2017 NBA free agency grades: Jazz agree to sign Thabo Sefolosha
With Gordon Hayward going to Boston, the Utah Jazz will look to win games primarily on the strength of their defense. They further committed to that end of the floor by signing elite wing stopper Thabo Sefolosha.
In spite of All-Star forward Gordon Hayward, the Utah Jazz did most of their damage on the defensive end last season. Utah slowed the pace to a 30th-ranked crawl. On the defensive end, they forced opponents to chuck up tough shots to avoid Rudy Gobert in the paint. Their offense checked in at just above league-average with the 12th-ranked offensive rating. Although Gobert improved dramatically on the offensive end this past season, much of Utah’s offensive production came from Hayward and George Hill.
With both Hill and Hayward moving on, the Jazz appear likely to double down on the defensive end. They traded for Ricky Rubio, a passing wizard and elite defender with the worst jump shot among the league’s starting point guards.
The Jazz furthered this commitment to the defensive end of the floor with their most recent signing. Utah agreed to terms with free agent forward Thabo Sefolosha on a two-year deal worth $10.5 million, per The Vertical‘s Shams Charania.
Sefolosha is a limited offensive player, but not a completely useless one. He knows his role on the offensive end and never tries to do too much, as shown by his career 12.5 percent Usage Rate.
Sefolosha rarely attempts shots that are outside of his offensive wheelhouse. For the most part, his shots come from the restricted area or from beyond the arc. Indeed, 68.4 percent of his attempts last season were from one of those two zones, per NBA.com. He is a solid finisher near the basket who converted on 62 percent of those looks last season. Additionally, he is a mediocre but not terrible shooter from deep. Sefolosha has converted on 34.5 percent of his career attempts from long range.
Live Feed
The J-Notes
Where Thabo really shines, however, is on the defensive end. At 6’7″ but with the lateral mobility to keep up with smaller players, he is one of the league’s best lockdown defenders on the perimeter. Although Thabo only has one career All-Defensive team nomination to his name, he was a key defensive piece for Oklahoma City’s playoff runs in the earlier years of this decade.
Sefolosha has been in the top 10 of Defensive RPM among small forwards in each of the four years since ESPN began using that statistic. The only other small forward who has made the list in each of the last four years is Al-Farouq Aminu, who arguably should not be on that list since he played 95 percent of his minutes at power forward last season, per Basketball-Reference. Thabo finished this year with a Defensive RPM of 2.27, seventh among small forwards.
In addition to his solid frame, Thabo also has some of the quickest hands in the league. He was fifth in the NBA in Steal Percentage last season, per Basketball-Reference. Thabo excels at both aspects of generating turnovers. He has a great sense of timing for stripping the ball from his opponent. Sefolosha also ranks among the league’s best at reading and jumping passing lanes. With Thabo and Ricky Rubio (a three-time league leader in Steal Percentage) on the perimeter and Rudy Gobert down low, Utah will be among the league’s best teams at forcing turnovers next season.
The Utah Jazz were a defensive-minded team last season. They will have even more of a defensive focus in 2017-18. While the Jazz desperately need some offensive punch, they will be nearly impossible to score against.
Thabo Sefolosha does not really help the Jazz to address their weaknesses. However, he is an excellent way for them to double down on their greatest strength. Utah lost two stellar defenders in Hill and Hayward. However, they replaced them with two equivalent or better defenders in Sefolosha and Rubio. The Jazz finished last season with the league’s third-best Defensive Rating. They are on track to at least repeat that mark, and could easily exceed it.
Utah will struggle mightily on the offensive end next year. They will not get much help on that end from Thabo Sefolosha. On the other hand, he will make them an even more miserable defensive matchup than they were before they signed him. That defensive skill might be enough to carry Utah back to the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
Grade: B