Utah Jazz: Five intriguing story lines that have emerged from 2018 Playoffs
Could Jazz become appealing free agent destination?
With the Utah Jazz knotting the series with the Houston Rockets at a game apiece, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that they find a way to upset the top-seeded Rockets, advance to the Western Conference Finals and perhaps continue to shock the world from there. Or, they could very well falter and lose in five games to Houston, thus halting their advance dead in its tracks.
Whether that happens or not, the Jazz have already had a stupendous season that has set them up for incredible success in the future. The fact that they beat OKC and have at a minimum challenged Houston (time will tell if they do more than that) just proves that they are a team on the rise that with a couple additional pieces could be even more dangerous in future seasons.
With such being the case, could some of those “additional pieces” that just happen to be free agents find the Utah Jazz to be a potentially alluring and exciting destination?
We all know that Salt Lake City isn’t a big market and typically has been far from a sought after free agent destination. But strictly basketball speaking, the Jazz are undeniably one of the most appealing landing spots in the NBA. They have an incredible core in place with the likes of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, exceptional role players such as Joe Ingles, Jae Crowder and others, one of the best coaches in the league in Quin Snyder and a culture focused on winning games and putting the team first.
🎥| “We have this saying going around right now: 'The strength of the team is the team.' I think that was something that was in effect last night because everyone was stepping up.”
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 4, 2018
After his big night (& dunk) @daanteee sits down with @kristenkenney.
>> https://t.co/X4HoI7O3Bf https://t.co/ZIUoGOgHaJ
That’s a pretty hard pitch to beat if basketball is a player’s priority. And if it’s not their priority, they likely wouldn’t fit with the Jazz anyway, so that makes things a little easier.
If the Jazz do end up advancing past the Rockets (obviously a big IF), and can at least challenge the Warriors somewhat, they’re certainly going to turn heads even more than they already have. However, even if they do lose four straight to Houston to lose the series, they’ve still proven that they are far closer to contending than many would have ever dreamed going into this season.
As such, I have to believe that there are free agents that would love to join such a tight-knit, well-coached and formidable squad. If there is a fit to be found on both the team and player side, the Jazz could very well land themselves some significant talent this summer. Many have surmised that 2019 will be when the Jazz really look to attack the free agent market, so even if 2018 is somewhat slow, this year’s performance has set them up nicely for the next summer as well.
Regardless of how things pan out this postseason or during the upcoming free agency period, the Jazz have put themselves in an excellent position to put together an awesome free agent pitch and attract top talent. When exactly that pays off remains to be seen, but I have a feeling it could be sooner rather than later.
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The 2017-18 Utah Jazz season has been one of the most memorable years in recent memory and it’s far from over as the team continues to battle in the playoffs. However, since it has been such an incredible year, even once it comes to an end, there will be several more exciting story lines to follow as the Jazz continue to leave their mark on the league.