With a victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, the Utah Jazz will improve to 20-20 and complete a 13-4 turnaround that began in December, putting them back in the running for the playoffs. With a few more impressive weeks, the team is poised to move into the Play-In round of the playoff bracket and possibly into the top six in the Western conference.
Despite this series of success, Brian Windhorst is claiming that the Jazz are still looking to “sell off” some players, and notably mentioned those with expiring contracts. Despite the Jazz’s excellent current play, there seems to be a desire to give rookies like Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George more playing time. Since a playoff-contending squad was our expectation going into the season, why would the Jazz deal away valuable veterans in the midst of a postseason race to test whether a few rookies might contribute right away?
It makes even less sense when you consider that three players who have been instrumental in the Jazz’s recent success—Kelly Olynyk, Simone Fontecchio, and Kris Dunn—are nearing the end of their contracts. We are not advocating against making a trade. We are pleading with you to refrain from making a poor decision that might cost the squad its chance to rebuild.
More time should not be given to Hendricks and George; rather, it must be earned. Why play them if they’re not that good? For the chance that a few guys might perform marginally better than they have, why give up a chance to make the playoffs?
George and Hendricks can be benched for the time being. The majority of the players may stay with the Jazz for the time being. Trying to make a run is OK. Even trading for someone to bolster the roster is acceptable at this point.
But don’t give up on the season just because you believe Dunn can get you an additional second-round pick. Let’s as a franchise do better than that.
