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The Utah Jazz Dribbled Out the Clock

By Dan Lewis, (@minutemandan), Hardwood Paroxysm

The Pacific Northwest Division didn’t rest on their laurels this offseason. The Portland Trail Blazers changed 80 percent of their starting lineup, the Thunder resigned Enes Kanter, the Timberwolves had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and the Nuggets 2014 starting point guard could wind up playing with an ankle bracelet that tracks his alcohol consumption.

But throughout all the noise of the summer, the Utah Jazz have been as quiet as a churchmouse. The Jazz decided to stay out of the fray of free agency, content to add Trey Lyles to their roster with the No. 12 overall pick in the draft. They hosted a Summer League, then went to Las Vegas and were able to see quality minutes from players on minimum contracts like Bryce Cotton and Jack Cooley. Dante Exum and Rodney Hood lit up the Celtics, but after Exum went down with an ankle injury they decided to keep their core players out of the rest of the games. They finished their two summer leagues with 4 wins and 2 losses before bowing out in the Las Vegas tournament to the Wizards of Washington. For all purposes, they won the participation ribbon.

So why did they have a notable offseason? Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

While the Jazz came into the offseason with cap space they could use, Dennis Lindsey made an investment for the future and decided to keep that space open for upcoming years. Instead of slinging a player-friendly contract out because “Hey, the cap is increasing anyways,” Lindsey decided to hold onto cap flexibility that will allow him to sign the good young players already on the roster to long-term contracts. At the end of the 2015-16 season, the Jazz will have the cap space to offer extensions to core players Trey Burke and Rudy Gobert, with Gobert definitely in line to receive a maximum salary offer.

When the cap does jump the next two seasons, with a projected increase above $100 million, the Jazz will have Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks, Trey Burke, and Rudy Gobert under team control and making $65,541,680. That’s just 60 percent of the projected salary cap for the 2017-18 season, leaving the Jazz with another $45 million they can use to bring in pieces that help propel them towards contender status. Maybe that’s enough money to convince Eric Gordon and his 44.8 percent 3-point shooting to leave New Orleans for Salt Lake City, or for DeMar DeRozan to not exercise his player option and and bring his elite ability to draw fouls to Energy Solutions Arena. Maybe Mike Conley Jr. decides to find greener pastures elsewhere, and the Jazz can swing a trade with the Grizzlies and give Conley a max contract. With all their cap space and cheap assets, nothing should be off the table.

They aren’t done adding young talent either, with a trove of draft picks pending as well. They have one first round pick and four second round picks in 2016; two first round picks and four second round picks in 2017; with two first round picks and two second round picks coming in 2018. They can use those for salary dumps, stashing talent in Europe, or helping facilitate other transactions throughout the league. It’s an impressive bit of work, the result of patiently rebuilding rather than hastily shuffling chairs around the deck.

Laugh all you want at the marquee free agent signing of Joe Ingles by the Jazz this summer – odds are they’ll be the ones laughing in the future at the expense of other teams in the league.

Next: Pistons Muck Up Strong Offseason With Overpays