The Utah Jazz are a team that could make a lot of noise during the 2024 NBA offseason. They are loaded with draft capital from when they tore their roster down during the 2022 offseason. Utah is one of the franchises that will have cap space to spend this summer as well; could they look to poach a New York Knicks star with some of it?
Looking to start building up the roster and being more competitive in the 2024-25 season, the Utah Jazz will look to make a splash in free agency. In the opinion of Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, their dream free agent target is OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks.
“Putting Anunoby at forward next to Lauri Markanen would give Utah one of the best frontcourts in the NBA, especially if Walker Kessler continues to develop at center.
Since the Jazz are one of the few teams that can open up max cap space this summer, they shouldn’t be shy about chasing a star,” Swartz wrote.
It would be surprising to see the Knicks not retain Anunoby in free agency. They traded Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and a second-round pick via the Detroit Pistons to the Toronto Raptors to acquire him.
Their plan certainly wasn’t to have Anunoby as only a rental trading away that many assets. Alas, given the injury concerns surrounding Anunoby, some analysts have suggested that the Knicks could be wary if a team offered him near max money.
The Utah Jazz could certainly be that team. Adding a two-way player of Anunoby’s caliber would instantly improve not only their floor but their ceiling as well. Look at the jump in production the Knicks had when they inserted Anunoby into their starting forward spot.
For a month, there wasn’t a better team in the NBA than New York. They were an eye-popping 23.9 points per 100 possessions better with Anunoby on the court, which was in the 100th percentile per Cleaning The Glass. That kind of impact would have the Utah Jazz right back in the mix for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
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