Utah Jazz: Five free agent options at small forward

Trevor Ariza

Particularly if the Houston Rockets aim to make a big splash in free agency by, oh I don’t know, let’s say adding LeBron James, they’re going to have a hard time paying everybody from last year’s roster. With that being the case, trusty veteran Trevor Ariza may find himself among the first to go.

He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer anyway, so looking for a new home might have been in the plans from the get-go. As important as he was to the Rockets as an experienced veteran and solid 3-and-D player, there’s plenty of reasons to believe that he’ll be attainable this summer.

However, it should also be noted that recent reports have indicated that Ariza is pursuing a deal in the range of $50-60 million over four to five years. This would put him at roughly $10-15 million per year, which in that case, the Jazz should just simply walk away. After all, while he’s undoubtedly a useful player that will bring lock-down perimeter defense and above-average 3-point shooting, he’s also nearing 33 years old and is certainly well past his prime.

But if Ariza were willing to take something a bit closer to the $7.4 million this past year, then he could be an ideal match for the Jazz. Utah could even extend him a bit of a raise and still add him with Mid-Level Exception money.

Ariza would further build on Utah’s gritty defensive mindset as he’d be capable of guarding opposing teams’ best perimeter player night in and night out. His numbers from deep aren’t as impressive as his 3-and-D reputation would lead some to believe, but he’s still serviceable from deep and would space the floor by commanding defenders’ respect.

He could also on occasion slide to the small-ball four spot to add an extra wrinkle to Utah’s offense while challenging opposing shooting power forwards. Considering all these attributes, Ariza could very well be a solid, high-impact pickup, if he could be had for the right price.