The J-Notes
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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 11, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Semaj Christon (6) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Semaj Christon (6) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Turn the Reins Over to Dante Exum

While each of the formerly proposed solutions for George Hill potentially leaving in free agency have involved acquiring a new free agent, if Utah is unable to come to an agreement with any of them or simply decides they don’t wish to, then the Jazz also have the option of working to replace Hill organically by turning the reins over to Dante Exum.

Many hoped that the addition of George Hill would give Dante Exum an ideal situation in which he could develop and eventually flourish. Although he started out the season quite slow, it’s gradually starting to appear like that could eventually be the case.

Exum has been significantly better since the All-Star break, seeing his points per game jump from 6.2 to 8.1, his field goal shooting jump from 43.3 to 48.3 percent, his free throw attempts per game jump from 0.9 to 2.5 and perhaps most impressively, his three-point percentage jump from 27.1 to a solid 37.5 percent.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/840695457017872384

There’s no questioning that Exum still has plenty to prove, but at the rate he’s seemingly improving of late, he may very well take big strides between now and the end of the regular season and into the postseason, thus encouraging the Jazz to put more trust in him.

Of course, especially initially, moving Exum into the permanent starter position would make the Jazz much worse at the point guard position than they were with George Hill.

However, given time and considering that Utah may be able to add more supplemental pieces to the team in the wake of saving the money that would have otherwise been spent on Hill, it’s possible that Dante could begin to live up to the hype surrounding him when he was drafted and become this team’s franchise point guard.

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Of course the ideal scenario this offseason is that George Hill and the Utah Jazz are simply able to come to an agreement that is both fair to Hill and beneficial for the Jazz. There’s simply no questioning that he has been an exceptional fit for Utah and it’s hard to imagine any reasonably acquirable player making the Jazz better than he can.

Yet, while Hill has alluded to the fact that he would like to stay in Utah, there’s always a chance that things simply won’t work out as fans or the organization itself may hope. If such is the case in this instance, however, Jazz brass can at least take comfort in knowing that there are several other solid options for them to explore that, while they may not be as good as keeping Hill, should still be positive enough to keep this Jazz team trending in the right direction.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com

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