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Jazz Free Agency Primer: Potential Targets[UPDATED]

Now that the season is over and the Jazz start preparing for the draft and free agency, I thought I'd put together a few posts about what the Jazz can do this offseason. For this post, I'm going to focus on the team’s needs and which free agents could potentially fill those needs.

Team Needs

I'm going to start by breaking down the team's needs by general position rather than skillset.

Starting Power Forward

2017-18 Options: Derrick Favors

Favors started 77 games during the season and 9 of the 11 playoff games, playing over 2400 total minutes. The Jazz will need to fill that hole in some way. Jerebko, Thabo, and Crowder all started the occassional game, but were mostly played off the bench.

Third Wing

2017-18 Options: Rodney Hood, Royce O’Neale, Thabo Sefolosha, Alec Burks

Hood began the season as a starter, but was moved to the 6th man role when Mitchell emerged as the team's best scoring option. With Thabo injured and Hood traded, the Jazz relied mostly on Royce O'Neale to be the first wing off the bench. He played admirable defense, but lacked the scoring punch that most teams rely on from their 6th man, and may be best suited as a 4th wing. Alec Burks received really inconsistent playing time, and eventually fell out of the rotation until the playoffs. He was almost the exact opposite of O'Neale, putting up admirable offensive numbers, but falling flat on the defensive end. He too may be best suited as a 4th wing.

Third Guard

2017-18 Options: Dante Exum, Royce O’Neale, Alec Burks, Raul Neto

With Exum recovering from injury for most of the season, the first guard off the bench was often Royce O'Neale. Again, it was his defense that got him time on the court, but he lacks the ball-handling and passing skills needed to really soldify himself as the team's 3rd guard. Alec Burks was likely the better ball-handler, but still wasn't up to the defensive and playmaking standards needed to solidify himself in this role. Raul Neto plays with the control and intelligence the team wants from their 3rd guard, but lacks the overall game needed to really secure himself a spot in the rotation. All three work quite well as 4th guards, but none of them played above that level.

Potential Fits

I'm going to look at these in two sections. The first is players that are currently under contract with the Jazz. The second will be free agents that the Jazz could realistically bring in with the cap space they will have available. I'm assuming no trades, and also that Favors and Exum both sign elsewhere (because if they sign with the Jazz, they'll keep their spots of starting PF and 3rd guard). If that's the case, the Jazz will have just over $9M in cap space available, so they'd only be able to target players that would take that level of salary (which means I'm not including guys like Paul George, Julius Randle, or Aaron Gordon).

Internal Options

Starting Power Forward: Thabo Sefolosha, Jae Crowder

Thabo was the primary backup until his injury, and may be the default option once he's healthy and served his suspension. He's an excellent defender and was shooting better than he had in years (38% from 3), so starting him as a stretch 4 would be far from the worst option. Jae Crowder started at PF during the playoffs so he's another viable option. Like Thabo, he's an excellent defender, but was a borderline terrible shooter. Jae's career shooting number aren't bad, so there's hope that he'll improve after more time to adjust to his new team. He's also the youngest of these options, so he fits the timeline of the team better than Thabo or Jerebko. Jerebko was solid in his role off the bench and has shown nothing to indicate that he would be the best option to start.

Third Wing: Thabo Sefolosha, Royce O’Neale, Alec Burks

Thabo may be a good option to be the 3rd wing, but he was used far more often as the backup 4. At 34 years old, it's likely that he follows the Joe Johnson path and becomes even more of a small ball power forward rather than moving back to being a wing. O'Neale played himself into the 3rd wing role during the season, and will likely be the default option. His defense is excellent, and his shooting was about average. Going into his second year, there's hope that he'll make a big jump in production or efficiency, but as an older rookie, it's just as likely that he's close to his ceiling. Burks had a great playoff series against Houston and could be given more run next year. He's been plagued by injuries over the last few years, but seemed to finally be fully healthy. He's shown some similarity to Jamal Crawford in his ability to put up a lot of points quickly, but can be a liability on the defensive end.

