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Utah Jazz 2021 Roster: What the Team Looks Like After Trades and Free Agency Signings

Published 12/10/2020, 9:00 AM EST

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Last season, the Utah Jazz finished the regular season as the sixth seed in a stacked Western Conference. If not for an injury to their second best scorer Bojan Bogdanovic, they could have made a deep playoff run.

The Jazz had a pretty balanced roster and would not want to make any major trades. Some of their key players were in the last year of their contracts, and the team had to re-sign them. Were they able to do that? Let’s take a look.

Utah Jazz transactions: Players signed via trades and free agency

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The biggest signing for the Jazz was signing free agent center and power forward, Derrick Favors. Favors, who played for the Pelicans last season, has played as the center for the Jazz for two seasons.

Last season, he averaged 9.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks across 24.4 minutes He is an able backup center to Rudy Gobert and adds much needed depth to the position.

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Their other addition was the 27th draft pick, Udoka Azubuike. Azubuike is a strong rim protector and a shot blocker. He is also an elite finisher around the rim. He has all the elements to be a great center. At 6’11 he should be a good rotational center for the team.

The most important move for the Jazz was the re-signing of their star, Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell signed a rookie max extension deal worth $195 million for 5-years. The 24-year-old has been one of the best scorers and had led the team in scoring for multiple seasons.

This season, he averaged 24 points, 4.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds. These numbers shot up in the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, where he averaged an insane 36.3 points, 4.9 assists and 5 rebounds per game.

At 24, Mitchell has already proven how prolific of a scorer he is. Signing him in a 5-year deal means that they will have a superstar in his prime playing for them.

Another important re-signing for the Jazz was that of Jordan Clarkson. He was impressive in the 42 games he played and was the fourth best scorer in the team. Coming off the bench, Clarkson provided an instant offensive boost averaging 15.2 points, 1.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds in only 24 minutes per game.  He signed a four-year deal worth $52 million.

The Jazz have re-signed some key players in Jordan Clarkson and Donovan Mitchell and have signed a solid backup center in Derrick Favors. However, they still haven’t signed Gobert. The French superstar is entering unrestricted free agency in 2021. The Jazz will be eager to keep the duo of Mitchell and Gobert intact.

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Players lost

The Jazz traded backup center Ed Davis to the Knicks for cash considerations. Coming into the off-season, the Jazz were a bit short in the salary cap. By trading Davis they got rid of his salary of $5 million, which was helpful in offering contracts to Mitchell and Clarkson.

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The Jazz also traded big man Tony Bradley. He was a decent backup center for the team but more often than not was limited to about 10 minutes on the court. He was drafted to the Detroit Pistons for cash and future draft considerations.

Utah Jazz have been relatively quite this off season. They already had a balanced roster and haven’t made any big changes and have made some smart moves to re-sign their stars. But they still have one of their stars in the last year of his contract in Rudy Gobert. Will they be able to re-sign him?

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Written by:

Aditya Mohapatra

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Aditya Mohapatra is a sports enthusiast who primarily covers the NBA for EssentiallySports. Having graduated in Mass Communication, he has prior experience in writing for ABP News, and has been writing for EssentiallySports since November 2020. This die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan feels that LeBron James is the best thing to have ever happened to the NBA, and will hold a healthy debate with anyone suggesting otherwise.
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