The Jazz ended their season in Houston Wednesday night, and had locker room clean out Thursday morning. Here are a few jumbled thoughts I pulled from media day.
Most concrete, the return of Kyle Korver seems to be up in the air. Korver didn’t mention what the Jazz desire was on his future, as he has just a partially guaranteed deal for next season, but also his own feelings about returning. Korver is 38 years old, has three young kids, is married, and recently lost a brother. Having dealt with a lingering bone bruise on his knee, Korver was clearly frustrated with his level of play this season, and said playing at this age has a real cost in the NBA when it comes to family life. Don’t be surprised if we’ve seen the last of Korver on the hardwood.
Ricky Rubio clearly wasn’t thrilled with this latest season in Utah. The trade rumors that were constant from late January through early February impacted him, along with injuries, and the Jazz never saw the same Rubio that made them so dangerous late in the season last year. It wasn’t obvious whether he’d return to the Jazz or not next season, but I got more of a sense than I expected that Rubio may play a bigger role in leaving Utah than I had previously thought. Rubio may want to feel more wanted, and the Jazz may not be willing to offer that.
Dennis Lindsey didn’t commit to adding a star player with the potential $30 million the Jazz could clear by moving on from Rubio, and passing on Favors team option. However, Lindsey was clear that the Jazz open shot numbers didn’t seem to match the team’s three point production. If the Jazz fail to add a star wing player to compliment Donovan Mitchell, they may choose to look to add shooting at all positions to give him more space, and better support.
