Utah Jazz: Potential Point Guard Targets if George Hill Can’t Be Retained

The buzz surrounding a potential George Hill departure as a free agent this summer continues to increase. Should such be the case, who could the Utah Jazz pursue to fill the void left by his absence?

If you were to ask any Utah Jazz fan what one of the key reasons is that the team has been able to take such a leap this year, you can bet that without a doubt one of the names that would come up would be George Hill.

Following the three-team trade this past summer that sent Utah’s 12th pick in the draft to Atlanta, former Hawks guard Jeff Teague to the Indiana Pacers and former Pacers guard George Hill to the Jazz, there’s been no question that he’s been an absolute godsend. The point guard position was one of Utah’s most glaring weaknesses last season and there’s no denying that Hill has exceeded expectations at filling that void.

Aside from the fact that Hill has had to deal with a number of injuries this season, he’s been phenomenal practically whenever he’s been on the court. So far this season, he’s averaging career highs in points (17.4), field goal percentage (.479), three-point percentage (.410) and plus/minus (+7.0).

Not only has he himself excelled, but having an experienced and capable point guard running the offense has made the Jazz as a team exponentially better. Gordon Hayward continues to build on his All-Star season and Rudy Gobert is making massive strides. Both of their improvements could very well be linked to the acquisition of George Hill.

Unfortunately, while the Jazz have made it clear all season long that they had hoped to extend Hill beyond this season, ultimately contract discussions came to an end and Utah and Hill were unable to reach an extension agreement prior to the required deadline.

This obviously led to some justifiable concern among Jazz fans as, given Hill’s impending status as an unrestricted free agent, the failure to lock him down now could jeopardize Utah’s chances of retaining him beyond the 2016-17 campaign.

Most recently, as our very own Drew Mackay chimed in about yesterday, rumors that the Brooklyn Nets, who have been more than willing to throw big money at free agents, could potentially have interest in Utah’s veteran point guard further stirred the anxiety pot. The news has led many to further question whether the Jazz will be able (or perhaps better put, willing) to offer Hill the kind of money he’s seeking or if Utah is at risk of losing him entirely.

To be clear, the Utah Jazz want George Hill and truthfully there have been several indications that George Hill wants the Jazz. He told ESPN earlier in the season that he was “very interested” in an extension. Aside from the fact that he has simply fit seamlessly with Utah’s roster and style of play, he has also had the following notable things to say about his time with the Jazz so far:

"“Utah’s an amazing state and Salt Lake is an amazing city. I’ve been welcomed with open arms, I love it here.”"

"“I’m not the type of guy that likes to move around and go from team to team. I really like it here. My family likes it here. I’ve got some friends here. The city’s been great for me so far, and it’s a nice place to raise a family, so hopefully I get an opportunity to re-sign here if they would love me to be here.”"

Furthermore, according to the Deseret News’ Jody Genessy, there’s plenty of reason for optimism that despite the fact that no contract extension was agreed upon this season, there’s a good chance that Hill and the Jazz will get something worked out this summer. He had the following to say on the matter:

"“George Hill likes Utah and enjoys playing for the Jazz. The Jazz like Hill and enjoy having him play for them. It’s quite possible the two will continue their relationship past this season. It just won’t be known if that will happen until July.”"

"“It doesn’t mean that Hill and the Jazz are so far apart on financial terms that the two can’t find common ground to work on during the 2017 free agency period. Hill has built a solid relationship with fellow Indianapolis native Gordon Hayward and has thrived in the Jazz system despite having nagging thumb and big toe injuries this season.”"

So that is all clearly good news for the Utah Jazz who have made George Hill a critical piece of their success. Nevertheless, the trouble arises in the fact that reports have indicated that Hill will be seeking a max contract similar to Mike Conley’s this offseason, which according to ESPN sources, in his case would likely be a four-year $132 million agreement.

And regardless of your feelings of whether Hill is worth that much to the Jazz or not, that’s a lot of money, especially for a Utah team that already has one unarguable max player in Gordon Hayward that they’ll have to pay as well as several tough financial decisions looming involving other members of their core.

Perhaps at the end of the day, Hill will see that his fit with the Jazz and the potential to create something special in Utah is worth being somewhat flexible. But the fact of the matter is that money talks and, as last offseason taught us, there’s plenty of desperate teams out there, such as the aforementioned Nets, who are more than willing to throw that kind of cash at free agents.

So while it certainly isn’t the desired or optimal situation, if it turns out that the Jazz and Hill can’t come to an agreement and Utah’s perceived savior turns out to be nothing more than a one-year rental, then the Jazz will have some work to do this offseason to fill the glaring hole that undoubtedly will surface in the event that Hill leaves.

It’s a discouraging prospect to consider, to be sure, but if such ends up being the case then here are a handful of options the Jazz could pursue to hopefully lessen the blow of Hill’s departure and still remain formidable in the Western Conference.