Ranking all 15 Utah Jazz player contracts - bad, good and steals
By Dan Lower
1. The Steals
Lauri Markkanen: The moment Lauri Markkanen was named an All-Star, his contract became one of the best in the NBA. He is making $17.2 million this year, with a $18.0 million salary next year that has a partial guarantee. Even with a slight scoring dip (23.1 to 25.6 a year ago), he's been near 50/40/90 shooting splits and most teams would love to have him on this contract. He's easily the biggest steal of a deal on the Jazz and in the NBA.
Collin Sexton: Fully recovered from his injury-plagued season a year ago, Sexton's deal has gone from potential albatross to value as he has averaged 21.3 points and 5.5 assists on .496/436/.855 shooting splits in 41 starts this season. With a $17.3 million salary, he's on a great contract, with $18.1 and $18.9 due over the next 2 years, which keeps a si value for the Jazz.
Keyonte George: The best of the 3 Jazz rookies, Keyonte has shown enough potential since the summer league to earn minutes and even the starting point guard spot this year. While his shooting was 34% in his first stint as a starter (16 games in November and December), he's at a more respectable 43% this time around, with 16.7 points and 5.4 assists over his last 10 starts. Getting a point guard of the future with a Top 5 pick is one thing. But 16th overall and with a $3.88 million salary? Priceless.
As a parting note, compared to many NBA teams, the Jazz's salary situation is quite good overall. They don't have any players on big-money deals who are sidelined due to injury, and they have no guaranteed salary beyond 2025-26 at this point, meaning they have ultimate flexibility for not only paying their young talent when the time comes but also having the cap room to reshape the roster in a big way.