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Although the Jazz have only one player that is listed at SF, they have a multitude of versatile pieces (Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale and Georges Niang). With Royce O’Neale being penciled in as the starter at PF, expect Joe Ingles to be the incumbent starter as he’s the only Jazz player with over 40% of his minutes at SF.
Joe Ingles’ lack of athleticism and defense presents a glaring need for a team that doesn’t have a lot of time to build chemistry. While it might be too late this season to add outside pieces to the mix, expect the Jazz to tap back into the veteran market this offseason and add some needed forward depth. Utah will likely target a player similar to veteran F Jeff Green who was cut by Utah in late December. A minor investment that could mainly help out on the defensive end when Bojan comes back, and in his place if he can’t play as much.
Bojan Bogdanovic will continue to be the leader at SF for the Jazz going forward, but they have have major depth issues beyond 2020. Even though the Jazz have multiple players that could qualify as Small Forwards, it’s not wise to not have a clear backup for players over the age of 30. If the Jazz want to remain a threat in the Western Conference, they must add some young talent immediately.
There’s plenty of ways the Jazz can fill this void such as permanently moving Joe Ingles to SF. While that might help them get through the postseason this year, that’s not a sustainable option since Ingles will be 33 next year. Utah has never been a major player in the free agent market so they have a small chance of landing an above-average back up.
It seems like an option that should be considered for the Jazz is to tap back into the foreign market, where they’ve landed the likes of Rudy Gobert, Andrei Kirlenko (better known as AK-47), Enes Kanter, and Dante Exum in the past. Leandro Bolmaro stands out as a potential option for Utah in the draft as he could not only contribute off the bench in the near future, but also potentially take over for Bogdanovic once his contract expires after 2022-23.
JAZZ SF OUTLOOK: B-