For the first time since the 2015-16 NBA campaign, the Utah Jazz missed out on the postseason. The Jazz were in the playoff race for much of the 2022-23 regular season, but a 2-8 stretch to end the season sealed their fate. Utah finished the regular season with a 37-45 record, the 12th-best in the Western Conference and three games back of the final play-in spot.
Despite the Jazz's losing record, though, this season was undoubtedly a success. After all, Utah traded two of its best players, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, in the summer of 2022 and was clearly shifting towards a rebuild. So the fact that the Jazz were even able to remain competitive and in the postseason hunt for the lion's share of the regular season is no small feat.
After a successful first year of Utah's rebuild, a productive free-agency period could have helped fans get even more excited about the future. Unfortunately, though, the Utah Jazz have been inactive in free agency thus far.
The Utah Jazz have yet to sign a free agent this July. They offered Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed an offer sheet, but the Sixers may very well match it. It's a bit puzzling that the Jazz haven't signed a free agent yet, considering they are light on depth at one very important position. With all of that said, let's look at one big mistake that the Utah Jazz made in free agency:
1 big mistake by Jazz in 2023 NBA free agency
Not adding a point guard to the roster
The Utah Jazz don't have a single pure point guard on the roster. Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are both starter-caliber guards in the NBA, but they're score-first point guards who are at their best when they're getting buckets. Hence, the Jazz would be wise to add a more traditional, playmaking point guard to their roster via free agency.
One name still on the dried-up free-agent market who makes sense as a target is Denver Nuggets point guard Ish Smith. Considering the Nuggets' guard depth this season, Smith didn't play a whole lot with Denver. He averaged a mere 9.3 minutes per game during the 2022-23 regular season across 43 appearances, and he logged a total of 12 minutes during Denver's legendary postseason run. But his stats off the bench with the Washington Wizards during the 2021-22 campaign indicate that he can still be quite the effective backup floor general.
Ish Smith appeared in 28 games with the Washington Wizards in the 2021-22 season, and during his stint with Washington, he impacted the game on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Smith provided steady playmaking and scoring, as he averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 assists per contest. Smith's assists number becomes even more impressive when factoring in his turnover rate — Smith turned the ball over only 1.5 times per contest.
And on the defensive side of the ball, Ish Smith wasn't some lock-down defender, but he made his presence felt by forcing turnovers and coming up with steals. He averaged 1.0 takeaways per game off the Washington bench in the 2021-22 NBA season.
At this juncture, only time will tell if the Utah Jazz will stand pat with their current roster or decide to add more players via free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Jazz should add a playmaking point guard to their roster in free agency this summer.