Grading each Utah Jazz offseason decision thus far

Waiving Jonas Jerebko

Barring an unexpected trade, it would appear that the only player who logged meaningful minutes for the Jazz last season that won’t be returning is Jonas Jerebko as Utah opted to not pick up the second year of his contract. I’m a little disappointed by this as I loved Jerebko’s attitude and hustle whenever he was on the court. He served as a nice spark plug who actually shot the ball exceptionally well from deep.

However, he did at times struggle defensively and was never able to be a consistent part of the Jazz rotation. While he seemed to fit in the locker room and with Utah’s culture, on the court he was never quite the most seamless addition.

It remains to be seen what will come of the roster spot that will be available following Jerebko’s departure. There is speculation that G-League and Summer League standout Georges Niang could take that spot. I’m higher on Niang than most, so if this ends up being the case, I’ll feel much better about waiving Jerebko.

However, since we still don’t know what Jazz brass has up their sleeves after waiving him, and because I feel like he was a good deep-ball threat and energizer off the bench, I’m dropping this grade somewhat. Not to mention, the fact that he left the Jazz to sign with the Golden State Warriors is more than a little depressing. Hopefully he won’t be able to impart too many secrets on how the Jazz whooped up on the Warriors in two contests last season.

This decision could prove to be much higher than the grade I’m giving below depending on how the Jazz proceed. But considering that Jerebko was a good veteran to have around, that the Jazz could have easily afforded to keep him and that he went to a bitter enemy, until we see what comes of that final roster spot, I’m feeling less than cheery about this decision.

Grade – C