Utah Jazz: 2017-18 NBA season preview
By Jason Oliver
2017-18 Roster
Joel Bolomboy, PF
Tony Bradley, PF/C
Alec Burks, SG
Dante Exum, PG
Derrick Favors, PF/C
Rudy Gobert, C
Rodney Hood, SG/SF
Joe Ingles, SG
Jonas Jerebko, SF/PF
Joe Johnson, SF
Donovan Mitchell, SG
Naz Long, PG
Raul Neto, PG
Royce O’Neal, SF
Ricky Rubio, PG
Thabo Sefolosha, SF
Ekpe Udoh, PF/C
Offseason Additions
Ricky Rubio (trade, Minnesota Timberwolves), Thabo Sefolosha (free agent, Atlanta Hawks), Donovan Mitchell (No. 13 overall pick, Denver Nuggets), Ekpe Udoh (free agent, Euroleague), Jonas Jerebko (free agent, Boston Celtics), Tony Bradley (No. 28 overall pick, Los Angeles Lakers), Naz Mitrou-Long (free agent, Iowa State), Royce O’Neal (free agent, Spain)
Offseason Subtractions
Gordon Hayward (free agent, Boston Celtics), George Hill (free agent, Sacramento Kings), Boris Diaw (released, France)
Quick Thoughts
First of all, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed – Gordon Hayward. No matter how you spin it, he’s a huge loss.
“Gobert was already the leader.”
“Hayward wasn’t an elite scorer anyway.”
“The Jazz can live without him.”
While all of the above may be true, the roster would be looking a lot better with him on it heading into the 2017-18 season. Nevertheless, what remains in Utah is still a solid squad.
Depth won’t be an issue with serviceable players filling every position throughout the depth chart.
Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto are more than capable of filling the point guard minutes. Exum, in particular, is an intriguing piece this year with a spike in development and production in many people’s predictions.
Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks, Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell will split the minutes at the shooting guard and small forward spots. With a menagerie of speed, perimeter shooting, and suffocating defense, Quin Snyder can play with any system he sees fit on the night.
Rudy Gobert stands tall as the leader of this team, but with Derrick Favors and some new additions surrounding him, he should have plenty of support. Ekpe Udoh offers Snyder a handy defensive specialist for when the Frenchman sits, while Jonas Jerebko will spend his time camped in the corner popping of 3-point shots at will.
It’s not the superstar-laden roster NBA fans are growing accustomed to. It’s a group that will work hard and is more than capable of pushing the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder’s of the league close throughout the regular season.