The Utah Jazz have used the off-season to continue their rebuilding process. They have not made many moves, but they did make one extremely important move - retaining Gordon Hayward.
Utah’s main focus was to keep restricted costless agent Gordon Hayward this summer. They were determined to match any offer for Hayward, and they did just that when the Charlotte Hornets offered Hayward a four-year, $63 million deal. Hayward has been developing his all-around game and has slowly become the face of the franchise. Hayward averaged career bests 16.2 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game last season. He was a must keep for the Jazz, no matter what.
The Jazz, later, added frontcourt depth by trading for Steve Novak and signing Trevor Booker. Novak will give Utah elite three-point shooting if he sees minutes, while Booker will supply energy, hustle, and rebounding.
Moreover, for some backcourt depth, the Jazz gave Toure’ Murry a partially guaranteed contract. Murry is a combo guard with fantastic size. He did not see many minutes last season with the New York Knicks, but may play a larger role with Utah if he could land a roster spot, which is very likely.
Just recently, the Jazz signed Dahntay Jones to a non-guaranteed deal, but he could potentially make the roster as well due to his veteran experience, perimeter defense, and physical nastiness. The Jazz also unloaded three players to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Carrick Felix, who did not play in all but seven games for Cleveland. We have yet to see Felix’s full potential, and may not see much of him with the Jazz either, since Utah is loaded with plenty of shooting guards.
Nevertheless, the Utah Jazz have had a decent off-season. They were able to keep Gordon Hayward, even though his new contract is a bit lucrative. The Jazz had no choice but to keep him. Utah may see slight improvements this season, but they will still be near the bottom of the standings in the West.
Grade: C+
Depth Chart:
PG: Trey Burke/Toure Murry/Dee Bost
SG: Dante Exum/Alec Burks/Dahntay Jones/Ian Clark/Carrick Felix/Kevin Murphy
SF: Gordon Hayward/Rodney Hood/Steve Novak
PF: Derrick Favors/Trevor Booker/Jeremy Evans/Brock Motum/Jack Cooley
C: Enes Kanter/Rudy Gobert
Coach: Quin Snyder