The Utah Jazz finally have a direction going forward. Being all in on the tank, the Jazz have also maintained long-term cap flexibility. Next summer, they'll have the cap room to add someone special. However, with their current standing, the plan shouldn't be to splurge on a top notch free agents, but rather using it to acquire albatross contracts that come with valuable draft assets.
ESPN's Bobby Marks outlined how the Jazz are one of the 10 teams that will have plenty of cap room next season.
"Starting next offseason, ESPN is projecting at least 10 teams -- Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Utah and Washington -- to have significant cap space," Marks wrote.
There are several notable names that could be or will be free agents next summer, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Trae Young, and James Harden. Some old friends like Collin Sexton and John Collins will also be on the open market.
However, the Jazz can use this to their long-term advantage. Other teams will want the cap room to sign some of the big names, and to avoid what the Milwaukee Bucks did with Damian Lillard to sign Myles Turner, they may be willing to give up some solid assets to do that.
That's where the Jazz come in. Now they may not necessarily absorb deals that would have three years left because that would be too much and they are definitely going to start trying before those three years are up. Deals with two years left, that could be worth it.
Some players the Jazz could absorb to get those assets
NBA teams have gotten smarter when using the cap room, as they don't recklessly spend their money like they used to. However, there are still several albatross contracts that the Jazz could hypothetically could absorb. Let's start with the one that's definitely pushing it.
Paul George: This has been brought up before, and Jazz fans were understandably not keen on the idea then. However, once this next season passes by, suddenly George's deal has only two years left. It's an expensive deal, but not a long one, and if the Jazz can finagle a draft asset or one of their young players in the process, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Jerami Grant: Grant isn't nearly as expensive as George, but that might make him more appealing. Marks noted that Portland will have cap room, but with Damian Lillard coming back next season, they'll want all the help they can get. Utah can help in that regard, and the Trail Blazers have some exciting young talent.
Dejounte Murray: The Pelicans guard will likely miss this coming season because of an Achilles injury. New Orleans is such an unlucky franchise that perhaps trading Murray could alleviate some of that bad luck, but fingers crossed. While a deal with Utah wouldn't sound likely if it involves young player, New Orleans has made some ill-advised deals recently, so it's not out of character for them to make another.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: His deal is a bit more team-friendly, as his contract is both cheaper and shorter, but like esteemed Jazz addition Jusuf Nurkic, he's coming off a terrible season. He's probably the easiest to acquire, and even though Memphis did some major shakeups, they might try to save some money next summer, which is how the Jazz could strike.