2019-20 Finish: 37-45

 

Season Highlight:

The highlights for the Jazz were few and far between. They lost Cousins to injury early on, they struggled to adjust, they kind of coasted without being a serious contender or tanker, and made few moves through the year. Somewhere along the line they gave up on the year without going the tank, when Kennard hit the sidelines long term and traded for Rodney Hood who was done for the year. It just wasn�t their year and the ups were few.

At least Kyle Lowry chose to extend for another year!

 

Season Lowlight:

The Jazz lost their legend of a GM, Tim. Tim started this whole thing 20 years ago, he came across to the new league excited for the fresh start and changed the interface of the league to what we see today, he had a solid team from a solid draft, but the fire burned out and he stepped aside. Tim, if you see this, you are a legend to us all and will be missed!

 

Best Trade:

Jazz sends: Jimmy Butler, Nicolo Melli, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Scott and 2022 2^nd round pick
Jazz gets: Derrick Favors, Bojan Bogdanovic, Luke Kennard and 2021 1^st round pick

If you�re going to trade a star, you need to get great return, and Favors, Bog and Kennard is just that. Cap that off with a 2021 1^st round pick from the enigmatic Kings none-the-less and you�ve got yourself some real depth to work with in the pursuit of the greater good.

 

Worst Trade:

Jazz sends: 2020 2^nd round pick (Pick 43) and 2023 2^nd round pick
Jazz gets: Tyson Chandler

They had already waived the white flag, and yet they still opted to trade future draft assets for the old and expiring big man. Don�t get me wrong, Chandler has some go left particularly in 2k, but they�d opted to chuck the towel in already and so this was odd.

 

Other Notable Trades:

Jazz sends: 2021 1^st round pick
Jazz gets: Dwight Howard

When they were still competing and they needed to fill the DMC sized hole. Perfect get.

 

Jazz sends: Ty Jerome
Jazz gets: Rodney Hood

Bad for this year, great for the future.

 

Jazz sends: Vincent Poirier
Jazz gets: Ishmael Smith

Solid position swap.

 

Jazz sends: Dwight Howard and Javonte Green
Jazz gets: Damian Jones and Terence Davis

Feeding the machine, but it made sense to cash in the old expiring once they�d given up.

 

Jazz sends: Ishmael Smith
Jazz gets: Ersan Ilyasova

Another solid position swap.

 

 

Free Agency:

The Jazz have a few important decisions to make in free agency. They have a swathe of UFAs and some very important names who will command attention. What they choose to do, and how they choose to play it could very well shape the roster in a big way and decide whether they will be contenders or tankers in the 20/21 season.

Derrick Favors � UFA, looking for other opportunities at a reasonable salary.

Rodney Hood � UFA, but desires to be resigned. Looking for a little pay rise.

Ersan Ilyasova � UFA, yet to decide on his future. Might be a good cheap option.

Damian Jones � RFA, he will be back.

Kyle Korver � UFA, yet to decide on his future, but he�s a handy player.

Tyson Chandler � UFA, yet to decide on his future. Likely looking elsewhere.

Gabe Vincent � Expired 2way guy, RFA if he chooses.

Marial Shayok � Expired 2way guy, RFA if he chooses.

DeMarcus Cousins � UFA, looking at other opportunities, will receive big offers in free agency so is likely gone.

 

Star:

Kyle Lowry

Despite some big names on the roster, Lowry is the teams star. He just resigned a new 1 year extension too. He poured in 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal last year and still appears worth the big money he is on. The teams direction might take a sudden turn soon, which might see him packing his bags, but for now he�s been the leader, the captain and the shining light while the team goes through the period of mediocrity.

 

Goat:

DeMarcus Cousins

You unfortunately have to give this award to Cousins here. In the league wide draft, the pairing of Butler/Cousins right around the end of the first round caused some shockwaves through the league as it looked like a world class dynamic duo on paper. Unfortunately, it never panned out. Cousins injured himself again, which saw Butler moved for depth and now we�re very very likely to see Cousins leave town 18 months later having never played a game for the Jazz.

 

Draft Grades:

Pick 13 � Devin Vassell

B+ Grade

The league mandated selection was Vassell and really for that reason you can�t give it more than the pass. But Vassell is value at 13 given where he landed in the NBA and with a legit long term NBA skillset. Refine that game and this could be a big steal down the road.

 

The Future:

The Jazz are in limbo but they just picked up a new GM to guide them along the path. They are old, but talented, and they have a few intriguing pieces. A lot of teams are going to want to engage in discussions so they can have lots of opportunity to choose the path they wish to take going forward be it compete or build.

C: Kevin Love / Damian Jones
PF: Rui Hachimura / Chris Silva
SF: Bojan Bogdanovic / Rodney Hood / Devin Vassell
SG: Luke Kennard / Landry Shamet
PG: Kyle Lowry / Terence Davis