Third Guard: Royce O’Neale, Alec Burks

Both O'Neale and Burks are more wings than guards. Neither has shown the ability to really control the pace of the game, initiate the offense, or be the primary ball handler for extended stretches. If Exum leaves in free agency, this may be the biggest hole the Jazz will need to fill.

Free Agents

[EDIT: I originally had a giant block of text here, but I realized it was really hard to get through, so I've changed it to a table]

The Jazz are unlikely to have any more than $9M to spend in free agency, so free agents like Paul George, Aaron Gordon, and Julius Randle aren't realistic. The table below names the free agents most likely to be in the Jazz price range as well as their position, current salary, and how they are on some generic skills that the Jazz tend to look for.

Name Position Age FA Type Current $ Projected $ Defense 3pt shot Playmaking
Ersan Ilyasova Big 31 UFA $500K Min Poor Fair Fair
Nemanja Bjelica Big 30 RFA $4M <MLE Poor Good Fair
Luc Mbah a Moute Combo Forward 32 UFA $2.1M MLE Good Fair Poor
Rudy Gay Combo Forward 32 PO $8.4M MLE+ Fair Fair Good
Kyle Anderson Combo Forward 25 RFA $2.1M MLE Great Poor Good
Jerami Grant Combo Forward 24 UFA $1.5M MLE Fair Poor Poor
Jeff Green Combo Forward 32 UFA $2.1M <MLE Poor Poor Fair
Thaddeus Young Combo Forward 30 PO $14.8M $13.7M Good Poor Fair
Michael Beasley Combo Forward 29 UFA $2.1M <MLE Poor Fair Fair
Trevor Ariza Combo Forward 33 UFA $7.5M MLE Good Fair Fair
Mario Hezonja Wing 23 UFA $4M <MLE Good Poor Fair
Wayne Ellington Wing 31 UFA $6.2M <MLE Poor Good Fair
Will Barton Wing 27 UFA $3.5M MLE+ Poor Good Good
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Wing 25 UFA $17.7M MLE+ Good Fair Fair
Joe Harris Wing 27 UFA $1.5M MLE Fair Good Fair
James Ennis Wing 28 UFA $3M <MLE Poor Fair Poor
Tyreke Evans Guard/Wing 29 UFA $3.3M MLE Poor Good Great
Marcus Smart Guard 24 RFA $4.5M MLE+ Great Poor Good
Elfrid Payton Guard 24 RFA $3.3M MLE Fair Poor Great
Avery Bradley Guard 28 UFA $8.8M MLE+ Great Fair Fair
Fred VanVleet Point Guard 24 RFA $1.3M MLE Fair Good Good

There are some good players on that list, with the best probably being Rudy Gay, Trevor Ariza, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Joe Harris, Tyreke Evans, Avery Bradley, and Fred VanVleet. Not everyone will be attainable for the cap space the Jazz have, especially the restricted free agents. It's also likely that Thaddeus Young takes his player option and won't be a free agent. Rudy Gay could do the same thing, though his option is for about the MLE, so he's more likely to test the market.

If the Jazz want someone who fits the timeline of Mitchell and Gobert, they likely target the younger guys. Joe Harris could be a great fit, though he has expressed interest in returning to the Nets, and I'm sure they'd like to keep him, so a larger offer may be needed to pique his interest. Kyle Anderson fits the playmaking four style that Lindsey likes, but he's restricted, so the Spurs may match any offer the Jazz make.

Role will also be important for some of these guys. Payton, Bradley, and Barton have all been starters, so coming off the bench may not be appealing. Career role players like Ellington, and Ennis, and VanVleet would be easier to convince, but may not be better than anyone currently on the roster.

Most Likely Outcome

Most likely, the Jazz retain both Favors and Exum. If the team brings in any free agent, expect it to be a signing similar to the Thabo/Jerebko/Udoh type of deal. The team could use some bench help in the backcourt, so adding an established wing like Wayne Elligton, or taking a flyer on a reclamation project like Hezonja may make the most sense. That said, DL has a habit of pulling off some really unexpected moves.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.