Yahoo Sports Jazz offseason primer: Lauri Markkanen extension, cap space, draft picks, more
In a new era of parity where most teams feel like they have a chance to be good, the Utah Jazz went in the other direction. They had a great run led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, but the group reached its limit and the Jazz traded them for draft picks and prospects. The organization is now deep in a rebuild with no guarantee they will find players as impactful as their former All-Star duo.
Utah’s first season post-Mitchell and Gobert was more exciting than anticipated. New head coach Will Hardy has shown he has the potential to be a winning coach at higher levels after helping this Jazz team reach 37 wins this season. They already have some promising talent on the roster and the new CBA could help their draft picks become more valuable trade assets. The Jazz are in good hands under executive Danny Ainge, who has been down this path before.
Here is a preview of the 2023 offseason for the Utah Jazz.
State of the roster and how the new CBA affects them
Utah’s returns in their respective trades with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Lakers helped jump-start their rebuild. They now have 13 first-round picks over the next seven drafts, an All-Star in Lauri Markkanen, and a starter in Walker Kessler. All they need to do now going forward is execute their draft selections to get this team back into contention in no time.
The surplus of draft picks may feel excessive since the Jazz can’t plausibly draft and roster all these selections. But the new CBA changes just rose the value of draft picks while making their utility more important in the future. The newly added second tax apron will limit teams above it from increasing payroll other than re-signing players, signing first-round picks, and minimum players. This should make Utah’s picks more valuable in potential future trades with contenders over the second apron looking to add depth to their roster.
More importantly, the extra draft picks will help extend the Jazz’s window of contention once they’re ready to compete. Owner Ryan Smith has already shown a willingness to spend after having been deep into the luxury tax in 2021-22. If they ever become a second-apron team, they will have more than enough picks to replenish their depth or trade them for veteran help.
In the meantime, Utah will focus on player development at the cost of short-term winning. The level of talent on the roster got significantly worse after this year’s trade deadline, so it’s possible they win fewer games over the next few seasons. Their early hot start to the season cost them a chance at a top selection in the 2023 draft, but they should have better selections going forward.
Cap space
One of the other benefits of tearing the roster down over the past year is how clean their books are. The Jazz project to be a cap space team going forward starting with a minimum of $25 million this offseason. That projection could rise as high as $45 million if Jordan Clarkson declines his player option and they waive non-guaranteed players on minimum salaries. They will likely prioritize their space on accumulating draft picks through salary dumps. If they use their space on any players, it could be an offer sheet to a young player they like.
As of now, they project to generate as much as $75 million in cap space in the 2024 offseason if they don’t add any significant long-term salary to their payroll. If they draft well and the roster is ahead of schedule, they could use next offseason as an opportunity to add veterans and put together a playoff team. They should still have significant cap space in 2025 while factoring in a significant raise for Markkanen on his next deal.
Free agent or extension candidate: Jordan Clarkson
Jordan Clarkson has a $14.3 million player option that he could decline for unrestricted free agency. The Jazz reportedly view him as a long-term piece and have had ongoing extension negotiations with him. He can extend through June 30 for up to a maximum of four years, $71.7 million, which would have a $16 million salary replace his player option among for next season. If he opts in, he could extend for up to four years, $89.4 million.
A contract paying him an annual average salary exceeding $17 million would make him compensated comparably to guards like Gary Trent Jr., Norman Powell, and Eric Gordon. While he could get that in an extension now, another fun alternative is to give him that through renegotiation and extension. If Clarkson opts in, the Jazz could use a portion of their cap to increase his $14.3 million salary and extend him on a team-friendly deal.
For example, they could use $15.8 million of their cap space to increase Clarkson’s 2023-24 salary to $30 million, then decrease it by as much as 40 percent for 2024-25 and give him subsequent 8 percent salary decreases. The framework would look like this:
2023-24: $30,000,000 ($15,760,000 million raise)
2024-25: $18,000,000
2025-26: $16,560,000
2026-27: $15,120,000
2027-28: $13,680,000
This would lead to a total of $79.1 million over four years with it being heavily frontloaded. This framework gives Clarkson more money than his current maximum allowable extension while giving the Jazz very low cap hits on Clarkson on the backend of the deal. This would be a good use of Utah’s cap space if they have nothing better to do with it.
Extension candidate: Lauri Markkanen
Lauri Markkanen’s ascent from a solid starter to an All-Star was one of the biggest surprises of the season. Over the next few seasons, there could be trade speculation linking him to winning teams while the Jazz remain out of the playoffs. They could look to commit to him long-term by offering him an extension this offseason. The new extension rules will make him eligible to extend for up to three years, $81.9 million, an $11.7 million increase over what the current extension rules allow.
It may not be enough and he could earn more in free agency, but it’s at least worth formally offering. Markkanen is set to become a free agent in 2025 where he could earn more than the $27 million annually his maximum extension allows.
