Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey has been hard at work this summer. The offseason has been anything but that for Lindsey, as he has had to completely reconstruct his roster. Dennis and former GM Kevin O’Connor had positioned the roster for extreme “flexibility” this summer. Utah only had a handful of players under contract for this coming season after last season came to an end. Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Jeremy Evans, Kevin Murphy and Marvin Williams stayed, while everyone else was a free agent. Marvin Williams even had a player option for this year, though it was quite clear he would opt into the last year of his lucrative contract. It’s worth analyzing all Lindsey has been up to as he fills out his roster before the 2013-14 season.
The Jazz knew their draft picks in this summer’s draft would be an important part of building the roster for next season and beyond. It was obvious that the Jazz needed a promising young point guard to grow with the existing young core already in place. Utah had their own high lottery pick at No. 14, but also had a pick from the Golden State Warriors at No. 21. It seemed to be likely that Utah would miss out on the top point guard talents, like Trey Burke and Michael Carter-Williams, who were projected by most to be off the board by the time Utah picked. Jazz fans hoped that a top two or three PG may slip to No. 14, while at No. 21 Utah may be able to grab a promising big man. Draft night exceeded Jazz fans hopes as Dennis Lindsey was able maneuver his way into nabbing the top PG in the draft, Trey Burke, as well as historically huge big man Rudy Gobert, who was projected at certain points of the year to be a lottery pick. Box one: PG, check. Box two: promising big man, check. Lindsey was also able to snag Raul Neto late in the draft, a PG playing in Europe who will continue his development there for another season.
Another big move for the Jazz occurred when Lindsey traded seldom used Kevin Murphy, who was on a non-guaranteed contract and going into his sophomore year after a very disappointing rookie campaign, for a trio of hefty contracts that the Warriors did not want to pay and that the Jazz had the cap space for. Lindsey’s loot included a couple of players who may be past their prime in Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson, but also included Brandon Rush. Rush suffered a terrible injury at the beginning of last year, but proved the prior season that he was ready to be a starting caliber shooting guard. The move gave the Jazz some veteran experience, as well as helped fill out the roster during a year that Utah could handle some bad contracts. Potentially the most important part of this trade is that the Jazz received two future first round picks and two future second round picks.
Another move that could pay dividends for the Jazz is the signing of undrafted rookie Ian Clark. Clark was considered by many to be the best shooter in the draft, but also considered likely to be undrafted. Picking up Ian, a promising shooter but not quite good enough to be drafted higher than late second round if at all, had a very Kevin Murphy-ish feel about it. However, Clark was also the defensive player of the year in his college conference on multiple occasions and had a tremendous preseason, proving his worth. It’s possible Clark could turn into the low-risk high-reward player Lindsey is hoping for, and will provide good depth for the Jazz wings even if he doesn’t.
Perhaps the biggest moves for Lindsey are the ones he didn’t make. By not resigning any of the Jazz’s veteran core of last season, Dennis committed to sending Utah in a radical direction compared to what it has been used to. Decent, but not great, veteran players Al Jefferson, Randy Foye, Mo Williams, and Paul Millsap were all starters last year, but were to the Jazz as a pacifier is to a toddler; comforting, but needs to be removed in order to “grow up” (or take the painful but necessary steps to go from a middling team to a contending team). These players dominated minutes, shots, and possessions for the Jazz which need to go to young players if the Jazz hope to develop their youngsters to lead going forward. The Jazz also let backup point guards Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson walk into free agency, while signing PG John Lucas III as a backup PG.
Is Lindsey finished? It’s likely the Jazz will pick up at least one more player at some point. Whether that will be through free agency or a trade to possibly collect more draft picks for next year, remains to be seen.
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