Those guys need lots of minutes together to develop chemistry and set themselves up for a bright future. He's only 27 years old, and certainly a gifted player, but the last thing this roster needs is an inefficient (Gay took almost 17 shots a game and hit less than 42 percent of them last year) volume scorer who will take opportunities away from Utah's developing young core of Hayward, Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks and Trey Burke. Categories NBA Tags 2019–20 Utah Jazz season, 2021–22 Utah Jazz season, Anthony Davis, basketball, bojan, Bojan Bogdanovic, Cameron Payne, Chris Paul, Colby White, Dallas Mavericks, Danny Ainge, dead spin, demar derozan, Donovan MitchellMitchell, Gibert, Hassan Whiteside, house, Jalen Brunson, Jason Kidd, John Stockton, Jordan Clarkson, julius randle, Karl Malone, Knicks, Kristaps, LeBron James, Maxi Kléber, Mike Conley, Mike Conley Jr.Two of the most important players in those plans appear to be Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors-and negotiations on their extensions was a big theme from Jazz media day. Both are entering the last seasons of their rookie deals and could command $8-10 million a year in their next contracts.Ĭombine that with an obligation to Gay and all the financial freedom Utah gained this past summer would suddenly be gone.Īnd aside from the money, Gay wouldn't fit Utah's rebuilding from a basketball perspective either.
As we can all agree, no one is choosing Utah in free agency. The draft is how Utah found their two superstars in the first place. So, now that the truth has been laid bare, where should the Jazz go next? A total rebuild seems to be the best option through continued investment in draft capital. This was especially evident in games one through three when the Jazz starters were outmatched in effort and joy by a Luka-less Mavericks squad.
They quit on their city and, worse, each other in the recent series against the Mavs. Not just because of an inflated payroll or maximized ceiling, but because the chemistry of this long-contained core has reached well past its expiration. To put it plainly, this team needs to be broken up. Only last year’s Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, and sharpshooting big man Bojan Bogdanović played with any joie de vivre.
Rudy Gay, Royce O’Neal, Hassan Whiteside, Daniel House. Elsewhere, the Jazz roster is filled out with broken players who, judging by their on-court rapport and play, seem genuinely unhappy to be playing in Utah i.e. 17, definitely doesn’t make the roster any younger, but he is still durable, reliable and can do a lot of things that will make life easier for the Jazz.
The 34-year-old guard is a shell of the player he was in Memphis and never regained the defensive form that made him such a lethal two-way player with the Grizzlies. The 2019 trade that brought Mike Conley to Utah has been an unmitigated disaster. They have to respond to critics who dont believe this core has. Danny Ainge and the Utah front office have surrounded Gobert with a bunch of aging perimeter players who can’t defend. After a devastating second-round defeat, the Utah Jazz are under a lot of scrutiny this season. The tension between the two goes all the way to pre-pandemic times. It was no secret that their two superstars, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, don’t care for one another. Before the Utah Jazz even began their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, there were significant questions about their chemistry, viability as a winner, and ceiling.