The J-Notes
Fansided

Four free agents that likely won’t consider Utah Jazz, but probably should

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: a general view of the Utah Jazz flag during Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets on May 6, 2018 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: a general view of the Utah Jazz flag during Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets on May 6, 2018 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – May 5: JJ Redick #17 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Boston Celtics during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – May 5: JJ Redick #17 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Boston Celtics during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

JJ Redick

One thing that is high on Utah’s wish list for this offseason has to be knock-down three-point shooters. Enter JJ Redick.

After playing one year with the Philadelphia 76ers on an incredibly high $23 million contract, he’s now set to hit free agency and could very well be looking for a new team. The Sixers are dead set on adding a big name such as Paul George, LeBron James or trading for Kawhi Leonard, and for them to do so, it’s more than likely that they would simply part ways with Redick rather than look to re-sign him.

Of course, for Redick to make sense for the Jazz, he’d need to be willing to take a pretty significant pay cut from his $23 million. If the lack of appeal that the state of Utah tends to have isn’t already enough to turn him away, less money may then ultimately do the trick.

But let’s assume that’s not an issue, Redick would be a nice pickup for the Jazz who would love to have his floor-spacing ability. Redick is a career 41.5 percent three-point shooter. He shot well over 40 percent in each of the last four seasons, including finishing 2015-16 at a mind-blowing mark of 47.5 percent with 5.6 attempts per game in 75 games played. This past year with the Sixers, he shot an incredible 42 percent.

What’s more is that on wide open threes (defined as closest defender six or more feet away), he shot 49.5 percent this past season. Considering how good Quin Snyder is at getting his teams to execute schemes that lead to open shots, Redick would be absolutely deadly with the Jazz. Imagine Donovan Mitchell driving to the cup having both Joe Ingles and JJ Redick available on the wings to dish out to for an open three. That’s just scary.

And while Redick is known mainly as a shooter, his ability to put up points in general shouldn’t be ignored. He averaged a career-high 17.1 points per game in his lone year with the Sixers, and even upped that during the playoffs. The Jazz could certainly use another reliable 15-20 points per night kind of guy to help add to their currently lackluster scoring punch. Redick could very well fit the bill and thrive therein.

I wouldn’t say there’s a zero percent chance of Redick coming to Utah, but I have a hard time seeing them being high on his list. After spending so much time with the LA Clippers and this past year in Philly, Redick may have a hard time coming to a market as small as Salt Lake, especially when losing to Utah in the playoffs in 2017 is still so fresh.

But if he’s looking for a sort of Sixers situation 2.0 where he can be a major contributor on a rising squad, but that also would provide a system in which he should be able to thrive, he definitely would be wise to consider taking a long, hard look at the Jazz.

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