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

Paul George

This is probably the one that Jazz fans would love to see the most, but also is the least likely. Forget any notions about Paul George playing poorly in clutch situations or sometimes butting heads with teammates, make no mistake about it he would make this Jazz team significantly better.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he would make them elite.

An incredible scoring small forward with the versatility and firepower of Paul George is exactly what this Jazz team needs to pair alongside Mitchell and Gobert as a third star to elevate them to another tier. After two straight seasons averaging over 23 points per game in Indiana, he still averaged 21.9 in OKC despite sharing the floor with the likes of Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.

He also shot over 40 percent from three this past season and is one of those kind of players that can just take a game over when he’s hot. Jazz fans saw this first hand in Game 1 of the series between Utah and OKC.

And, oh yeah, not only is he an electrifying offensive threat that would create a deadly duo alongside Donovan Mitchell, but he’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Having to stop Donovan and PG on offense, then having to face them along with Rudy Gobert and the rest of Utah’s junkyard dog defensive squad would be nothing short of a nightmare for opposing teams night in and night out.

Quin Snyder would almost certainly be the best coach that Paul George has ever had and I could see he, along with Johnnie Bryant and the rest of Utah’s developmental staff, really help Paul thrive in Utah’s system, taking his game to another level and elevating the Jazz into title contention.

Unfortunately, disregard the fact that Utah would need to clear a lot of space to add Paul George, likely parting with Dante Exum, Derrick Favors and all their team-option guys, I still don’t think they have a chance in the world of landing PG.

From a basketball standpoint, his fit would be incredible. He has a good relationship with Donovan Mitchell. He’s witnessed firsthand how dangerous the Jazz can be even without an official All-Star or a reliably potent offense. All those reasons should be pretty impressive to the 28-year-old star. Instead, rather than look at basketball fit, I have a feeling he’ll be looking to give the Thunder another run next year or will even more likely be chasing a big market this summer.

He made as much clear a year ago when he let the Indiana Pacers know that he wasn’t planning to re-sign with them but instead was planning to join the Los Angeles Lakers, which ultimately resulted in Indy trading him. The season in OKC didn’t exactly go as planned and I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s already making plans to get out.

Honestly, if PG joins a Lakers team that, as currently constructed, isn’t close to competing for a championship, I’ll be somewhat disappointed, especially when there’s so many other teams beyond just the Jazz where he would likely enjoy a better basketball fit. George will have plenty of suitors this offseason and may not even give the Jazz a second thought, which is really a shame due to how well his skill set would fit in there.

Especially if he instead puts the bright lights of LA above any other priority, which I could very well see being the case.

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The Utah Jazz are bound to have an intriguing offseason ahead with no shortage of tough decisions. While I think their appeal to free agents is certainly growing, it still has a ways to go before they start regularly landing big fish.

However, with a great core, fantastic front office and brilliant coach, don’t be surprised if the Jazz draw more interest this summer than in years past, and possibly even draw in a big name in the summer of 2019. All four of these aforementioned guys may overlook the Jazz despite an obvious basketball fit, but don’t plan on Utah being overlooked by the masses for much longer.