The Utah Jazz got exactly what they needed this summer

The Utah Jazz did exactly what they needed to do this summer as they prepare to enter the 2019-20 NBA season as a real contender in the Western Conference

The Utah Jazz is probably one of the least flashy brands in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth watching by any means.

Most prominently since the mid-1990s, the team has been in contention and even one of the top 5 teams in the league for a time under the John Stockton/Karl Malone era. Having started with humble beginnings as an expansion team in New Orleans, struggling to grow in Salt Lake City at the start, and building their success mostly organically through the draft, this franchise knows how to persevere.

Having been mostly a bubble team and simply a tough opponent since the start of the Gordon Hayward iteration of the team, the Jazz hasn’t tasted upper-level success since the mailman days – with 2017 being the first year they won a playoff series since 2010.

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With a sense of optimism surrounding the team after losing to the Golden State Warriors that season, this was very quickly killed by the departure of Gordon Hayward. Electing to go play for your former college coach at one of the league’s most renowned franchises isn’t exactly something to malign a guy for, but nonetheless we understand your pain.

The Jazz has exemplified some good draft accuracy through the years considering their ability to find guys like Hayward, Rudy Gobert, and other competent NBA players along the lines of Derrick Favors and Rodney Hood. No one though expected them to rebound from the loss of Hayward by selecting a rookie later in the first round that would essentially walk into the league and average 20.

Sure you could watch Donovan Mitchell at Louisville and get some glimpses of what he was capable of, and obviously the college offense does cap players ceiling a bit, but very few saw that coming. He quickly captured the hearts of Jazz fans and rejuvenated a disappointed fan base, giving them something new and even younger to look forward to.

The fact that the team proceeded to knock off a hyped 2.0 version of the Russell Westbrook lead Oklahoma City Thunder did nothing but add fuel to the fire in Salt Lake City, and though they understandably lost to the Rockets in the next round the optimism remained intact.

The often forgotten trades made this season for the acquisitions of players like Jae Crowder and Ricky Rubio shouldn’t be forgotten either. The Jazz knew Rubio wasn’t the long-term answer at point guard, but being able to try something other than George Hill on a short-term basis was a good decision. Picking up Jae Crowder from an ill-fitting scenario in Cleveland just made sense, a player like Jae that can do it all and defend was tailor-made for a team like Utah.

We know ultimately neither of these guys is on the team now though, but for good reason. After again understandably losing to the High-powered Rockets, they knew it was time to make some bigger moves. The time was right too, Memphis being ready to free Mike Conley while still in his prime aligned perfectly with the expiring of Rubio’s contract as well as the team having assets available to get it done.

Jae Crowder and Grayson Allen end up in Grizzlies attire, but more importantly, Conley is in a Jazz jersey. The versatility of Mike’s game to not only drop 30 if needed but to shoot, facilitate, or even play off-ball at times is a perfect match to go alongside D-Mitch.

Donovan Mitchell is a lot like Victor Oladipo in a sense whereas yes he is basically a 2-guard, but he’s much better utilized as an on the ball scoring threat. Somewhat akin to a Dwyane Wade-like player, and he does remind us of him sometimes yes but don’t assume I’m calling him the next Wade county, he can catch-and-shoot better but his craftiness is put to work most optimally when you allow him to work. Placing him next to a point who isn’t scoring dominant and has a great intuition for the game is exactly what you need.

Amongst all this, we can’t overlook the signing of Bojan Bogdanovic, who is coming off a career year in Indiana. He’s essentially been seen as a shooter throughout his career and especially in Brooklyn, though obviously is capable of a bit more in light of putting up 20 a night last year.

Typically qualified as a 3, and this is probably his most natural fit, the height is there to play a stretch 4 especially in today’s NBA. This should open up the floor spacing around Gobert whereas they were basically playing two centers before with both him and Favors down there. The defense may suffer a bit, yes, but bringing in that scoring ability to go with Mike Conley should undoubtedly outweigh this.

Of course, we can’t forget Joe Ingles, the surprise forward who’s only come on in the last couple of years really and shown himself to be a valuable shooter as well as a facilitator. He should be a seamless fit next to their backcourt for a couple more seasons. Almost unreported, the signings of Emmanuel Mudiay and Jeff Green should prove crucial in terms of depth for the team.

Letting go of Trey Burks, Raul Neto, Rubio, and Crowder, there had to be some replacing done. Mudiay is only 23 and coming off a career year in New York. Granted, it was for the Knicks on a terrible team, but nonetheless if the expectation is simply backup point and combo guard? I think he can handle that if not outdo expectations. Jeff Green serves as a similar replacement to Crowder, though his game may not be as clean or refined, the similar traits are there.

These two alongside Ed Davis and some more experience with Royce O’Neal and some playing time for Georges Niang, I wouldn’t be concerned about their depth.

All in all, the Jazz conducted one of the more intuitive and shrewd offseason plans of any team in the league, and likely improved from what was a B+ team to at least an A. A lot hinges on chemistry and the, knock on wood, health of Mike Conley, but the same goes for almost every other team in contention.

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The road to any sort of prosperity will be tough in the West, considering the LA Clippers additions, the Los Angeles Lakers‘ presence, Denver’s rise, the rejuvenation of the Rockets, AND the somewhat evolving Warriors team. They’ve got a long way to go, and it’s very unlikely they even make it to the Conference Finals, but…it’ll still be fun to watch, and the fact that they’ve got a shot is all the fans need.

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