Damian Lillard often takes part in Twitter Q&A’s and in his latest, expressed his interest in playing for the Utah Jazz.
The Utah Jazz are one of the up-and-coming teams in the NBA and on the back of a 51-win season, they’re starting to get noticed.
Like a bat out of hell, the Jazz added 11 wins to their 2015-16 season to became a top-five seed and a genuine Western Conference threat. They’re no Golden State Warriors, but they are in the rearview mirror of the new NBA champions, slowly creeping up behind them.
Salt Lake City isn’t the easiest place to sell to most free agents. There’s no beach, the nightlife is minimal and the national exposure is humbling. But W’s get noticed more than anything else.
Without the injuries, the Jazz looked like they would approach 60 wins and a second or third seed in 2016-17. As a team on the up and up by winning games already, they’re marketing themselves as a future giant-killer. Gordon Hayward is an All-Star, and Rudy Gobert is a worthy Defensive Player of the Year, but there’s one piece missing.
Perhaps it’s Damian Lillard?
In an impromptu Twitter Q&A, a user posed the question to the Portland Trail Blazers‘ star point guard, “if you had the opportunity to sign with any team in the league today other than trailblazers what team would it be?”
His answer, while nothing more than a pipe dream, gives Jazz fans hope.
“If Blazers said they didn’t want me… Utah Jazz or Lakers,” he said.
If blazers said they didn't want me... Utah Jazz or Lakers https://t.co/jep3V9qRsS
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 14, 2017
His time at Webber State in Ogden might have influenced his snap decision to sign with the Jazz if the Blazers released him tomorrow – which they won’t.
Lillard is signed with the Blazers until the end of the 2020-21 season, so general manager Dennis Lindsay and the Jazz front office will have to look elsewhere if they want to add some confidence to their roster.
As a top-10 point guard in the league, Lillard averaged 27 points, 5.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field. He’s a game-winner — one that demands the tough shot and approaches it with full confidence.
The Jazz lack that individual braggadocio that gets under an opponent’s skin and fills them with fear down the stretch of a close game.
George Hill remains a safe option to re-sign at this stage, but the two sides seem quite happy to part ways. Hill declined the Jazz’s offer of an extension in March on the grounds he could “get a better offer in the summer” while Lindsay told Real GM he’d let his point guard walk:
"“I told him if he gets a crazy offer somewhere else and we helped him get that offer, ‘you’re not going to get one poor thought, much less a word (from us)’ if he were to go.”"
The Jazz have a gap in their roster that can’t be left to Dante Exum or any other young guard if they want to add to their 51 wins next season.
They need a killer; the Jazz need a Lillard-esque guard to dominate when the team is struggling.
Next: Utah Jazz - 5 options for pick No. 24 in 2017 NBA Draft
While Lillard isn’t a realistic option right now, the word is getting out. The Jazz are coming, and perhaps, so are the high-level free agents.