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The highly anticipated landmark date came and went with a whole lot of talk but no action, creating even greater expectations this summer.
Much to the dismay of many, the Jazz made no moves before last week’s trade deadline, setting the stage for an even more interesting offseason. For the rest of the season the Jazz will be who they are, meaning a playoff berth is well within reach but won’t come easily.
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The problem is, if they qualify for the postseason, a repeat of last year’s one-and-done is likely. Hence, the frustration of thousands of fans who desperately wanted the Jazz to shake up the roster by jettisoning a veteran big man or two to open more playing time for a young big man or two.
Patience, my friends.
We're not hamstrung with contracts that we can't move. There's eight or nine teams in the league that are hamstrung, that they are in a position now they might have to give a player away. We might be able to collect.
–Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O'Connor
By not making any deals now, the Jazz only pushed back the inevitable. With as many as nine impending free agents, the team is facing several hard decisions.
“Our job is to improve our team,” said Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O’Connor.
Knowing they need to open up playing time for the youthful Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors, the Jazz had been active in trade talks. For several months, under the right circumstances, they were receptive to moving either Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson.
In the end, the right offer never came their way. Credit the Jazz resisting any urge to make cosmetic changes.
“We’re not afraid to make a deal,” said O’Connor, noting that only Millsap remains on the roster from three years ago.
Debunking a theory, the current state of the Jazz — their record has consistently improved since their schedule turned more favorable — did not factor into the decision to not make any moves. One line of thinking was management was hesitant to break up a good thing
Not true, O’Connor stated.
“The best time to trade somebody is when you’re playing well,” he said.
The Jazz had better hope the second-best time is in the offseason. Simply stated, they’ve got to make significant changes.
As summer approaches, management has to make a fundamental decision on the future. Do they stay the course and re-sign Millsap and Jefferson or do they commit to the youth movement?
With Millsap and Jefferson as the core, the Jazz have a low ceiling. As Monday night’s overtime loss to the Boston Celtics showed, the Jazz need at least one superstar to strongly compete in a superstar-driven league.
As good as Millsap and Jefferson are, they can’t be counted on to lead a team on a deep playoff run. They are better suited to be complementary players as opposed to the best players on a team.
The preference here is to go young. In this case, the unknown is worth exploring.
With all the expiring contracts, the Jazz go into the offseason with a tremendous amount of flexibility. While several other teams face severe salary cap restrictions, the Jazz will be in an envious position.
“We’re in a little bit of an unusual situation in the fact that we also have flexibility as far as cap room goes,” O’Connor said. “We’re not hamstrung with contracts that we can’t move. There’s eight or nine teams in the league that are hamstrung, that they are in a position now they might have to give a player away. We might be able to collect.”
At every turn, Jazz officials are quick to point out the impending salary flexibility. But the ability to make moves doesn’t necessarily translate into making the right moves.
In some sense, it seems the Jazz have fallen in love with the money situation. Hopefully, they will be able to cash in.
Because the new salary cap penalties will force teams to dump talent, the Jazz are positioned to take advantage of others' misfortune. But a few spare parts won’t be good enough. The team’s flexibility needs to be exchanged for some big-time players.
