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SALT LAKE CITY — You've seen them play big roles in the NBA Playoffs.
Jonathon Simmons is an off-the-bench weapon for the San Antonio Spurs, playing major minutes in the conference finals and averaging over 15 points per game. Less than two years ago, he was here in Salt Lake City, participating in a Jazz free agent minicamp.
He's not the only one: JaMychal Green, starting power forward for the Memphis Grizzlies, made a major impact on a small salary. Four years ago, he also participated in the Jazz's free agent minicamp.
That gives the team of David Fredman, Jazz director of pro player personnel, and Bart Taylor, Jazz director of scouting, some pride and some heartburn.
"We're tougher on ourselves than anybody else is," Fredman said. "We ask ourselves, 'Where were we? What did we not see?'"
On Friday and Saturday, the Jazz are holding their fifth annual free agent minicamp for guys like Simmons, Green, and the 14 other players who have played in the NBA. Two, Toure Murry and Patrick Christopher, played for Utah.
The Jazz are trying to improve on that number with the best group of talent in the minicamp since its inception. Eleven of the 25 players at the 2017 minicamp have NBA experience. Some have real name value.
Tyler Hansbrough, maybe better known as "Psycho T" thanks to his time at North Carolina, participated in the workout. He's played in 428 games, starting 50 of them, though he'll be 32 by the time the season starts in October.
R.J. Hunter was a major target of many Jazz fans in the 2015 NBA Draft and ended up going 28th overall to the Boston Celtics. But faced with a roster crunch, the Celtics cut Hunter at the beginning of the season. He played just three games for the Chicago Bulls before being waived in December.
Jarnell Stokes is a former Jazz second-round draft selection, who was then traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for a future pick. Stokes never really stuck after his rookie season in Memphis and has found himself playing for Miami and Denver, but mostly dominating the D-League.
But if we've learned anything from the experience of Simmons and Green, it's the players we don't know that well that might be the next NBA rotation player.
"We've put Bart in charge of bringing in the players, Fredman said, "and it's the best minicamp we've had."
One other factor that will help the Jazz find that next talent: the new collective bargaining agreement. The new CBA allows for two extra "two-way" roster spots per team, allowing the Jazz to shuttle players back and forth between the NBA team and the minor league Salt Lake City Stars. Those two players will earn much more than the D-League salaries (which are essentially near or at minimum wage).
"Players understand that with these two-ways, there's more of an opportunity for them," Taylor said. If teams are healthy, then that opportunity probably comes in the D-League. But as the Jazz have shown over the years, health is anything but a given, and that's when players can take steps forward at the NBA level.
"The best case scenario is we find a rotation player for the Jazz," Fredman added. "Dennis (Lindsey) set a high standard for the whole league when he was with San Antonio with Danny Green. He's a legitimate guy who's won championships and started."
And for the 25 free-agent players, that's the best case scenario, too.
