The 2016 NBA offseason is usually remembered for Kevin Durant landing with the Golden State Warriors and for the league’s wild spending spree on players who were, at best, fine. Utah Jazz fans have a different memory of that summer: one of the rare teams that didn’t get caught up in the frenzy.
While Portland poured hundreds of millions into eighth- and ninth-men in a playoff rotation, the Lakers handed out $70 million to Timofey Mozgov after he sat through Cleveland’s title run, and Orlando paid Bismack Biyombo after two strong playoff games, the Jazz kept their focus on fit. They had cap space. They just didn’t burn it.
Utah entered that offseason close to the playoffs and needed a few specific pieces to make the jump. Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert were already emerging, but the roster still lacked a starting point guard and another dependable scorer to take pressure off Hayward.
The first move came before free agency even opened. Utah got George Hill in a three-way trade, sending away its lottery pick, who became Taurean Prince, to Atlanta. Hill was the best point guard the Jazz had had since Deron Williams, and even without star status, he gave them the veteran playmaking they had been missing.
That was the theme of the summer: pay smarter, not harder. Rather than chase a pricey name just because money was available, the Jazz went after players who fit what they already had.
They added Joe Johnson next, bringing in a scorer who had shown enough during a semi-resurgent half-season in Miami to still be useful. He wasn’t an All-Star anymore, but he was still Iso Joe, and that made him a natural complement to Hayward.
Utah kept working the edges of the roster, too, trading for Boris Diaw. His career was nearing the end, but he still brought championship experience and helped strengthen the frontcourt. With Gobert and Derrick Favors already in their primes, Diaw gave the Jazz more depth and more insurance if one of the big men went down.
By the time the dust settled, Utah had built one of its best-constructed rosters of the 21st century. The result was the franchise’s longest playoff run since the Deron Williams era. It didn’t end with a championship, and the run didn’t last long, but the Jazz got the most out of what they had assembled.
That’s what makes that offseason stand out. So many teams spent recklessly and had to live with the regret later. Utah’s 2016-17 group may have been lightning in a bottle, but the Jazz came out of that chaotic summer with both short-term gains and a roster built the right way.
In Other News...
John Konchar Suddenly Faces A Real Jazz Rotation Fight
The Jazz spent free agency reshaping the back end of their roster, bringing in Josh Okogie, Jaxson Hayes and Mo Bamba and changing the look of a bench that already had to sort out its hierarchy. For a veteran wing like John Konchar, who made his mark with defensive effort and dependability last season, the new traffic makes the path to steady minutes a lot less clear.
Konchar still has a case if Utah leans on his defense, but the competition around him now looks different than it did a few weeks ago. The roster is not set, roles are not locked in and training camp will sort out a lot of this, yet the Jazz suddenly have more choices on the wing and one fewer obvious answer for how to divide the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Jazz Still Have One Frontcourt Problem To Solve Before Camp
Utah spent much of the offseason reshaping its roster, but the frontcourt still looks like the one area that could force another move before camp opens. With Walker Kessler gone, the Jazz are staring at a center vacancy that does not have an obvious in-house answer, which is why the market keeps circling back to a handful of names that fit different versions of the same need: size, rim protection and some level of dependability.
Jay Huff and Kel'el Ware would offer younger, more flexible paths, while Jarrett Allen and Daniel Gafford bring the kind of established presence that usually comes at a steeper cost. The Jazz can make a case for any of the four depending on how aggressive they want to be, but the real question is whether they prefer a short-term fix or a bigger swing that changes the front line for good. [Read more 🡒]