The extension signing period has arrived. I’m very curious to see what happens because I think this will determine how far this team will be able to go in the future. I don’t believe that you need to have a top 5 talent to win a championship. I believe in density. I believe championship teams have the most talent per salary cap. Having a top 5 talent on your team is probably the easiest way to get density, since top 5 players are capped at the max salary they can make. But I think it’s much easier to think about championship teams in terms of density.

Under the new salary cap teams will still only be able to have around 3 max players on a roster. Let’s assume, for an example, that the league averages 2 max contracts per team. That means that the top 60 players in the league are all max salaries. In order to maximize talent or density, a championship team will need 3 max players (the higher the players are rated the greater the density) and will still need some money left over to add some complimentary veterans to the roster.

The Jazz trio of Hayward, Favors, and Gobert is good, but not championship good alone. In order to get player talent density and become a championship contender in the future the Jazz will need Hayward, Favors, and Gobert to play at a discount. The cap is expect to be $102M next season with a luxury tax set around $122, that means the Jazz can spend around $100M on its core pieces and then surround that talent with veterans at the minimum and rookie deals.

Option 1 – Players Sign at Max

Hayward - $30M per yr

Favors - $30M per yr

Gobert - $25M per yr

Alec Burks - $15M per yr or best talent at $15M

Other minimum deals and rookie deals

Option 2 – Players Sign at Discount

Hayward - $23M per yr

Favors - $22M per yr

Gobert - $20M per yr

Hood -$20M per yr

Exum - $15M per yr

Other minimum deals and rookie deals

If Favors and Gobert are willing to sign extensions at a discount that will give us a clue as to what the future Jazz team will look like. While I think option 2 is unrealistic, that is what I’m hoping for. I think option 2’s core 5 players has the density to be a championship contender. What do you think?