Breaking Down the Utah Jazz's Blueprint to Continue Rebuild in 2015 Offseason

After hitting the reset button in the summer of 2013, the Utah Jazz are already on the verge of coming out of their rebuild.

With a smart move or two, another lottery pick (used or traded) and more internal development, they could be contending for a postseason berth, even in the NBA's loaded Western Conference.

It's not as crazy as it sounds. The Jazz already have a stellar foundation in place, with the league's best defense since February 1. They're giving up just 95.7 points per 100 possessions in that time frame and only 92.5 since they traded Enes Kanter on February 19.

On the season, each of the top six—and eight of the top nine—teams in defensive rating is currently in the playoffs. If the Jazz can add or develop one or two more offensive players beyond Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, they should comfortably finish over .500.

So where should Utah start? Well, the 2014-15 season has made a few weaknesses painfully obvious.

Acquire a Veteran Point Guard

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The Jazz aren't just missing production from the point guard spot. They have to dig their way out of the chasm that exists in its place.

	Average	NBA Rank
Points	17.3	24th
Assists	6.5	29th
Rebounds	4.1	30th
FG%	36.3%	30th
3P%	32.4%	21st

Utah grades out just as poorly in advanced metrics, like ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton's "wins above replacement player."

Both Trey Burke and Dante Exum are responsible for the lack of offensive production and the team ranking 30th in WARP (though Exum gets a pass on defense for reasons explained here).

Neither is a threat to make shots, and as Salt City Hoops' Ben Dowsett put it, opposing teams actually welcome open looks from Burke: "At this point, there’s basically no question opponents are basing much of their scouting report around funneling Trey into jump-shooting areas and hoping he’ll fire away."

Will any of this get better over the summer? The front office can certainly hope so, but it should be willing to explore stopgap options in the meantime.

A perusal of the point guards entering free agency yields some interesting names:

Jeremy Lin	Has struggled to fit with the Los Angeles Lakers. Has a willingness and ability to get to the rim that neither Burke nor Exum currently possesses.
Jameer Nelson	Is an 11-year veteran who's been solid since the Nuggets acquired him, averaging 9.2 points and 3.9 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field.
Mo Williams	Played with the Jazz as recently as the 2012-13 season, when he averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 assists. His recent play with the Charlotte Hornets could make him more of a long shot.

Another option could be making a small trade. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported last summer that Utah backed out of a three-team trade that would've landed Pablo Prigioni with the Jazz.

Given their complete commitment to youth at the time, it made sense to pass. But now it's clear that Utah needs a third point guard, and a veteran shooting 40.1 percent from three-point range over his career fits.

Add a Backup Big

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With Favors and Rudy Gobert in place, Utah's starting frontcourt is set. But there's a desperate need for some depth behind them, with Trevor Booker and Jack Cooley getting those minutes right now.

The jury's still out on Cooley, a recent D-League call-up, but his ceiling appears to be low. He turns 24 in April, stands just 6'9" and may simply be a trade chip (more on that later).

Booker, meanwhile, is a regular rotation piece but is undersized and ineffective. On the season, he ranks 405th of 467 tracked players in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus. He's 296th in overall RPM.

With the second season of his current deal non-guaranteed, per ShamSports, he too could be a trade chip (again, stay tuned).

So if the two current backups are gone, who might be in their place? 

Lavoy Allen	Ferocious offensive rebounder who should be a well-versed defender after playing for Frank Vogel.
Ed Davis	Perhaps the lone bright spot for the Lakers' season, Davis signed at a discount and leads LA in PER, TS%, REB% and BLK%.
Tyler Hansbrough	Not a great rim protector but leads the Toronto Raptors in both defensive rating and net rating. Defends with tons of energy and could fit next to Favors or Gobert.
Kosta Koufos	Another defense-first big who could anchor the second unit on that end of the floor.
Brandan Wright	Shot a ridiculous 64.4 percent in 198 games with the Mavericks. Expert roll man but could hinder spacing in lineups with Gobert.

Utah will have plenty of cap space, so the possibility of adding a bigger name than those listed above is there but probably not likely. Or at least it's not likely in terms of free agency.

Because Utah's not a destination market for free agents, big names generally have to be acquired through a trade or the draft.

While someone like Paul Millsap is interesting for nostalgic reasons and the fact that his brother Elijah is already on the team, a bigger market and a guaranteed starting spot make more sense for him.

Make Noise at the Draft

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

With some interesting options available in the No. 8 to No. 12 range, Utah can use another lottery pick in this upcoming draft, but it's looking more and more like a draft-day trade could be looming.

A flurry of moves this week by Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey left media all over Utah wondering what's around the corner.

Ben Anderson of 1320 KFAN in Salt Lake City explained:

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The Jazz made a series of moves today just in time for the NBA draft. I know that sounds strange with the draft still three months away, but these moves might have a potentially huge impact. The Jazz announced multi-year contracts for Jack Cooley and Chris Johnson today, in addition to the deal they signed Bryce Cotton to just weeks ago. These deals are for multiple years only for the purpose of extending beyond the NBA draft which will be here on June 25th, just over 90 days from the day these deals were signed.

