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

By Jared Woodcox

Mar 15, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) backs down Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith (14) during the second half at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) backs down Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith (14) during the second half at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 3, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue talks with guard Deron Williams (31) in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Cavaliers won 135-130. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue talks with guard Deron Williams (31) in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Cavaliers won 135-130. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

Deron Williams

While he most certainly isn’t the D-Will of old who led the Utah Jazz to several playoff appearances including the Western Conference Finals, he still has plenty of gas left in his tank. There were several rumors tying Williams to the Jazz around this season’s trade deadline as well as after he was waived by the Mavericks.

Ultimately, Utah passed on the opportunity to add him as Williams expressed interest in joining the Cleveland Cavaliers to bolster them for their title run.

Nevertheless, it’s common knowledge that Deron still has several ties to Utah and several reports have indicated that he would love to finish his career with the Jazz. In my opinion, this would be an awesome and fitting reunion that could actually work really well for Utah.

At 13.1 points and 6.9 assists this season as a starter with the Mavs, Williams is still plenty capable of contributing as well as running an offense. Beyond that, with all of his experience, he would be an exceptional mentor for Dante Exum who would ideally eventually be able to take over the starting spot.

From a financial standpoint, Williams would also likely make sense especially if it’s true that it’s a goal of his to get back to Salt Lake City. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him be willing to take somewhat of a hometown discount and obviously won’t demand anywhere near the max like some of his counterparts on this list.

If such were the case, Utah could potentially also utilize additional cap space to pursue some depth at the power forward position which has also been a season-long concern. While Williams would certainly be a downgrade from George Hill, perhaps his addition plus that of a capable power forward would overall be enough to make up for Hill’s departure and make the Jazz even better next season.

But whether things came together quite like that or not, D-Will would still bring a lot of positives to the table such as veteran experience, a formidable finishing ability and of course a prodigal son-like sentiment by making his return to the team that drafted him.

He may not be as good as Utah’s current point guard and he isn’t the player he once was, but his addition would still give the Jazz a solid and proven starting point guard while reducing a significant amount of the damage caused by a potential Hill departure.

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