The Utah Jazz have 12 players on their roster for next season. They need to have at least 13. It’s likely they will have at least 14. Therefore, we know they will add at least one player this offseason. They have a couple options to complete this. One option would be to sign a free agent. Another option would be to continue the trend of trading with other teams to relieve them of a salary burden for this year. We saw this happen earlier this offseason as the Jazz traded the small contract of Kevin Murphy and took back nearly $25 million of contracts for the 2013-14 season. This type of transaction fills the roster and helps the team meet the minimum salary requirements, while keeping roster flexibility for next season and netting draft picks.
It is likely the Jazz stick with the second option for at least one remaining move. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Bill Oram reported via Twitter:
Sources continue to say the Jazz will use remaining cap space (~$5m) to take a contract and get a draft pick.
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) July 12, 2013
The Jazz are looking for three things in this type of trade. As mentioned, they want at least one draft pick. Next, they would hope to bring a player back that can add value to the team this season. Maybe most importantly, they will look to retain roster flexibility for next offseason by most likely only taking a contract that has one year left.
A look at the makeup of the current roster will show an obvious hole. As has been the case since Deron Williams was traded, the point guard situation in Utah is less than ideal. Yes, Trey Burke has extreme potential and may turn out to make a run for Rookie of the Year, but he is still very young and has a lot to learn (as his underwhelming summer league debut confirmed). The only other point guard on the roster is recently signed John Lucas III. Who, you ask? You’d be forgiven for not being familiar with the name. The veteran point guard will play for the veteran minimum salary and will likely not add much value to the Jazz roster. After all, in his five years in the league, he has never shot as well as 40 percent from the field and only played 13 minutes per game for a poor Toronto Raptors team last year.
If you combine what the Jazz are looking for in a trade with what they need to fill out their roster, it would make sense that the Jazz hope to spend their remaining $4 million or so to bring in a point guard. With the signing of clear third-stringer John Lucas III, the Jazz will look to bring in a point guard that is capable of being the backup/sometimes starter. Considering the criteria of contract length, contract amount and skill level, here is a look at who the Jazz could be trying to bring to Utah:
Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls: The Bulls will finally have Derrick Rose back. Would they want to save on Hinrich’s $4 million contract this coming season? Maybe, if they feel Marquis Teague is serviceable enough.
Jerryd Bayless, Memphis Grizzlies: What about Jerryd Bayless and his $3.1 million contract? It’s possible, though unlikely. Memphis probably feels good about its roster after it’s positive showing in last season’s playoffs and is not in need of shedding salary. Though they may feel they should bolster the backup PG slot with someone like Mo Williams, who may be capable of adding some real firepower to very strong defensive group. If so, Bayless is potentially available.
Steve Blake, Los Angeles Lakers: Blake is in the last year of his contract with the Lakers at $4 million. Who knows? The Lakers are probably planning a gigantic contract to some superstar and could have use of saving some money on Blake’s contract.
Jimmer Fredette, Sacramento Kings: Jimmer earns $2.4 million next year with a team option for the following year. Jimmer’s ability to be a backup/sometimes starter point guard is in serious question. But many Jazz fans would go crazy at the prospect of buying Jimmer’s jersey and this move would certainly sell tickets during a year that should be light in the win column.
Many Jazz fans will feel upset that this question has to be asked at all. Raul Neto, the exciting second-round draft pick, will be returning to Spain for the final year of his contract. There was hope in some circles that the Jazz would find a way to buy out Neto’s contract and bring him in this season, but the Jazz announced that he would not be joining the team this season. This is either due to the asking price from Neto’s team being too high (remember, they may not want to part with him) or the Jazz front office feels he will develop his game better with another year of heavy minutes in Spain. Maybe Jimmer could help soothe the pain of losing Neto, though it’s more likely he would be salt in the wound of many more.