Utah Jazz: Top 10 story lines to watch for in 2017-18

Will Joe Ingles live up to his lucrative contract?

There’s no questioning that the two players that were most instrumental in leading the Jazz to their impressive 2016-17 season were Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert. However, beyond those two the player that had the most surprisingly successful year and one of the biggest impacts on the team was without a doubt Joe Ingles.

Ingles nearly doubled his scoring output from the previous season and became one of the league’s most dangerous sharpshooters by converting from behind the arc at a 44.1 percent clip. He transformed into an effective perimeter defender and also brought several intangibles to the Jazz that helped them be a better team each and every night, which reflected in several of his advanced stats.

In other words, while many presumed that Ingles landed his hefty four-year, $52 million contract as an effort to keep him on the team and therefore keep Hayward happy, in a lot of ways he certainly deserved the pay day he received. However, now that he’s been blessed with that big check, he’ll have to prove to his team that he is truly worth every penny.

Ingles largely had a breakout year in 2016-17 and while his role may be somewhat altered this upcoming season, the Jazz still need him to be just as productive, if not more so. Ingles will no longer be flying under team’s radars or surprising them with his deadly three-point shot, so he will likely be more of a focal point for opposing team’s defenses.

With that being the case, he’ll have to step up big time to not only continue to be an effective piece of the Jazz’s attack on both ends of the floor, but also to prove that he deserves the large raise he received. Ingles has long been a Jazz fan favorite, and seeing him continue to establish himself as such while earning his keep will be an absolutely thrilling part of the upcoming season.