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UTAH JAZZ: STATE OF THE FRANCHISE

State of the Franchise

Projected Cap Space (before luxury tax): $27 million

Background: The rebuild was predictable when the Jazz traded PG Deron Williams to the then-New Jersey Nets, now Brooklyn, in 2011. The year before, PF Carlos Boozer had left to Chicago. But when the Jazz let PF Paul Millsap and C Al Jefferson, their two star big men, walk in free agency of 2013, it was evident that they were looking for a fresh start. They built around young SG/SF Gordon Hayward, who they drafted 9th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, right after grabbing PF Derrick Favors 3rd overall. In 2013, Favors and the Jazz agreed to a 4 year/$49 million extension, a reasonable deal for a young, emerging player like Favors. This past offseason, Hayward was a hotly pursued restricted free agent, but Utah ultimately matched Charlotte's max offer sheet. The past two drafts, the Jazz have selected point guards in the first round, Trey Burke in 2013 and Dante Exum in 2014. Burke had an average rookie season, showing more promise towards the end, but has yet to show much star potential so far this year. Exum, the youngest player in the NBA, still has a lot of time to develop into the athletic two-way guard they were looking for when they drafted him. With Hayward and Favors enjoying career seasons, Utah hopes to be able to push for the playoffs soon enough.

Current Financial State: Although they are still considered a rebuilding team, Utah has two players quickly rising into stardom and they've had to pay them big money. Hayward has a 4 year/$63 million max contract and Favors is on a 4 year/$49 million deal. Both players have more than earned their money but the rest of the team needs to catch up. Utah cannot afford to tank because they are paying two players a lot of money right now. Fortunately for them, all of their other key pieces are still on rookie deals, but they have yet to produce enough to make those deals look like a steal. It's a bit of an odd situation for Utah to have two stars and the remainder of the team young players, but they'll need to work with what they have. As time goes on, Hayward and Favors will be due for bigger contracts so the Jazz must take advantage of the present, and hope that their players develop quickly enough to start winning before Hayward or Favors decides to leave.

Targets: With nobody likely of interest to Utah in free agency, they could be targeting PG Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers via a trade. The Sixers have reportedly put him on the block and are looking to trade him. The reigning Rookie of the Year has put up great stats across the board, contributing in points, assists, rebounds, and steals, but has had a horrible year shooting the ball, connecting on less than 40% of his shots this year. Although Utah has drafted point guards with their past two first round picks, it is still their weakest position. With Hayward at SF, Favors at PF, SG’s Alec Burks and Rodney Hood at the two, and Enes Kanter and Rudy Gobert rotating at C, point guard remains their biggest hole. With the amount of money being paid to Hayward and Favors, Utah will be looking to turn things around soon and MCW could be the answer. Still on his rookie contract, the money will be easy to match because of Utah's plethora of rookie deals. The trade would most likely be Carter-Williams for Exum, rookie SG/SF Rodney Hood, and a pair of second round picks. The Sixers had previously shown interest in dealing the second year guard for Exum on draft day, so trading for Exum now makes sense for them. 

The Fit: MCW fits in nicely with Utah. He can run the offense along with Hayward, and provide scoring as well. He also plays good on ball defense and can guard other star guards well. The main quality he brings, however, is his competitiveness. Playing on a losing team for such a long time certainly makes him want to win. His talent and motivation should really boost a Utah team that has been losing as well, but hopes to turn it around and start a winning tradition. He fills in their need at point guard and brings the intangibles a young team needs to start having a winning record. Trading for Carter-Williams could be the fresh start to the good, new things that the Jazz have needed.
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