Utah Jazz: 2 free agents they should have pursued this offseason

The Utah Jazz have had a quietly successful offseason. None of the team’s acquisitions dominated NBA Twitter, but that’s perfectly fine: running back a marginally upgraded 52-20 squad is strictly good business. Rudy Gay, Eric Paschall and Hassan Whiteside represent three solid, low-risk acquisitions that should add wins to the Jazz’s ledger.

This current iteration of the Jazz is fundamentally built around three components: backcourt offense (specifically, from the talented trio of Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley Jr., and Jordan Clarkson), Rudy Gobert’s defense, and depth. As demonstrated by their previously mentioned league-best 2020-21 regular season record, the model works. The largest questions surrounding the Utah Jazz heading into this offseason revolved around their ability to counter small ball formations, and they answered them all with the acquisitions of Gay and Paschall.

Nonetheless, there are always nits to pick in the National Basketball Association, and the Jazz cannot escape scrutiny any more easily than 29 other teams that did not win the NBA championship last season. They never profiled as a team likely to broker a blockbuster acquisition this season, however, there is a case to be made that they could have made more significant improvements to their 2021-22 outlook.

Here are 2 players the Utah Jazz should have pursued in free agency this offseason.