Imo, now is the time for Utah to lock up a FA or 2. It doesn't necessarily need to (or should) be a marquee signing, but with the salary cap (as well as the competition for FA's) increasing within the next couple of years, now would be a great opportunity for small-market teams such as this one to sign a solid role-player or 2 to a long-term contract. In 1 year, almost every team in the league is expected to have a significant amount of money to spend. When Kanter was traded, DL stated that he intended to use the money that was freed up over this upcoming off-season. Instead of consolidating the assets received in return during that trade to acquire 1 high-level asset, DL instead opted to obtain a future draft pick, a fringe prospect, a decent over-seas player, & financial flexibility. I believe that he prioritized financial flexibility in order to take advantage of the unique opportunity that will be available over the summer.
As one of the less attractive current FA destinations in the league, the FO understands that any signings made now, will become a steal as the cap increases. I expect DL & CO to attempt to sign at least 1 undervalued FA (such as Booker last year) to a long-term deal, in order to have a cheap rotation player (or 2) under contract at below market value for when the team projects to become legitimate championship contenders. As the cap increases, the possibility of this team attracting any high-end FA's decreases. I believe that this off-season is the right time for our FO to exploit what is looking like will be a market deficiency (although to a lesser extent than those teams signing max/near-max level FA's). Adding a contributing player or 2 now, while there is less competition as well as a higher likelihood of the contract(s) becoming a bargain, could ultimately pay major dividends in the future by giving the team ever more cap-space/flexibility to add that piece or 2 that could potentially put the team over the top once it is on the brink of contention by allowing the FO to allocate the newly found income/resources (due to the cap increase) to more important pieces such as that missing starter/elite scorer/etc.