Utah’s Grand Dilemma
So the Jazz certainly face a difficult dilemma. Of course it would be great for all three to perform well in the playoffs and for Utah to then be able to retain each of them. However, those two factors might contradict one another. If all three are phenomenal in the postseason and as a result merit large upticks in salary, then the Jazz might be faced with picking two out of the three that they can realistically afford to hold onto.
After all, several other Jazzmen are reaching the tail end of their contracts, plus if Utah hopes to make any additions via free agency themselves, keeping all three of them at heightened prices may result in the Jazz’s hands being tied.
In other words, beyond the simple objective of hoping to play their best basketball and log as many playoff wins as possible, there are a lot of additional dynamics at work as Utah gets set to return to postseason action, many of them having largely to do with how their impending free agents will perform and how the Jazz will be able to pay them this summer.
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However, the most important of the three players is without a doubt Gordon Hayward. Thus perhaps the highest stake the Jazz have this postseason is doing enough as a team to convince him to stay in Utah, if they haven’t done so already.
Hayward has shown plenty of signs that he is indeed committed to staying, so hopefully an impressive showing on his part in the postseason leading to an incredible performance from the rest of his team will help lock him down long-term.
And from there, regardless of the tough decisions that will loom, I fully trust in the Jazz front office to make the best financial and strategic decisions moving forward to ensure that Utah’s return to the postseason won’t just be a one-year stint.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com