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The Utah Jazz's season ended in an ugly manner. After holding the best record in the league for the longest time and the 1st seed in the Western Conference, Donovan Mitchell and co. were eliminated by the Kawhi Leonard-less LA Clippers in the second round of the 2021 NBA playoffs. The Jazz held the three best winning streaks in the league in the regular season and were the first team to cross the 50-win mark in a shortened 72-game schedule.
Rudy Gobert was a major storyline in the series as he was rendered useless after Clippers' Tyronn Lue implemented a small-ball lineup. It got fans thinking the Jazz needed better perimeter defense when, in fact, they weren't particularly bad in that department.
The front office now enters the offseason with a handful of goals. They need to prepare for another title run next season while maintaining their players and assets. Here, we take a look at three needs the Utah Jazz must address in the 2021 NBA offseason.
#1 Utah Jazz must figure out Mike Conley's future
Mike Conley earns a salary of $34.5 million and then enters free agency. He has no player or team options, and now the Utah Jazz have to figure out his future with the team. Conley will turn 34 next season but many agree he can still play at a high level. He earned his first-ever All-Star selection in the 2020-21 season and was above his career averages in most statistical categories. It does look like the Utah Jazz are interested in re-signing him.
If Conley returns on an $18 million deal, Utah Jazz would be paying a tax penalty worth $40+ million. The rest of the contracts would then be on minimums and it would freeze the team from acquiring any more players if they wanted.
The 33-year-old averaged 16.2 points, 6.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season, and 15.3 points and 7.7 assists in six games in the 2021 NBA playoffs. Conley is expected to draw interest from other teams and if the Jazz do not re-sign him, they must figure out who to acquire as a replacement.
#2 Managing player contracts and free agency
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert's extensions kick in next season. Spida will earn $28.1 million while the 7-foot-1 Frenchman will earn $35.3 million. The Utah Jazz are now right at the $136 million luxury tax line before NBA free agency begins. As mentioned earlier, re-signing Mike Conley will create a luxury tax bill north of $40 million and hamper the team's chances of acquiring more players. This in itself is after the rest of the roster are on minimum contracts.
Conley, Georges Niang, Juwan Morgan, Ersan Ilyasova, Trent Forrest and Jarrell Brantley all enter free agency this offseason. With Mitchell's and Gobert's extensions kicking in, the front office knew that keeping this team together would hurt their wallet.
Additionally, Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles are extension eligible along with Matt Thomas and Miye Oni. But with the lack of money in the bank, the Utah Jazz must find a way to keep their players as well.
It is unlikely that the Jazz will get rid of Rudy Gobert, but even if they do, they can't trade him until October 12th. Although it will increase the tax penalty, the Utah Jazz have the $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception available to add a player. They also have two trade exceptions available, one for $5 million and another for $2.1 million.
#3 Adding depth in the frontcourt
The Utah Jazz have significant depth in the backcourt and center positions. However, they must strengthen their frontcourt depth as it's the only glaringly obvious hole in an otherwise complete roster.
Royce O'Neale is the only player who can legitimately play the power forward position, while the small forward can only be played by Bojan Bogdanovic. Backup players like Elijah Hughes and Matt Thomas are technically forwards but rarely get any playing time.
They have only one draft pick in the 2021 NBA Draft with the 30th pick in the first round. The Ringer's mock draft has Ayo Dosunmu getting selected by the Utah Jazz, while ESPN have Miles McBride or Greg Brown getting picked in their version. With limited cash to spend, adding depth is going to be an issue unless the Utah Jazz are okay with a bloated luxury tax bill.
Also Read: NBA Draft Combine 2021: Top 10 prospects expected to participate this year
