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The Utah Jazz are unlikely to make the leap to playoff contention next season, and their offseason moves suggest that the front office knows they're in it for the long game. With the Jazz residing in the tougher Western Conference, it would take a miracle for them to be even in the play-in tournament picture. In fact, it's not quite clear yet if they have the blue-chip prospect they need to take their rebuild to the next level.
Ace Bailey could be that guy, although his Summer League performance left a lot to be desired. Bailey also comes with his fair share of off-court baggage; can he overcome that en route to being the franchise cornerstone the Jazz need him to be?
But beyond that, it's clear that the Jazz are still in talent accumulation mode, hoping that one of those players turns into the star they badly need to get back to their competitive ways.
With that in mind, this move was something they should have done to at least give them another lottery ticket.
The Jazz should have maintained cap space for a restricted free agent
At present, only two teams in the NBA have cap space remaining — the Jazz and the Brooklyn Nets. Cap space has dried up all around the association, leading to a huge pause in free-agent signings. There has been no significant motion in free agency for weeks now, even with talented players such as Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, and Cam Thomas still unsigned heading into the middle of August.
Considering how badly the Jazz need to infuse their roster with talent, they should have prioritized being able to create the space they needed to be able to tender an acceptable offer sheet to one of those aforementioned restricted free agents.
Of course, it's not like all four of them would be seamless fits on the roster. Kuminga, for instance, would be battling for frontcourt minutes with the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Bailey, Kyle Filipowski, and Taylor Hendricks (once he returns). But considering that he's only 22 years of age, bringing him in would represent a major upside play for Utah.
Kuminga's desire for a bigger role has been well-documented, and he simply won't be getting that on the Warriors. If the Jazz carved up around $25-$30 million in cap space, they could have given Kuminga an offer sheet he couldn't refuse and putting pressure on the Warriors to make a snap decision with one fell swoop.
The other three remaining noteworthy restricted free agents are guards, but the Jazz, looking at their roster at present, appear to be in dire need of a quality shooting guard. It's not quite clear who the Jazz will be starting at the two — they can roll with a backcourt of Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George, but that is deathly undersized.
They could also lean more towards supersized basketball, deploying Bailey at the two, while trotting out Markkanen at the three and perhaps Filipowski at the four with the departure of John Collins via trade.
Even then, the Jazz badly need more offense (among the many things they need to become a winning team). Adding someone like Grimes would have been incredible. Grimes and the Philadelphia 76ers are currently at an impasse as well; after his scorching hot end to last season, Grimes is asking for a lot of money befitting of someone who was dropping 30 and 40 point-games like it was nobody else's business.
Grimes, since arriving with the 76ers, put up 21.9 points per game on 47/37/75 shooting splits, averaging 2.9 made triples per contest. He can thrive both on and off the ball, and he would have given Utah a go-to scorer on the perimeter who's efficient — someone Utah needs to lessen the scoring burden on Markkanen's shoulders.
Even Giddey would be a fine addition for the Jazz. While he's not a marksman from beyond the arc, he flexed his well-rounded game towards the end of the year — putting up 16.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game on 48/43/81 splits. Utah has leaned on a supersized identity on the past, and Giddey would fit like hand and glove since he stands at 6'8″ at the point guard position.
Simply put, the Jazz could have opened up the space to at least make the teams of the restricted free agents sweat more than they have thus far this offseason. They could have waived Kenyon Martin Jr.'s non-guaranteed contract or found a taker for Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love's contracts.
Things can still change for the Jazz, but that is unlikely since there are no concrete indications suggesting that they plan to move in restricted free agency.
