Opposing teams in the Northwest have some upcoming free agents this offseason that the Utah Jazz should be taking a look into.
The Utah Jazz enter the 2023 offseason with a ton of cap flexibility and the ability to make some noise in free agency. There are few better ways to use that money than to sign talent while taking some away from divisional opponents.
Utah is different from no other team in terms of losing existing talent in free agency. It happens to every team. However, the Jazz can counter this loss by picking up some of the pieces from around some of their rival teams.
The Jazz have the chance to steal some key pieces away from teams they play four times a season while also filling some areas of need of their own. In this process, losing some of these players for these teams can result in a few standings changes, which always fairs better for Utah.
While this free agency doesn’t project to be as stacked as some of the classes in years past, we can expect to still see some valuable rotational and starting players still hit the open market.
With that, here are three players the Jazz can steal from some divisional opponents this offseason:
1: Bruce Brown, SG, Denver Nuggets
Bruce Brown could be an underrated, yet great fit with the Utah Jazz. After spending his previous two seasons in Brooklyn, Brown’s been a key rotational piece to the 1-seeded Nuggets in the West. Now could be the opportunity for the Jazz to add to their wing talent while also chipping away at a championship favorite core.
Brown this season played 80 games averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for Denver, also while being one of the league’s standout perimeter defenders.
Utah signing Brown could be a fantastic addition to the team’s wing depth and defense. He enters this offseason with a pending player option, but if a team seems willing to pay him bigger money than he’s owed (a little over $6 million), then he could decide to hit the open market.
If the Jazz aren’t able to hit a home run signing with their available cap space, Bruce Brown could be a quality and underappreciated addition to the Jazz for the future.
2. Jaylen Nowell, SG, Minnesota Timberwolves
If the Jazz are looking for more scoring with their bench unit, Nowell could potentially be one of the best fits on the open market. This season, he’s averaging a career-high 10.8 points per game, and entering a contract offseason, Nowell might want to get paid money that the Jazz can offer.
While a good scorer, Nowell lacks a bit of the shooting efficiency you’d like to see in a spark plug guard like himself, shooting a lackluster 28% from beyond the arc. However, he makes up for it with an efficient 2-point shooting efficiency at 54%.
Nowell can get to the rim well and provide some depth for the Jazz who may have some question marks at the position entering next season. Players like Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker could eventually decline their player options and sign elsewhere, giving the Jazz a good opportunity to sign a piece like Jaylen
Jaylen enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Considering the Timberwolves’ current payroll situation, paying big money to players like Gobert, Towns, and eventually Edwards, it’s very likely we’ll see Nowell playing elsewhere for the 2023-24 season.
3. Jerami Grant, PF, Portland Trail Blazers
Likely the most impactful of these three free agents, Grant could prove to be a valuable addition to the Jazz this upcoming season. Considering the poor current state of the Portland Trail Blazers, there are no guarantees for Grant to stay put in Portland.
The Jazz this past season started Kelly Olynyk over 70 games beside Walker Kessler in the front court. While Olynyk down the stretch proved to be a bit more productive than we initially thought, he’s by no means the long-term option for the position. By signing a player like Grant this offseason, the Jazz can find much more stability in the frontcourt than they did this past season.
Grant is coming off an extremely solid season by his standards, posting his second career 20-point-per-game season. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the process as well. He also posted a career-high 40% clip from beyond the arc.
Considering the Jazz’s current cap situation this offseason, they could opt to make a bigger-scale signing like Grant. He provides ample size, scoring, and shooting which could all be of value for Utah this upcoming season. A signing like this also prevents the Jazz from parting ways with some of their valuable players or draft assets in order to address the need at PF.