As the Utah Jazz aim to find subtle ways to improve this offseason, here are seven under-the-radar and affordable free agents that they ought to keep a close eye on.
With the Utah Jazz 2017-18 season officially coming to a close, all attention has been turned towards the offseason. This Jazz team turned in an impressive year, but now the focus has to be placed on how they can improve even further in order to get past the giants in the West such as the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
Doing so will be no easy task and will certainly require the Jazz front office to be judicious in every aspect of the offseason including the draft, free agency and potential trade market. However, there has been a lot of debate among the Utah faithful lately regarding what this summer should entail for the Jazz.
Should they aim to largely keep the team together, make internal improvement the main focus and see what they can accomplish next season before getting too risky? Or should Utah get aggressive and look to make major moves this summer while several teams find themselves strapped for cash?
That’s a tough choice facing Dennis Lindsey and Co. It’s likely that the decision they make will largely hinge on what opportunities and circumstances arise across the league. Rest assured, though, that no matter the method, this Jazz team will look to get better this summer. And while I can’t answer whether they’ll aim to do that by concentrating mainly on internal improvement or by making a splash, I do think it’s safe to say we’ll see some degree of roster changes.
Those changes may not be drastic, but expect the Jazz to be players in free agency and plan to bring in at a minimum some complimentary pieces that could help the team patch up some holes. As such, I’ve compiled a list of seven potential free agents the Jazz could pursue that could help them accomplish just that.
Now bear in mind, these aren’t your headliner free agents. There’s no LeBron James or Paul George to be found here. Heck, even the likes of Jabari Parker or Aaron Gordon are too big of names for what I’m talking about. These seven guys are largely under-the-radar prospects, who though they wouldn’t necessarily completely move the needle for the Jazz, they could certainly be helpful.
The qualifications I looked for in these guys include that they are realistically attainable, they help the Jazz patch up some obvious need (three-point shooting, play-making, additional hard-nosed defense, etc.) and they made under $4 million last season and don’t figure to be in for huge pay-days this summer.
That would exclude guys like Parker or Gordon who will likely receive hefty offers as well as someone like Tyreke Evans (who I actually like for the Jazz, by the way) who was on an affordable contract last year, but likely will be in for a bump in pay due to solid play. It also excludes a few fringe guys like Mario Hezonja (another one I like for Utah) who made just over $4 million last season.
With that being the case, as I said, these seven guys aren’t world-movers by any means, but they all certainly provide things to be excited about and could be nice under-the-radar pickups for the Utah Jazz.