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Joe Johnson Coming to Utah


Not sure if anyone posted this yet. I just got back to a computer. Here it is (at least the small paragraph about the jazz) if not:

Utah Jazz

1. Agreed to sign forward Joe Johnson to a reported two-year, $22 million deal (Friday)
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After targeting Dudley, Deng and Hill and watching each go off the market, the Jazz moved quickly to reach an agreement with Johnson.
My read is that the third year was a big negative for Utah, which sees a world where Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward will all be making max money in 2018-19 -- when Dante Exum would also be starting a possible extension.
Johnson is an interesting fit with the Jazz. Given that Utah was looking primarily at combo forwards, I wonder if they see Johnson filling that role, which is probably better for him than playing exclusively on the wing at this stage of his career. Johnson is strong enough to defend bigger opponents, and the decline in his quickness isn't a concern against them while his shooting is also more of a plus.
Between Johnson and George Hill, the Jazz have added a lot more shooting this offseason to go around a young roster while maintaining flexibility for when their young stars start making more money.
Utah still has almost $14 million in possible cap space, but the roster is close to full, other than maybe another big man to compete with Trey Lyles and Jeff Withey for bench minutes. The Jazz could use the remaining space to renegotiate and extend the contracts of Favors and/or Hill.
 
Try not to get too high or low from the free agent signings, but i remember thinking at the time that this guy could come in handy at the end of tight games...
 
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