The Utah Jazz need a small forward. Danny Ainge has promised to go "big game hunting" in his attempt to land a major name or two. The Jazz want to build around Lauri Markkanen and they know to do so they're going to need a player of equal caliber. A player like, perhaps, Paul George.
George is just one of the big names on the market likely to move destinations this offseason, with his time likely coming to a close with the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite playing alongside Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the Clippers have done nothing but leave the playoff early. George is 34 and near the end of his career.
He can't afford to run it back on a team with no real ability to improve. The Clippers are a bloated team financially and have no draft picks to utilize. It's time to blow things up, and that means George is likely gone. If he is, he'll be a free agent and the Jazz could take a run at him.
If they do, however, they'd be wise to listen to Evan Turner, former Ohio State point forward and ex-teammate of George while with the Indiana Pacers. In a recent edition of his podcast, Point Forward, which he hosts with Andre Iguodala, Turner tore his former teammate down some, by pointing out he's a soft player.
""(Paul George) has a history of not showing up. Which is an understatement...I never met a human that would let a media rumor drive his energy or personality…""
Turner would then go on to say that if George were to go to say, Philadelphia, it would be the "softest" team in the league. George has a history of injuries, he misses a lot of time and he does seem to be a bit temperamental, at least if we're to believe Turner.
The NBA is a wild league as teams kill their chances at winning constantly by overpaying for 'name value' and not 'play value'. George was great; five years ago. He's no longer that guy but he's going to ask for "that guy" type of money. Someone's going to give it to him and they're going to fail.
It's the NBA ecosystem. You buy a name, but not the talent and you're going to fail. The NBA and the Jazz need to be willing to only offer up the contracts players currently deserve, that way they can avoid ending like the Clippers or 76ers. Leonard, George, and soon-to-be-ex-76ers forward Tobias Harris have all held back the teams they've been on due to bloated contracts and middling play.
If George hits the free agent market, the Jazz should seriously consider not signing him for anything more than $20 a year for the next two or three years. That's about what he's worth anymore.
Spending is out of control, and more teams need to embrace the Minnesota Timberwolves approach when they dealt with Latrell Spreewell. They offered him a contract, but he declined it saying that he couldn't feed his kids on $15 million. Just like that, no one gave him a contract worth nearly that much ever again.
The Jazz need to keep that thought in the back of their mind as they figure out what to do this offseason. Don't overspend on aging, soft veterans.