Utah Jazz: 15 realistic free agency options post-Conley trade

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: DeMarre Carroll #9 of the Brooklyn Nets guards Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz during a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: DeMarre Carroll #9 of the Brooklyn Nets guards Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz during a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
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Dante Cunningham San Antonio Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge DeMar DeRozan
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 23: Dante Cunningham #33, DeMar DeRozan #10, and LaMarcus Aldridge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs walk to the bench against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 23, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Spurs 122-120. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Dante Cunningham

So, nobody is burning up the presses about how the Jazz need to bring in Dante Cunningham. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s exactly the kind of player you want occupying your back-end roster spots.

Simply put, he’s a hard-working, gutsy player who’s going to be in the right spots on the floor and help set the right tone for a squad that has high aspirations. Last year, he actually started games for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs as a 31-year-old who only averaged three points per game, if that tells you anything.

In recent years, Cunningham has also done something he was never known for as a young player, i.e. take and make 3-point shots. He largely only does so when he’s open and within the flow of the offense, but he actually knocked down 46 percent from deep last season.

As with many of these players, he’s no world-beater, but he is a quality pro who probably comes on the cheap and can hold down the fort for 12-15 minutes or so a night without hurting the team. And, with their aces already in place, that’s really what the Jazz are looking for at a base level.