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The off-season strategies (Jazz have limited options)

Zach Lowe said he expects Utah and Gobert to sign a deal, but it wont be the full super max.
Heard that too... It makes the most sense unless he hates DM and the organization or some ****. If he demands super max we trade him and it may not be a place he wants to go. If he plays into the year he risks $120M ish... I know he's already made over $100M but he's not the type of guy that will get a big offer if he sustains an achilles or major knee injury.

He's also just a smart introspective guy. I think he will want to see this through and as long as we are fair with him they work something out.
 
Zach Lowe said he expects Utah and Gobert to sign a deal, but it wont be the full super max.

If Gobert gives us a deal here, he would be a club legend. If he milks it for every penny he can get, he'll be regretted by the time we reach the last year of his deal. I hope this deal is declining.
 
Hopefully Gobert finds some leverage and makes explicit requests for some defensive help on the perimeter (and for some variation on defense, in general). This kind of thing went down in New England with Tom Brady negotiations: they played money ball with the rest of the offense during segments of that dynasty; and there were other times when they threw him a ****ing bone.
 
Considering that rumors are hitting the waves that the Knicks are down to absorb contracts rather than spend their cap, and we got ourselves new ownership just in time, my thoughts circle back to Conley, Wood, and Gobert.

If you can get off Conley's salary practically outright (taking back Ntilikina - the only palatable 2021 salary they have on the books - makes sense to me as the basis of the package), that positions the Jazz to have more than enough outright cap to push incumbent Detroit (who don't even have Wood's restricted or full Bird Rights) on retaining Wood. The Jordan Clarkson situation gets interesting there, but they could/should still have enough cap space for a sensible >MLE offer whether they retain his Bird Rights or not (he should want to keep them, so that might speed talks along).

If the Jazz can get Wood, I think that gives them serious leverage in Gobert negotiations that they absolutely lack currently. They could go in prepared that he walks on the talks or after the season because they have some kind of answer and have financially committed to it, which would give a two-pronged argument that he should take a sensible extension offer rather than draw a line about a max (or super max, god-forbid). I love Gobert, but he does have some very real weaknesses in playoff basketball situations (teams tend to have stretchier bigs that mitigate his impact, have better coaching staffs, and more time to really key in on ways to take away Gobert's strengths on both sides of the ball since he doubtlessly has a relatively limited skillset for an NBA star). It would certainly make it more likely that the Jazz are able to figure out Gobert situation sooner, rather than let it play out and risk that he walk for nothing because they are in an impossible situation (go beyond the max to sign a guy probably not worth it versus losing the lynchpin of their entire interior philosophy).

I would love to have both and would hate to go into next year with no legit plan for the center position, but that's where we're at right now.

 
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Considering that rumors are hitting the waves that the Knicks are down to absorb contracts rather than spend their cap, and we got ourselves new ownership just in time, my thoughts circle back to Conley, Wood, and Gobert.

If you can get off Conley's salary practically outright (taking back Ntilikina - the only palatable 2021 salary they have on the books - makes sense to me as the basis of the package), that positions the Jazz to have more than enough outright cap to push incumbent Detroit (who don't even have Wood's restricted or full Bird Rights) on retaining Wood. The Jordan Clarkson situation gets interesting there, but they could/should still have enough cap space for a sensible >MLE offer whether they retain his Bird Rights or not (he should want to keep them, so that might speed talks along).

If the Jazz can get Wood, I think that gives them serious leverage in Gobert negotiations that they absolutely lack currently. They could go in prepared that he walks on the talks or after the season because they have some kind of answer and have financially committed to it, which would give a two-pronged argument that he should take a sensible extension offer rather than draw a line about a max (or super max, god-forbid). I love Gobert, but he does have some very real weaknesses in playoff basketball situations (teams tend to have stretchier bigs that mitigate his impact, have better coaching staffs, and more time to really key in on ways to take away Gobert's strengths on both sides of the ball since he doubtlessly has a relatively limited skillset for an NBA star). It would certainly make it more likely that the Jazz are able to figure out Gobert situation sooner, rather than let it play out and risk that he walk for nothing because they are in an impossible situation (go beyond the max to sign a guy probably not worth it versus losing the lynchpin of their entire interior philosophy).

I would love to have both and would hate to go into next year with no legit plan for the center position, but that's where we're at right now.

I think we have leverage with Rudy in the general market... who is paying him the max next summer? Someone probably will but it may not be in a great market.

With the Knicks deal... We will never be that aggressive... with a new owner I'm guessing a move that aggressive would have to come from a hard push from DL... we know how he rolls. If you want Wood... And I do want Wood real bad... I think a sign and trade is the most feasible option using a 1st and expirings. That way you aren't gutting the roster on a somewhat risky guy in Wood.
 

Not great if that’s what ends up passing. Lots of teams would be in the tax... we likely couldn’t use full MLE and keep Clarkson because we’d be close or over the apron. Maybe waive and stretch Davis. I think the players are trying to hang the early start time over the owners heads to get a higher number... even if it is artificially inflated.
 
Where I speculated it would be. Flat cap. Limits our abilities to keep Clarkson AND bring in the full MLE and other exceptions while staying under the luxury. Without additions, we are just a middle of the pack West team.

If we extend Don and Rudy, we are a luxury team no doubt for 21-22. Even with the new owner, we don't need to be a repeat luxury offender.

So, we have to shed Ed Davis for next to nothing in return if we want to keep JC and spend where we need. If we stretch him, that costs us $1.7 the next three years. Not sure if that $3.4 in savings for this year would be enough.


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Where I speculated it would be. Flat cap. Limits our abilities to keep Clarkson AND bring in the full MLE and other exceptions while staying under the luxury. Without additions, we are just a middle of the pack West team.

If we extend Don and Rudy, we are a luxury team no doubt for 21-22. Even with the new owner, we don't need to be a repeat luxury offender.

So, we have to shed Ed Davis for next to nothing in return if we want to keep JC and spend where we need. If we stretch him, that costs us $1.7 the next three years. Not sure if that $3.4 in savings for this year would be enough.


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That may be where it stays but the argument from the players side is if you can artificially make it 109M why not artificially push it to 112 or 115 and give teams some room under the cap to spend. Holding the luxury tax line will lead to some catastrophic tax bills and will really freeze up the FA market and trades this offseason. I think if that were to happen I would advise the Jazz to stay under the tax this summer and collect that payment because it could be a huge chunk of money. Plan to jump into the tax next year and make moves that way.
 
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