Entering year 2 of the rebuild and the first official offseason of it, this will be an important few months for the Utah Jazz. The team’s future won’t be made or broken by any one move that they make this offseason, but at the same time, all it takes is one bad move to cripple a rebuild.
As the Jazz attempt to improve the roster this offseason, especially when it comes through free agency, they must do so with as much discernment as possible.
The Utah Jazz is projected to have plenty of money to spend in free agency
Part of rebuilding means having plenty of money to spend in free agency. However, just because the Jazz will have cap space doesn’t mean they have to use it recklessly. Utah can afford to spend some money this offseason, but what they need to avoid is spending a dumb amount of money. Especially on any one free agent.
Heading into the offseason, we explore 11 free agents that the Jazz should avoid overpaying for.
Jordan Clarkson
It’s expected that Jordan Clarkson will weigh his options this offseason. Ultimately, he’s likely to decline his player option for the 2023-24 NBA season and test free agency. Coming off a season in which he averaged a career-best 21 points per game, it would be extremely surprising if he didn’t.
Clarkson is going to try to strike while the iron is hot and get perhaps one more big-money, long-term deal. And he should. With the way he played this past season, he probably deserves it. However, that doesn’t mean the Jazz should be the team to offer it.
Still in the infant stages of a rebuild, the Jazz don’t need to pay a 31-year-old guard big money. It would be shortsighted and a mistake that could end up costing the Jazz down the line.