Utah Jazz ready to move up in Western Conference hierarchy

2019-20 roster

Key Additions: Mike Conley (trade) Jarrell Brantley (trade), Miye Oni (trade), Bojan Bogdanovic (free agency), Jeff Green (free agency), Ed Davis (free agency), Emmanuel Mudiay (free agency), Justin Wright-Foreman (draft).

Key Subtractions: Ricky Rubio (free agency), Derrick Favors (free agency), Grayson Allen (trade), Kyle Korver (trade), Jae Crowder (trade).

The Utah Jazz addressed their primary needs with the moves they made over the offseason. The primary move was bringing in Mike Conley to replace Ricky Rubio, a move that netted them a star point guard to pair with Donovan Mitchell. That move alone would have been enough to establish them as a threat in the West, but they weren’t done there.

Bringing in Bojan Bogdanovic as a valuable two-way player should work wonders for them and could wind up as the most underrated offseason addition. Bogdanovic hits the 3 at a successful rate and can lock up the best wing players on defense with his tough and gritty play style on that side of the ball.

Having him alongside Gobert will boost their defense in a tremendous way.

The third thing that the team addressed was their depth. Adding players such as Jeff Green, Ed Davis and Emmanuel Mudiay solidifies their bench unit, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they are near the top of the league in bench points scored at the end of the year. All three of those players are great locker-room guys, and that should translate on the court.

The losses that the team suffered aren’t of much concern. Replacing Jae Crowder with Bogdanovic is an easy upgrade for the Jazz. Losing Grayson Allen won’t affect the team at all, and the loss of Derrick Favors isn’t the worst. The Jazz are clearly trying to adapt to the more shooting-friendly era, and Favors didn’t help in that regard.

Even with all the changes, however, the biggest storyline belongs to a player that has remained on the team …