The Utah Jazz were one of the positive surprises in the league last season, but still reached the second playoff round after Gordon Hayward’s departure. That is why continuity and the rookie sensation of the previous season will continue to be the focus at the salt lake.
The off-season at the salt lake was contemplative. The focus was on the company’s own free agents, all of which could be held. Power Forward Derrick Favors signed for another two years and $37.6 million and was the most important personality of the summer for Utah.
Agreement was also reached quite quickly with Restricted Free Agent Dante Exum. The Australian Guard will keep the Jazz three more seasons for a total of 33 million. Free Agent Raul Neto will also return to jazz in the coming season: The Brazilian will collect 2.1 million each over the next two years, although the second contract year is not guaranteed.
Former two-way player Georges Niang was also awarded a real three-year contract (a total of 4.9 million), but the forward is only guaranteed the first year of his contract. In the draft, jazz pecked to position 21 and pulled ex-Dukie Grayson Allen, who spent the full four years in college and with almost 23 years could help Utah from now on. Second round pick Vincent Edwards was handed over to the Houston Rockets for 1.5 million on draft evening.
On the side of the exits is Jonas Jerebko, whom the Jazz dismissed. The Forward joined the Golden State Warriors shortly afterwards. Playmaker David Stockton, who won a contract last season, was also fired.
In the Mormon state, continuity is the order of the day and this is perfectly understandable. After a weak start last season, after the comeback of Center Rudy Gobert, the Jazz developed into one of the best teams in the league and shocked Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs in the first round.
Reaching the second round against Houston can be seen as an honourable success, after Gordon Hayward left the small franchise the summer before. The direction did not change even without Hayward. The jazz comes through the collective as well as crisp defense around Anker and Defensive Player of the Year Gobert.
Everyone in Utah knows that Salt Lake City is not a prominent address for free agents anyway. So it’s not surprising that Favors is a little overpaid now, which one accepts in Utah with pleasure.
Instead of big names, they continue to focus on training their own players. A prime example is Joe Ingles, who did not get a chance in the NBA before his engagement in Utah. The ex-Ludwigsburg Royce O’Neale is another example of the good work done in SLC.
The pillars of the team are still tied up for the long term anyway. All starters with the exception of Ricky Rubio will be under contract until at least 2020, usually at excellent and team-friendly conditions. This gives Utah sufficient financial leeway next summer to keep Rubio if desired. Cap Space now has around 24 million dollars at its disposal.
The Jazz were at the highest level too dependent on rookie sensation Mitchell. This was revealed mercilessly by the boiled Rockets in the second round. Of course, Rubio was an important part of this series, but it cannot be denied that there is a shortage of players who can regularly create their own degrees.
Mitchell was the exception, and Ingles also showed an approach, but the Australian also has clear athletic deficits, which he can usually cover with an extremely high basketball IQ. One of them is Exum. The Guard has left his serious injuries behind and in Utah great hopes continue to be placed in the No.5 pick of 2014, as shown by the extension of his contract.
His drive is difficult to stop because of his speed, so the jazz offensive with many kick outs and subsequent ball movement really gets going. But: There is still a lack of real snipers. Ingles may be the best corner kicker in the league, but after that it gets dark. With Jerebko, a 40 per cent shooter left the team, the remaining important rotation players only scratched 35 per cent.
This also applies to Donovan Mitchell, who only met 34 percent of his threesomes. Nevertheless, the Guard has become the face of the franchise within a year. His refreshingly open manner is well received by the fans, as is his carefree, fearless style of playing. Contrary to expectations, he increased his performance once again in the playoffs – to the disappointment of the Thunder. Mitchell thus became the first rookie to lead his team in scoring since Carmelo Anthony in 2004 with an average of 20.5 points,
It can be assumed that Mitchell’s development is far from complete, the former No.13 pick is too ambitious for that. “This summer is not a lap of honor for me. My season was great, but I know I have to keep working hard,” announced Mitchell just days after the play-off.
One will have gladly taken note of this in jazz. And despite all the work, Mitchell was omnipresent. The Shooting Guard was at the draft and was happy for his old college buddy Allen, at the Summer League he always sat Courtside. Spida toured through China to promote NBA2k online because it adorns the cover in China.
Now it is also important to show in the real world that Mitchell can become a star over the years and perhaps the most popular player of all time who has put on the jazz jersey.
The goals of the offseason were achieved with the new contracts for Favors and Exum, even if they may have paid a corner too much. Apart from that, the jazz continues to draw on last year’s strong offseason (despite Hayward’s departure). The franchise pillars are there with Mitchell and Gobert and obviously identify fully with the team.
Why the Jazz didn’t think Jerebko as a player for the depth is not really understandable, but the Swede should not have much influence on success or failure. Jazz is likely to remain a potential stumbling block for Contender or other ambitious teams in the coming year.
And who knows: If Mitchell should really ignite the next stage of his development and this time Gobert plays through the season without injury, ideally the place directly behind the warriors could be in the realm of possibility.
The note: 2-