This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When the Jazz finally produce a victory in a playoff game next April, Joe Johnson still will be only 35.

And to think I wanted the team to get older during this offseason.

Having agreed to a two-year, $22 million contract with the Jazz, Johnson becomes one of the oldest players ever to join the team. This is a good thing. The Jazz sought younger and more high-impact players in free agency, additions that could aid them further into the future. Yet the acquisition of Johnson fulfills my manta of the Jazz's offseason: They have to get better now, without worrying so much about what's ahead.

By trading their first-round draft pick for guard George Hill and signing Johnson, a 15-year veteran who most recently played for Miami, the Jazz are raising their trajectory for 2016-17. It is a critical season for the franchise, having gone four years without appearing in the playoffs and six years without winning a playoff game. These moves not only will help them reach postseason play, but will enable them to succeed once they get there.

What I did not want to hear from the Jazz in April was how inexperienced they were in the playoffs. Between Hill and Johnson, they've added 176 playoff games of experience. Johnson averaged 12.1 points in 14 playoff games for Miami this past spring, so he can give the Jazz the offensive boost they need.

The Jazz are good enough defensively that they could afford to add an offensive player. Johnson can shoot, and he can only help a team that went through too many lulls last season when the starters were resting. Now, if the Jazz can just get one more shooter, such as a big man who can spread the court — think about Mehmet Okur, almost a decade ago - they'll have the kind of offensive capability that coach Quin Snyder can maximize.

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