2023-24 SALARY SITUATION
Players rostered: 16
Two-way players: 1 (Micah Potter)
Guaranteed salaries: $93.7 million
Non-guaranteed salaries: $15.8 million
Total salary: $109.5 million
Luxury tax space: $52.5 million
Apron space: $59 million
Second apron space: $69.5 million
Spending power:
Cap Space: $24.5-45.4 million
Room mid-level exception: $7,609,000 million
Rudy Gobert trade exception: $9,614,379 (expires July 6, 2023, will be renounced if Utah generates cap space)
Bojan Bogdanovic trade exception: $6,745,122 (expires September 22, 2023, will be renounced if Utah generates cap space)
Nickeil Alexander-Walker trade exception: $5,009,633 (expires February 9, 2024, will be renounced if Utah generates cap space)
Jarred Vanderbilt trade exception: $4,374,000 (expires February 9, 2024, will be renounced if Utah generates cap space)
Patrick Beverley trade exception: $2,740,000 (expires August 25, 2023, will be renounced if Utah generates cap space)
Royce O’Neale trade exception: $202,202 (expires June 30, 2023)
Collin Sexton
2023-24 salary: $17,325,000
Remaining salary guaranteed: $54,450,000 through 2025-26
Additional notes:
$500,000 in unlikely annual incentives.
Lauri Markkanen
2023-24 salary: $17,259,999
Remaining salary guaranteed: $23,259,999 through 2024-25
Additional notes:
2024-25 salary is partially guaranteed for $6 million. Fully guaranteed June 21, 2024.
Extension-eligible during 2023 for up to three years, $81.9 million.
Jordan Clarkson
2023-24 salary: $14,260,000 (player option)
Remaining salary guaranteed: $14,260,000
Additional notes:
Extension-eligible prior to June 30 provided he declines his player option. Also extension and renegotiation eligible throughout 2023-24 if he picks up his player option.
Kelly Olynyk
2023-24 salary: $12,195,122
Remaining salary guaranteed: $3,000,000
Additional notes:
2023-24 salary is partially guaranteed for $3 million. Fully guaranteed if not waived by June 28.
Extension-eligible throughout 2023-24.
Talen Horton-Tucker
2023-24 salary: $11,020,000 (player option)
Remaining salary guaranteed: $11,020,000
Additional notes:
Extension-eligible throughout 2023-24 if he picks up his option.
Rudy Gay
2023-24 salary: $6,479,000 (player option)
Remaining salary guaranteed: $6,479,000
Additional notes:
Extension-eligible throughout 2023-24 if he picks up his option.
Ochai Agbaji
2023-24 salary: $4,114,200
Remaining salary guaranteed: $14,808,005 throughout 2025-26
Simone Fontecchio
2023-24 salary: $3,044,872
Remaining salary guaranteed: $3,044,872
Walker Kessler
2023-24 salary: $2,831,160
Remaining salary guaranteed: $10,676,018 throughout 2025-26
Kris Dunn
2023-24 salary: $2,586,484
Remaining salary guaranteed: $0
Additional notes:
2023-24 salary is non guaranteed. Fully guaranteed if not waived by October 23.
Damian Jones
2023-24 salary: $2,586,484 (player option)
Remaining salary guaranteed: $2,586,484
Luka Samanic
2023-24 salary: $2,066,585
Remaining salary guaranteed: $0
Additional notes:
2023-24 salary is non guaranteed. Fully guaranteed if not waived by the league-wide cut down date.
Vernon Carey
2023-24 salary: $1,997,238
Remaining salary guaranteed: $0
Additional notes:
2023-24 salary is non guaranteed. Fully guaranteed if not waived by October 23.
Udoka Azubuike
Cap hold: $3,923,484
Type of free agent: Non Bird (unrestricted)
Juan Toscano-Anderon
Cap hold: $1,989,698
Type of free agent: Non Bird (unrestricted)
Johnny Juzang
Cap hold: $1,774,999
Type of free agent: Non Bird (restricted)
2023 Pick No. 9
2023-24 salary: $5,487,120
Remaining salary guaranteed: $24,974,784 through 2026-27
Additional notes: HoopsHype and ForTheWin’s draft expert Bryan Kalbrosky has Jarace Walker being selected with the 9th overall selection in his most recent mock draft.
2022 Pick No. 16
2023-24 salary: $3,831,960
Remaining salary guaranteed: $18,537,162 through 2026-27
Additional notes: HoopsHype and ForTheWin’s draft expert Bryan Kalbrosky has Jordan Hawkins being selected with the 16th overall selection in his most recent mock draft.
2023 Pick No. 28
2023-24 salary: $2,412,240
Remaining salary guaranteed: $12,389,349 through 2026-27
Additional notes: HoopsHype and ForTheWin’s draft expert Bryan Kalbrosky has Sidy Cissoko being selected with the 28th overall selection in his most recent mock draft.
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