Don't look now, but free agency is underway for the Utah Jazz
By Dan Lower
The NBA Finals ended on June 17th, a bit early as the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-1. As a result, the NBA offseason started one day later, and one of the perks of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement allows teams, including our Utah Jazz, to begin talking with their free agents early before other teams get to muddle the picture with competing offers.
As a result, teams can now negotiate contracts over a week before the NBA Draft, with Indiana already reaching an agreement with their star forward Pascal Siakam on a rumored 4 year, $189 million deal - removing him from the market before it even begins.
For the Utah Jazz, they have 10 players with guaranteed contracts for 2024-25 and a few players to make free-agent decisions on: Talen Horton-Tucker, Kris Dunn, Luka Samanic, Kira Lewis Jr., and two-way players Johnny Juzang and Micah Potter.
Additionally, they have a June 28th deadline to make a decision on guaranteeing star Lauri Markkanen's full $18 million salary for 2024-25.
Widely considered to be a formality at this point, the bigger deadline will be August 6 - when Markkanen becomes extension-eligible and the Jazz can tack on money for 2024-25 as well as several more years, likely in the range of $190-200 million overall.
Aside from Markkanen's expected extension, should the Jazz extend any of their current free agents?
Kris Dunn has been a valuable reserve and sometimes starter the past 1.5 seasons. He plays solid defense and is a good passer, things that all teams need. He could end up on the radar of other teams for a significant raise over the $2.5 million he made in Utah this past season.
Talen Horton-Tucker has been much maligned by many Jazz fans but has value to contending teams looking for veteran depth to round out their rosters. He made $11 million in Utah this past season and isn't likely to get the same money elsewhere; however, a more consistent role could lure him to leave Utah for less money.
Luka Samanic had a rough year with the Jazz, and seemed to regress from his play in 2022-23. Going forward, it would seem that most of the frontcourt minutes off the bench will go to Taylor Hendricks, who has significant potential. Samanic will likely not be back with the Jazz in 2024-25.
Omer Yurtseven isn't a free agent yet, but the Jazz have a team option to pick up soon for next year, or decline and he becomes a free agent. Based on his output, the Jazz may keep him another year, but it's unlikely. He hasn't progressed enough to warrant staying with the Jazz. However, if no other options surface in the draft or free agency, he might make a return to Utah in 2024-25.
Kira Lewis has a qualifying offer as he comes near the end of his rookie scale deal. The value of this is $7.9 million for 2024-25. If the Jazz extends that to Lewis, he will become a restricted free agent, and they can match any offer he receives from another team. However, Lewis did not play a significant role for the Jazz after coming over in the Kelly Olynyk trade, so it's unlikely that the Jazz pick this offer up. Lewis will likely be let go to create more cap room for other moves.
The Utah Jazz don't have a big list of players to decide on, but they do have $38 million in cap room to work with, possibly more if they play their cards right.
They also will likely make a trade or two this offseason which could open up more space. Buckle up, as Craig Bolerjack would say. The offseason is just getting started!