Offseason objectives for the Utah Jazz

4. Make A Tough Decision With George Hill

This is possibly the most controversial part of what will be a busy offseason for the Jazz’s front office. George Hill was a revelation in the early part of the season, but an onslaught of injuries quickly derailed an All-Star caliber year.

At the start of the season, Jazz fans were marveling at the work of General Manager Dennis Lindsey to trade the 12th pick in the draft for George Hill. But sadly, now it looks as if turning Taurean Prince over to the Hawks in a three-team deal that would ultimately land Hill in Utah was not the smartest idea in retrospect. Sure, despite Hill’s injuries he still managed to help the team during the regular season and to their first playoff series win in seven years, but Taurean Prince has future All-Star written all over him.

Now the Jazz have to make the toughest decision of the offseason; whether to re-sign Hill or to let him walk. Put simply, even if the Jazz trade Alec Burks and his huge contract, and re-sign Ingles and Hayward cheaper than expected, they still won’t have the money to throw at a ‘superstar’ if they keep George Hill.

This is why his contract needs to be dealt with after the former three have been decided. The decision to keep or cut Hill will largely be decided by how much he requests on his contract. I say, anything over 12 million a year and you have to let him go, because it takes away any chance of getting another great player this summer. He will almost definitely demand that kind of money, and if the Jazz won’t give him upwards of that, I’m sure a lot of other teams will.

I have a reason as to why the Jazz have to take a risk and cut Hill. I hate to be a bummer to all you die-hard Jazz fans out there, but as long as LeBron James is still roaming an NBA court and playing at that once-in-a-generation level, and Golden State has that much star power, the Jazz will never beat either team with their current roster.

No disrespect to Hill, but with a couple added years of development to Exum, Gobert, Hood, Lyles, Bolomboy, etc. they could contend if you put a player like Jimmy Butler, Paul George or Chris Paul (you’d learn to love him) in the place of Hill.

Tell me you wouldn’t want to see Chris Paul, the best pick and roll player of the last decade and the NBA’s best point guard in a lineup with a more developed Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert. Now that team has a chance against the star-studded Warriors and LeBron’s Cavaliers.

Hill is another player I would hate to see go, not only is he a terrific player, but from everything you hear, he is an even better person. He is a credit to the community and an outstanding role model. It’s just another one of those circumstances where the player and the franchise can’t both get what they want.