3. Utah Jazz
Pros: Massive salary cap flexibility; several young, blue-chip talents on the roster; top-five pick in this year’s draft, plus extra picks this year and in future years; stable ownership.
Cons: Small market that isn’t for everyone; question of how much ownership will spend; uphill battle to progress in ultra-competitive West.
The lowdown: The Jazz job is in many ways the opposite of the Knicks job. Utah has barely any money on its books, with over $30 million available heading into this summer before Gordon Hayward’s restricted free agency is resolved. Along with Hayward, the Jazz have a pair of good, young big men in Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, a good young point guard in rookie Trey Burke and a pair of first-round picks in this year’s talent-rich draft – including a top-five pick that has a decent chance to move up to the top overall selection.
Combined with an incredibly stable ownership/front office structure, that gives this job the kind of long-term security few in the NBA offer these days. The Jazz gave Ty Corbin three-plus years on the job, including letting him coach out the final year of his contract this season when many teams would likely have parted ways with him after the 2012-13 season.
The problem is the Jazz are in the Western Conference, where it’s incredibly hard to move up the ladder. But between the amount of young talent on the roster and the long track record of patience by ownership, this is a job that promise some longevity.
Ideal candidate: None. The Jazz have said they are going to interview “20-plus” candidates for this opening, so it’s hard to say what direction general manager Dennis Lindsey is going.
Intriguing candidate: Ettore Messina. Long considered one of the world’s best coaches, Messina’s name has come up in connection with a variety of NBA jobs, and he would become the first foreign coach in NBA history. A four-time Euroleague champion, Messina is the definition of intriguing.
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