Utah Jazz: Sportsbook giving Jazz long odds to land Tobias Harris

Do the Utah Jazz have a realistic shot at landing Tobias Harris or one of the other top free agents on the market this summer?

To say this offseason is a big one for the Utah Jazz isn’t breaking news. As constituted, they’re at or approaching a plateau, and with the team possessing the ability to open up large amounts of cap space, the time is nigh to snag a third star to team with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell while they’re still being paid the discount rate.

The free agent names that are currently lighting up Jazzland are Philadelphia 76ers big man Tobias Harris and Charlotte Hornets alpha dog Kemba Walker. However, the Jazz may have a tough time luring either to Salt Lake City, at least according to oddsmakers.

BetOnline has released betting odds for the landing spots of several notable players who are either hitting the open market or are candidates to be traded. That includes lines for Harris and Walker, and if you’re one who looks at that sort of thing as a predictor, it’s a good news/bad news situation for the Jazz.

Probably the latter more than anything.

Among Harris’ potential suitors, Utah is listed among the betting options, but the BetOnline book currently lists the Jazz as a +1000 bet. That’s essentially a 10-to-1 shot, which makes for a great payout if you’re a gambler, but doesn’t inspire confidence in the Jazz’s free agent pursuits.

Here’s all the odds for Harris, via Odds Shark on Twitter —

Re: Walker, the Jazz didn’t get any love from oddsmakers. Nor did they as a suitor for Brooklyn Nets point man D’Angelo Russell.

Now, I do have to make one thing crystal clear about betting odds — the ultimate goal is always more to drive betting action than to actually predict the outcome of a situation. Moreover, I wouldn’t say that the folks in Las Vegas or anywhere else people are taking wagers necessarily have any special insight into what players will or won’t do this summer.

Still, it would seem that the tea leaves are currently being read a certain way as relates to Harris (or Walker) to the Jazz. And that way isn’t one that inspires confidence about Utah’s ability to land a big-time free agent.

It’s also worth nothing that Harris, Walker and Russell can all receive substantially more money if they re-sign with their current teams. Particularly in the case of Walker, who is now eligible for a five-year, $221-million supermax deal in Charlotte.

Nevertheless, the Jazz could free up to nearly $39 million in cap space this summer, and are an established winner with a great coach and a young core. It would seem that those things should speak to somebody on the market.