Utah Jazz: Complete 2017 offseason grades
By Adam Coffman
Bringing back the Aussie: Joe Ingles
Coming into the summer with three big-ticket free agents outgoing, the Jazz wound up retaining only one of them in Joe Ingles. The swingman burst into role-player stardom last season, shooting 44 percent from 3-point range and playing a host of roles and positions.
Utah Jazz
As a restricted free agent, the Jazz had the ability to match any offer Ingles would receive, but they chose to be proactive, inking him within 24 hours of free agency’s start. At four years and $50 million in total, his per-year salary will decline each year as he ages past 29.
As was the case with Rubio, the Jazz signed Ingles before Hayward’s decision went down, which made it a trickier case for Utah’s management. Ingles was obviously a great assistance piece, but his fit is a little more questionable on a team needing on-ball scoring.
Ultimately, he will likely wind up starting at the 3 next season and for the foreseeable future. His role will have to increase without Hayward to take touches on the wing, and given how little he’s shown in a featured slot, this will be an unknown next season.
The Jazz won’t be at their peak for a couple of seasons as it stands now, so the timeline of Ingles’ contract doesn’t make a ton of sense. At best, he’ll be on the decline when they need him the most.
Perhaps the team wouldn’t have re-signed Ingles, at least for the years and dollars they did, if they had known Hayward would be leaving. He certainly made a lot more sense in a world where he was playing alongside Hayward, but he’ll still have value to the Jazz nonetheless.
Grade: C-