Contract Extension candidates for the Utah Jazz in 2023-24

Kelly Olynyk and Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
Kelly Olynyk and Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
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Talen Horton-Tucker of the Utah Jazz.
Talen Horton-Tucker of the Utah Jazz.

Talen Horton-Tucker

“THT” as he is known to Utah fans, has been with the Utah Jazz for one season, and had a strong finish, averaging 18 points during March, which followed a multi-month stretch that saw him in and out of the rotation. He opted into the final year of his contract in June 2023.  As a player with an expiring contract, Horton-Tucker has value as a trade piece.  He is a serviceable rotation player at both ends, and he comes with a reasonable $11 million contract in 2023-24, per Basketball Reference.

With the addition of Keyonte George and the return to health of Collin Sexton, along with returning players Jordan Clarkson, Ochai Agbaji, and Kris Dunn, all needing backcourt minutes, it may be difficult to start, much less feature Talen Horton-Tucker in a similar way as he finished the 2022-23 season.

Unless THT breaks out of the gate with strong performances in October and November and forces Will Hardy to play him over other guys on the roster, it seems that he won’t be getting a contract extension right away. The Jazz brass will likely wait for now, since they could offer an extension up until right before the start of free agency, in the summer of 2024.