post-Draft Free Agency Outlook

With the NBA Draft on the books and free agency just around the corner, here’s a look at the critical needs the Utah Jazz still need to address this offseason.

Having made their biggest draft-related move on draft eve rather than on draft day, the 2016 NBA Draft wasn’t overly exciting or earth shattering for the Utah Jazz. However, after acquiring Indiana Pacers’ George Hill in a three-team trade that sent their No. 12 pick to Atlanta and Jeff Teague to Indiana, the Jazz shored up what had been a critical weakness by drastically improving the starting point guard spot.

In Thursday’s draft, the Jazz traded their 42nd pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the 55th pick and cash considerations, leaving them with the 52nd, 55th, and 60th picks. With those picks, the Jazz selected Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy, North Carolina’s Marcus Paige, and Cal’s Tyrone Wallace, respectively.

More from Jazz News

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

For a solid introductory look at each of these newly drafted Jazzmen, check out this draft recap by our The J Notes MVP Ryan Aston.

In an opinion piece that I wrote last month, I identified the starting point guard spot, backup small forward and backup center as the three positions that the Jazz most needed to focus on in the draft, whether it be through the pick itself or by trading it.

Obviously, they utilized the pick to take care of the point guard issue by trading it for Hill. However, the Jazz’s second round picks did little to solve the other remaining voids. But with their draft choices coming so late in the second round, finding solutions to these holes in the roster would have been a long shot anyway.

Nevertheless, Bolomboy certainly has the potential to be an impact player somewhere down the road. As a power forward, he’ll find himself third or fourth on the depth chart behind Derrick Favors, Trey Lyles and potentially Trevor Booker, depending on what comes of his unrestricted free agency.

While he isn’t a center per se, if Bolomboy pans out as a legitimate NBA talent, he could still help to add depth to the frontcourt and take away some pressure caused by the lack of depth at the center spot.

Paige and Wallace, the Jazz’s other two picks, are both point guards, which has quickly become the most logjammed position the Jazz have. With five point guards already on the current roster, the addition of two more in the draft makes it seem likely that neither of these late second round picks will ultimately be retained.

If the Jazz sense they’ve grabbed a potential future gem in either of these two guys, they could decide to keep one or both around to provide security and depth in the future. However, with other glaring needs existing beyond the point guard spot, it doesn’t seem likely that they will qualify for the final 15-man roster once the season starts.

So now that the draft is over and the shift turns towards free agency and offseason trades, what is next for the Utah Jazz?

Essentially there’s three main things they need to focus on. The first two are the same issues that existed before the draft: small forward depth and center depth. The other is still related to the point guard position, but now, rather than needing to find a new point guard, the Jazz have to decide what to do with the abundance of point guards on their roster.

More specifically, who to keep and how to get value from the ones they don’t.

In regards to adding small forward depth, I’ve already explored one solid option in unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley, who recently expressed interest in joining the Jazz.

The Salt Lake Tribune’s Tony Jones apparently agrees with the idea of bringing in Jared Dudley as a potential small forward off the bench, but also brought up another intriguing free agent prospect.

Aside from turning the Jazz into Indiana 2.0 by grabbing another former Pacer (and another Hill, coincidentally) in Solomon Hill, this could be a very smart move.

Despite having a rough offseason in 2015 in which Hill apparently lost Bird’s trust and approval (causing him to not pick up Hill’s 2016-17 contract option) and a less than impressive start to the 2015-16 season, Solomon Hill was a critical piece of the Pacers’ success in the second half of the year.

While Hill isn’t the kind of guy that would instantly propel the Jazz into contention, he would be a vital role player, which all true contenders need. Hill is the type of player who adds constant hustle and heart and isn’t afraid to do the dirty work to improve a team’s chance of winning.

Imagine a Trevor Booker-like mentality and energy in a small forward’s body.

The video below gives a decent showing of what he’s capable of, although more than any shooting or scoring abilities that he possesses, it’s the grind-it-out, sacrifice-the-body type effort that he displays on a nightly basis that sets him apart.

Once Hill fought his way back into the rotation following the All-Star break he shot an impressive 49.6 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from deep. In the 2016 playoff match-up against the Toronto Raptors, Hill shot just shy of 58 percent from deep.

Sure, it was only seven games, but with the high volume of threes he put up (he went 11 of 19) in such a high-stakes situation, it was undoubtedly impressive.

In terms of filling the back-up center spot, there are a handful of unrestricted free agent centers that could fit the bill as a solid, but willing back-up behind Rudy Gobert. This includes the likes of Golden State’s Marreese Speights, Toronto’s Bismack Biyombo, Indiana’s (once again) Ian Mahinmi or even Dallas’ Zaza Pachulia.

While none of these four have necessarily been connected to Utah in any way, they are all big men worthy of consideration.

Speights has the best range of the four, while Biyombo and Mahinmi are relentless rim protectors and rebounders; Pachulia is a savvy veteran. Not to mention, with both Mahinmi and Gobert being from France, it would be interesting to see the two as teammates.

Finally, the Jazz have to decide how to alleviate the log-jam at the point guard position. Trey Burke has long been mentioned as the most likely one to go, but it’s unclear how much value they could get out of trading him and which teams might be interested.

There were rumors around the trade deadline that the Detroit Pistons could be interested in trading to bring the Michigan product back home, but clearly these never came to fruition. It may be more likely that the Jazz swap Burke for a future pick rather than an immediate impact.

Then there’s Raul Neto and Shelvin Mack. While both proved their case last year, it seems pretty clear that the Jazz will have to let one of the two go. With George Hill and Dante Exum solidified as the top two options on the depth chart, having two more point guards seems more overkill than insurance.

The only way I see the Jazz keeping both would be if they eventually plan to start Exum, slide Hill to the shooting guard spot, and utilize Burks as a backup three. This seems a bit outlandish, however, and surely wouldn’t be the scenario for 2016-17.

If the decision was as simple as who to keep and who to cut, the Jazz would most likely go with holding onto Mack, who proved himself to be the better player by winning the starting position late last season.

However, it’s likely that the Jazz look to trade one of the two and will decide who to keep based on what the best return offers are. For example, if the Jazz can get more out of Mack than out of Neto, they might opt to keep the seemingly less talented Neto.

Still, it’s possible that Neto might find himself more likely to stay in Utah due to the fact that he is under contract until 2017-18, whereas Mack is on a non-guaranteed contract for the upcoming year. If the Jazz don’t like any of the trade offers coming in for either guard, but feel it necessary to remove one from the team, simply letting Mack walk would be a feasible option.

Clearly the Jazz still have a number of decisions to make as the offseason excitement of free agency and trades starts heating up. A lot of what they ultimately decide to do will depend largely on the decisions of sought after free agents and what assets teams are willing to trade.

Having already made a move to bring veteran George Hill over to the Jazz’s ranks, it’s abundantly clear that the organization is ready and willing to make key moves this offseason that will push them towards becoming a playoff contender. With that being the case, don’t be surprised to see the small forward, center, and point guard issues addressed in the very near future.

Next: An Indy Perspective on George Hill to the Utah Jazz

With the start of free agency on July 1 and players able to sign with their respective teams starting July 7, Jazz fans better be ready as Utah looks poised to be a significant participant this year.

And that means that exciting moves are just around the corner.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats