This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Those mythical elements of the Jazz's building project really do exist, as it turns out. Cap Space and Flexibility walked through the doors of the team's practice facility Friday, and Strategic Planning is coming via France.
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey recited the offseason needs we've all known about, saying George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw will bring "experience, shooting, passing, physicality, serious mind-set to their profession" to his team. More to the point, they should deliver a decent seed in the 2017 playoffs — and the payoff for fans who have waited for all of this stuff to come together.
My suggestion for the Jazz's summer shopping list was another Derek Fisher, a veteran who could give them leadership and help them win close games. Via trades and free agency, Lindsey shrewdly produced a composite character of Fisher, who came to the Jazz in 2006 at age 32 as a dual-position guard (like Hill), with an NBA championship history (like Diaw) and a hometown of Little Rock, Ark. (like Johnson).
All those guys have to do is match the boost Fisher gave them 10 years ago, when the Jazz went from 41 wins to 51. They reasonably could go from 40 victories to 50 and move into the middle of the Western Conference playoff picture.
The disclaimer is the jump in '07 stemmed from Carlos Boozer's staying healthy and having a career season and Deron Williams' blossoming in his second year, beyond anything Fisher provided. Having any current Jazz player make that kind of improvement next season is unlikely, and expecting the Jazz to post a 12-1 start as those guys did is unfair.
Yet the Jazz have done more to help themselves this summer than any team in the West other than Golden State, and they can thank the Warriors for decimating Oklahoma City with the Kevin Durant signing. The three newcomers collectively have 284 games of playoff experience — meaning they know what it takes to qualify for postseason play and what to do once they get there.
In a market that will always feel betrayed by players not wanting to come here in trades and free agency (and by Fisher's departure), fans will take any sign of acceptance they can get. Explaining his choice of the Jazz as a free agent, Johnson concluded, "Why not?"
Although being traded by Indiana surprised him, Hill said he was "not upset." Good enough. Those are considered strong endorsements around here.
The Jazz's modeling of San Antonio, with Lindsey and coach Quin Snyder having been immersed in the Spurs' culture, now has an on-court component. Hill joked about how Lindsey "helped draft me, got rid of me … brought me back" after he was traded from San Antonio to Indiana five years ago and Diaw is coming straight from the Spurs, who needed room to sign Pau Gasol. Diaw will play for France against Canada in an Olympic qualifying tournament final Sunday, hoping to have Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert join him in Rio.
What's remarkable is how much value the Jazz got for such little investment, not giving up much in trade and being obligated to pay the three of them a total of $37 million. That's nothing, compared with some of the free-agent contracts being signed lately.
The league's spending spree led guard Marcus Paige, one of the Jazz's three second-round picks, to observe, "It's hard for me to even conceptualize. I'm in a completely different spot, where I'm trying to make a roster. But it is crazy to see the salary cap jumping, guys taking advantage of certain opportunities, a lot of money to be made. Hopefully, in a few years, I can put myself in that position. But right now, it's not even in my league."
The Jazz have operated "maybe a little bit counter to the rest of the market," Lindsey said, and the summer strategy should work. Anyone frustrated by the Jazz's inability to finish games last season — they went 9-17 in games they led or trailed by one point during the final minute — undoubtedly is intrigued by the lineup combinations Snyder will have available in closing situations, when experience should make a difference.
Lindsey anticipates "a sense of guidance" from the new/old guys. His vision brought them here, eventually.
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