Howard has now met with all of his suitors and will make a decision in the next day or sixty-five. The reason this is important is that his decision will be the first domino to tip, causing a flurry of secondary moves among the teams that cleared all their cap space, and fell short.
The Jazz are on record as saying they are waiting out the movement in the first days because these contracts favor the players. Now, I'm no veteran general manager, but in this market, my thought is that the opposite will likely be true. Certainly in the past, that may have been the case, but the last few years have been vastly different with teams clearing space to sign megastars whenever their contracts expire. What this means is that there are only a handful of 1st or 2nd tier players available, and when Howard makes his decision, there will be a rush for GM's to put together a competitive team.
Players like Igoudala, Josh Smith, OJ Mayo, Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap will likely see their contract prices go through the roof. There have already been contracts signed that set a market price for players like Mayo and Kyle Korver. If the Jazz are going to move, they should do it now before the bidding starts to get too rich for them.
The good news is that the Jazz were one of the first to reach out to Paul Millsap. They weren't hitting the speed dial to get through to his phone before any other team, as Jody Genessy writes:
Moments after becoming an unrestricted free agent, the longtime Utah Jazz power forward entertained a guest.
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey.
There are theories abound about whether Millsap's play last year, but the truth is that he is a skilled big man with a good handle, great rebounding skills, and a great midrange shot. These are things that will make him very successful in what is certain to be a pick and roll heavy offense, next year.
Spencer (@UtahJazzPodcast) tweeted out an interesting article from Forbes, this morning. In it, the author talks about the need for NBA rookies to save 40% of their income and spend the rest wisely. The article specifically mentions players renting in the city they play for, but buying in another city if that's where they want to live. Sage advice, and it gives fans a reason to take a breath when they read about a player buying in another city. It doesn't mean they don't love team and fans, it probably just means (like many of us) they want to live near a beach.
Summer League in Orlando starts on Sunday. There's more information on the front page regarding the teams involved and the rosters, but the news here is that all of the games will be televised on NBATV. If you cancelled your cable after the end of the season, you can still watch the games via the Summer League Mobile App. It will be $15 for all of the games.
Last year I watched a bunch of the games during my summer finance class. I don't recommend this. More information here (about Summer League, not my finance class).
Keep checking back with SLC Dunk. We'll have post up as soon as something breaks in Jazz free agency talks. If something breaks.
We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Try not to melt and have a happy and safe Independence Day.