Jazz beat reporter makes team's stance on Quentin Grimes crystal clear

The Utah Jazz opened up a lot of cap space this offseason. They already entered the summer with some cap room, then opened up more with the John Collins trade. With that cap room, they could add one of the better free agents still on the open market, like Quentin Grimes. However, The Athletic's Tony Jones put that possibility to bed

Grimes, who is coming off a breakout impressive enough that he would have made some sense as a Jazz target, is still a restricted free agent. While the Jazz could sign him to an offer sheet if they wanted (they would likely have to waive KJ Martin and/or Kevin Love, Jones made it crystal clear Utah's not adding him.

"He doesn’t make sense for Utah," Jones wrote. He then followed it up with why he doesn't make sense for the team, writing, "The Jazz are in a spot where they need to play their young guys because they are going to have to make decisions on a lot of players soon."

Jones is right. Utah has so many young players to trot out this coming season to see who should stick and who shouldn't. With the exception of Lauri Markkanen and maybe Walker Kessler, the majority of the Jazz's roster will enter next season with something to prove.

That includes Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, Walter Clayton Jr., Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George, Cody Williams, and Taylor Hendricks. Some of them are more proven than others, but this season, they will get a better opportunity to showcase themselves. Grimes would only complicate the rotation even more if the Jazz added him.

That's not an indictment on Grimes at all. He's a good player who definitely showed there might be more to his game than many thought. While the breakout he had came for a 76ers team whose season was already going down the drain, it is surprising that he has had no market. Although, that's been the case with the most high profile restricted free agents this offseason.

On a team that's emphasizing its youth, Grimes isn't exactly old (turned 25 in May), but he's old enough that it seems contradictory to add him to a team like Utah's. Lauri Markkanen may have something to say about that, but unlike Grimes, he's a surefire star when he's firing on all cylinders.

The Jazz need to spend their money wisely

A common misunderstanding for teams with cap space is that they must spend it immediately and spend all they can for as long as they can. NBA teams have only started to be a little more careful, as there aren't as many outright albatrosses like there have been in the past.

Grimes wouldn't actually be the worst investment, but Utah isn't looking to win right now in this transitional period. When thinking about these last three years, and especially with the moves they have made this offseason, adding him would be both confusing and frustrating.

As talented as Grimes is, signing him is not the right way to build a winner for the Jazz. It can be for the Sixers because they are trying to win in the present, but that's not the Jazz's MO.