It’s been an active offseason for the Utah Jazz, and a really successful one. But more for the move they didn’t do than the ones they did.
Recently, the Utah Jazz made what might have been the best move of the offseason that didn’t get celebrated as much as the splashiest moves. Utah deciding to take every asset the Lakers had for Walker Kessler, instead of re-signing him to a bad contract, was a sign of an elite front office. Not only did Utah get two swaps and two fully unprotected 1sts, but they also didn’t take on bad money to do it. It shows a front office that understands the value of each position and the cap space each position should and shouldn’t use.
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As the season progressed last year and then the offseason commenced, we were told that Utah would eventually give Walker Kessler the contract he was asking for. The most important element of that negotiation was that Utah was not willing to overpay a player who was very unlikely to become an All-Star, at a position that shouldn’t be receiving a major part of a team’s cap space unless a team has one of the top players in the league at that position. That patience and willingness to stick to their guns earned them an incredible haul from a desperate franchise, the Lakers, and Utah now has a chance to use those assets they received to make whatever move they want. Also, it can’t be emphasized enough that the Jazz did this to the Lakers. For all the fans who talk about the Jazz always giving away their players, they sure took advantage of the league’s “premier” franchise. Who, by the way, was desperate for a rim-protecting center because they were scared of losing their star player. The Lakers. And not just that, the Lakers had to overpay Austin Reaves because they might have lost him also. So in the future, just remember, even the Lakers have players not want to stay on their team.
In fact, as far as bogus narratives go, now is another time to give a shoutout to all the Jazz fans that constantly said the Jazz would never win the lottery. Sure, they didn’t win the #1 pick, but it’s sure nice to have the dumb narratives be proven wrong time and time again.
Anyways, back to the Kessler deal. Utah has shown that not only do they understand the importance of discipline with contracts and positional value, they also have a healthy understanding of how good this team is.
The Jazz will be competitive next season. I actually think they’ll be much more competitive than people think. Utah’s team last year was better than people realize. With Keyonte George taking an incredible leap, adding Jaren Jackson Jr., and now adding a potential superstar in Darryn Peterson, Utah is absolutely going to be one of the “surprise” teams next year. But they aren’t likely going to win the championship.
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And even at center, that position is likely not going to have the dropoff that some might think. Here are their comparisons from dunksandthrees.com.
There are two different styles here from the two graphics, but their overall EPM (Dunksandthrees.com’s advanced stat of “Estimated Plus Minus”) has Walker Kessler as an only slightly more effective player than Jusuf Nurkic. That means that Utah is getting comparable production for a contract that will be much less and at a more manageable length.
As I said, Utah likely understands that they won’t win the championship next season. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t on the right track to getting to that level. If they were on the verge of having the roster to do it, and they felt like Kessler was the key to that happening, then there’s no doubt they probably match the offer that was done with the sign-and-trade. Instead, Utah can now get similar production and watch how their team plays this season. If they’re much better than we think and a combination of best-case scenarios plays out, Utah has the assets to make a move to fill the gaps in their roster.
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Because of the discipline they’re showing, they also are making sure to extend their window of contention. The CBA is extremely strict with teams over the different salary aprons. Once you’ve used your cap, it’s hard to maneuver back to optionality. Contention windows close quickly with albatross contracts. Now, Utah holds that optionality of contracts with the picks to make the right moves when they become available. They can allow Darryn Peterson to develop while they also contend.
It’s a great place to be in for an organization, and Jazz fans can now enjoy the season and know that this window is looking like it’s going to open wider and wider each year. And at some point, the Jazz might actually have the chance to do something they’ve never done: win a championship.
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