This is significant because the Jazz are now able to trade Cooley, Johnson, and Cotton on draft day, with what I assume are fully non-guaranteed contracts, meaning whichever team receives the players can waive them immediately without ever taking on money that will count against the cap.

In addition to these three, the Jazz also have Trevor Booker on a non guaranteed contract worth close to $5 million dollars, as well as Elijah Millsap worth the NBA minimum $845,059 according to basketballinsiders.com. Add these 5 non-guaranteed contracts together and the Jazz have roughly $8.1 million dollars they can trade as early as draft night to receive an equal value contract in return that a team may not be wanting to pay, especially if it puts them over the luxury tax line.

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Lindsey is expertly gaming the system with these moves, piling up flexible assets (including 10 draft picks in addition to the team's own) that can all be cashed in at once just before draft night, as Jazz play-by-play man David Locke shared:

In Anderson's piece, Kevin Martin and Ryan Anderson are listed as players on contracts near $8 million and on teams that may be looking to shed salary. Both make sense, as Utah needs shooting and experience.

Other players around that salary range include:

Channing Frye	A stretch 4 whose numbers are down in Orlando but is still shooting 39.6 percent from three-point range.
Danilo Gallinari	Has spent most of his career at small forward but at 6'10" has the potential to fill the stretch-4 role.
Taj Gibson	Nikola Mirotic has been fantastic in Gibson's stead lately, making an already-crowded frontcourt even tougher to figure out.
Ersan Ilyasova	Another stretch-4 candidate on a team that's geared toward younger names like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker.
Ty Lawson	Would likely take the majority of the aforementioned assets, but if Denver kicks off a full-blown rebuild, Lawson might be available.

Each one of those players is a proven NBA talent, something that can't be said for a single incoming rookie. Utah is already at the point where it can aim for the former rather than gambling on the latter.

Assess Overseas Talent

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Utah owns the rights to a trio of intriguing overseas players. Ante Tomic was taken by the Jazz with the 44th pick way back in 2008, Raul Neto was acquired in a draft-night trade in 2013 and Tibor Pleiss was part of the package that came back in return for Kanter.

	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG%	3P%
Ante Tomic	22.3	10.7	6.6	1.9	57.7%	-
Raul Neto	21.9	8.6	2.3	4.2	42.4%	24.1%
Tibor Pleiss	13.2	5.8	3.9	0.2	59.6%	50% (1-of-2)

Tomic may be the most likely to come over in time for the 2015-16 season. He told EuroBasket.com's David Pick that he still sees himself in the league.

Pick also shared a tantalizing Vine showing off some of Tomic's passing ability.

Those dimes could be on display next season. According to Hoops Hype's Jorge Sierra, Utah is interested in completing a buyout and bringing Tomic over from Barcelona.

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The timing would be good for Tomic to make the jump. The Jazz have reportedly expressed interest in buying out Tomic's deal with Barça already. (The Spanish club has a team option on Tomic's contract for next season).

"He would be a good fit in Utah with such big guys," according to the Eastern Conference scout. "Gobert is all energy and hard work, but doesn't possess Tomic's talent. Tomic is just the opposite of him. That's a fantastic and complementary duo to have and I think Quin Snyder is a good coach that can get the best out of him."

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Pleiss, meanwhile, could be in Barcelona for at least another season. He's currently Tomic's backup, and according to EuroHoops.net's Aris Barkas, "Utah has no imminent interest or plans for the player."

Neto could be a few years away as well. In a radio interview with 1320 KFAN, Pick responded to a question on Neto's availability, saying:

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I don’t really see a situation where Neto can propel his level of play to that of the NBA. I don’t think he’s there right now. ... I just don’t see the Jazz needing such a player as Raul Neto. ... I don’t see that happening in the near future. And I’m skeptical for it to take place at all.

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As was the case with the 10-day players, Neto and Pleiss could end up being trade chips. Or both could come over later than expected, as appears to be the case with Tomic.

Continue to Develop the Youngsters

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

All of the above are important potential steps in Utah's rebuild, but they're secondary to the foundation. The building block underneath it all is the young core that's already in place.

The average age of Hayward, Favors, Gobert, Burke, Exum, Rodney Hood and Alec Burks is a whopping 22.3. Each one still has improvement on the horizon. And with Snyder's background coaching college and D-League players, internal development is one of his calling cards.

Any additions by way of free agency or trades or likely to be appendages to the core that's already in place.

Potential 2015-16 Rotation

	Starter	Backup
PG	Dante Exum	Trey Burke/Jameer Nelson
SG	Rodney Hood	Alec Burks
SF	Gordon Hayward	Elijah Millsap/Joe Ingles
PF	Derrick Favors	Pick Your Stretch 4
C	Rudy Gobert	Ante Tomic

Another year of general seasoning for the young core, more time against NBA competition for Millsap and Joe Ingles and the addition of Tomic and one or two veterans could be all Utah needs to get one step closer to the postseason.

With Favors, Gobert and Exum in place, the defense should be one of the league's best again. How the offense looks depends on how well this blueprint comes together off the paper.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current through games played on March 27, 2015.   

Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.