Over the course of their franchise existence and the implementation of NBA Free Agency, the Utah Jazz haven’t been “big” offseason players. Most of the team’s success has come via the draft-and-develop philosophy or via trade.
In the few occasions in which the Jazz have tried to make big moves via free agency, it hasn’t always gone right. In fact, there are a few instances in which Utah made the misstep of signing potential difference-makers a couple of years too late.
In this article, we’ll explore a few players the Jazz (knowingly or not) signed past their prime.
Difference-makers the Utah Jazz signed past their prime
John Starks (2000)
Known for being one of the most successful undrafted stories in the NBA, John Starks made a name for himself with the New York Knicks but ended his career with the Utah Jazz. Starks signed with the Jazz during the 2000 offseason and while he did have some bright spots during his first season with the team, by his second year it was quite evident that the end was near for the talented guard.
Starting 64 of 75 games with the Jazz during the 2000-01 season, Starks started just one of 66 games played with Utah during the 2001-02 campaign in which he averaged four points per game on 37 percent shooting from the field.
Looking back, you can argue that Starks would’ve been a great signing for the Jazz had it happened just a few years prior. After two seasons with the Jazz, Starks’ successful career in the NBA came to an end.
Raja Bell (2010)
Raja Bell had two different stints with the Utah Jazz over the course of his career. But it’s the second stint that we’re going to key on here. After hitting his peak with the Phoenix Suns (ironically after two productive and encouraging seasons with the Jazz), Bell spent time with Charlotte and Golden State before electing to sign a three-year contract with Utah during the 2010 offseason. However, for more reasons than one, his return to the Jazz didn’t exactly go as planned.
Bell was far from the productive two-way player that he was previously at his peak and his relationship with the Jazz organization took a turn for the worse. So much so that he remained away from the team during the 2021-13 season, ultimately being waived by the Jazz after not being moved at the NBA Trade Deadline.
Bell would not play in the NBA again and would officially retire from the league shortly after. Bell was another great undrafted success story in the NBA and I can’t help but wonder if Utah somewhat regrets bringing Bell back for a second stint knowing how it all ended between the two sides.
Jamaal Tinsley (2011)
Breaking out as a difference-maker during his first seven seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Jamaal Tinsley’s tenure with the team ended in 2009. It’s unfortunate that it ended on somewhat of a sour note, but it was clearly time for the two sides to part ways. Tinsley elected to reignite his career on another team. His first stop was with the Memphis Grizzlies, before ultimately signing with the Utah Jazz in 2011. He would end up spending three seasons with the Jazz.
Even though Tinsley spent three seasons with the Jazz, his tenure with the team has to be considered somewhat disappointing. By the time Tinsley got to the Jazz, not only was he beyond his prime but he was not in much of a position to play a huge role for an NBA team.
During the three seasons Tinsley spent with the Jazz, he played in 111 combined games and started just 38 of them. In his best season in Utah, Tinsley averaged four points and three assists per game on 40 percent shooting from the field.
As a surprise to no one, Tinsley’s stint with the Jazz ended up being his final stop in his NBA career.
Joe Johnson (2016)
Over the course of his career, Joe Johnson made seven All-Star teams. In his prime, he was one of the best scorers in the league. Johnson made his waves in the league with the Atlanta Hawks but had five other stops in the league before officially calling it a career after the 2017-18 season and then in 2021-22 after an extremely abbreviated comeback. One of his stops post-Hawks was with the Utah Jazz.
Signing a two-year with the Jazz during the summer of 2016, the hope was that Johnson would be a valued veteran who could help right the ship and open the door for this team to make a return to the postseason. Even though the 2016-17 Jazz finished as the fifth seed and made it to the second round of the playoffs, Johnson’s two-year stint with Utah was very much inconsistent.
During his first season with the team, Johnson played in 78 games, starting 14 of them. He averaged nine points per game on 43 percent shooting from the field. During his second season, his production took a hit as he struggled with injuries. The Jazz quickly realized Johnson was no longer a fit and was traded to the Sacramento as part of a three-team deal.
Jeff Green (2019)
Just before the 2011-12 NBA season, Jeff Green was diagnosed with a heart condition that could not only have ended his career but his life. Thanks to doctors, Green’s condition was caught at the right time and he was able to resume his NBA playing career during the 2012-13 season. Somewhat miraculously, Green was able to get back to form after finding his footing again with the Boston Celtics. Five teams and four years after his stint with the Celtics came to an end, Green signed a free-agent contract with the Utah Jazz during the 2019 offseason.
Unfortunately, Green’s attempt to find a consistent new home in the NBA came to a quick end. A couple of months into the season, the Jazz elected to waive Green. In the 30 games that he played in Utah during that season, Green averaged just eight points per game on a career-low 39 percent shooting from the field.
Green struggled to find his footing with the Jazz as he averaged a career-low 18 minutes per game. It quickly became apparent that the combination of the Jazz and Green wasn’t great.
Rudy Gay (2021)
Rudy Gay has had an interesting NBA career. On one hand, you can make the argument that he didn’t live up to his potential coming out of college (as a top 10 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft). And that’s fair. However, he was an extremely productive player for a very long time in the league. So much so that he’s become an underrated player in retrospect.
Long after his prime years, though, the Utah Jazz took a flier on Gay during the 2021 offseason in which he signed a free-agent deal with the team.
Even as a seasoned veteran, it seemed as if there was an even bigger drop-off from Gay when he joined the Jazz. For the first time in his career, Gay averaged less than 10 points per game and played less than 20 minutes per contest in both seasons in Utah. At this point, considering his stint with the Jazz, it’s not a huge surprise that he finds himself as a free agent at the moment.
While there’s still a chance he could get another opportunity in the NBA, at the age of 37, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if he’s played his last game in the Association.
Hassan Whiteside (2021)
Hassan Whiteside is probably the banner player for the Miami Heat when it comes to their reclamation projects. They took a big that was out of the league and hanging on in the G League to a $100 million player. After falling out of grace in Miami, Whiteside tried to hand on in the league elsewhere, with one of his final spots being with the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz signed Whiteside just before the start of the 2021-22 NBA season.
Whiteside operated as the backup for Rudy Gobert in Utah and actually had his moments. For as limited as he was at this point in his career, Whiteside still managed to sign 1.6 blocks per game – which was good enough for the top 10 in the league. Whiteside also managed to average eight points and eight rebounds but at hit point in his career, as the math for big men quickly changed, was more of a liability when he was on the floor.
After the 2021-22 NBA season, with not much free-agent interest, Whiteside elected to move on from the Association and signed with a professional basketball league in Puerto Rico. We’ve probably seen the last of Whiteside in the NBA.