Utah Jazz
Nearly any other season the Jazz would have had the clear cut Rookie of the Year in Donovan Mitchell. Ben Simmons may have walked away with the award but Mitchell was certainly a worthy candidate as well. The Jazz also happen to have the best rim protector in the game and newly crowned DPOY with Rudy Gobert.
A criminally underrated defender and sharpshooter Joe Ingles and the most efficient version of Ricky Rubio we’ve seen to date. Throw in rotation players Alec Burks, Jae Crowder, Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh and it becomes pretty shocking the Jazz are still well under the salary cap.
They will have to decide if Derrick Favors and Dante Exum are going to be part of their future moving forward. If they want to remain flexible for the 2019 offseason when only Gobert, Ingles, Crowder, Mitchell and Royce O’Neal are under contract for just over $50 million. They may want to consider a J.J. Redick type deal for the interim. Utah should be in no rush to hand out long-term money this offseason unless it’s a deal too good to pass up.
Verdict: Retool