3 bad defenders the Utah Jazz need to part ways with this offseason
By Chad Porto
The Utah Jazz have been one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA all year but it's finally caught up to them without the likes of Kelly Olynyk, Simone Fontecchio, and Ochai Agbaji. The trio were among the team's better defenders and since their trades, the team has fallen off. They still have their two best defenders in Kris Dunn and Walker Kessler but as of press Dunn is currently out with a two-game suspension while Kessler is getting inconsistent minutes.
As the Jazz are trying to lose, the two men playing a lot of minutes actually isn't helping the overall plan that the front office has, no matter how misguided it is. Still, the Jazz need to utilize both Dunn and Kessler better next season while also adding talent around them to help stop opposing offenses. Having a team that is as bad as it is on defense is going to ensure that losing becomes the norm in Salt Lake City, and no one wants that.
So guys need to go. We know that Keyonte George and Collin Sexton are terrible defenders, so you need to get guys who can bolster their inadequacies on that end of the floor. Rolling out the current lineup isn't helping anyone in that regard. This team needs to reshape its identity this offseason.
Now, for a point of reference, guys like Luka Samanic and Johnny Juzang are not on this list, because they don't play enough to factor in. Neither guy is a long-term option and both will likely be gone anyway. So for the sake of an improved defense, we're only looking at long-term options that need to be replaced.