The J-Notes
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Five things that must happen for the Utah Jazz to be title contenders post-Conley trade

By Jared Woodcox

MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 23: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum on March 23, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. Minnesota won 112-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 23: Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum on March 23, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. Minnesota won 112-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 25: Georges Niang #31 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 25, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 25: Georges Niang #31 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 25, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

Significant internal improvement – especially from role players

The Jazz as currently constructed, especially once they accomplish step one and round out their roster, are a very good team. However, if they’re going to take a true leap to title contention, they’re going to have to do it from within and get much, much better.

That begins with rising star Donovan Mitchell, who after a slow start to last season ended the year in statement fashion as he averaged 26.7 points on 46.1 percent shooting from the field and 45.1 percent from deep post-All-Star break. If that becomes his new norm, the Jazz will be absolutely deadly. Spida isn’t anywhere close to his ceiling yet, but creeping closer will be vital to the Jazz truly boasting a Big 3 and inching towards title contention.

But beyond Utah’s starters, who you could argue may already be good enough as they are barring an unforeseen regression (though of course improvement is always desired and important), most importantly of all the Jazz will need their role players to up their game to another level. This perhaps applies to no one player more than to Dante Exum, whose career has been decimated by a constant fight with injuries thus far.

However, before going down to his second to last injury of the year – the ankle sprain (yes, I know they’re hard to keep track of) – he put together one of the most promising stretches of his career. If he can remain healthy and somehow maintain that confidence and effectiveness all year long, he, and the Jazz in turn, will become something extremely special.

Royce O’Neale made massive strides last year, and as he continues to get better as a 3-and-D threat, he could very well be a Sixth Man of the Year Candidate. The Jazz will need that in order to truly contend. Some meaningful improvement from Tony Bradley, though not mission critical, would certainly be helpful as well.

But to me the biggest one outside of Exum has to be Georges Niang. Niang showed some brilliant moments last season and clearly has gained a lot of trust from the Jazz front office for his relentless work ethic, sky-high basketball IQ and floor-spacing abilities. With Crowder now out of the picture, unless the Jazz somehow find a way to bring in a new stretch-four in free agency, they’ll largely be entrusting Georges to step up and take command in that role.

That’s a lot to ask of a guy who was playing solely in the G-League just a couple of seasons ago.

However, the 41 percent he shot from distance over the course of last season is a highly reassuring sign. If he can become more consistent in that regard and fine tune his defense and decision making, he could be an X-factor that helps fill the void left by Crowder and propel the Jazz to their long-coveted contender status.

That’s a lot of chips that have to fall into place and I’m certain not all of them will. But if Utah hopes to be a contender, they’ll need at least the majority of these to pan out, particularly in the case of Donovan Mitchell and at least two of Royce, Georges, Dante and Tony.

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