Utah Jazz Are Banking on Organic Growth to Trump Quiet Free Agency

NBA free agency in the year 2015 has played out like a billionaire's version of The Price is Right: "Come on down! You're the next player to get a max contract!"

Teams all over the league are dolling out loads of cash for the likes of Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Greg Monroe. Even small-market teams.

And it's understandable. The cap's going up with an influx of new TV money in a year. And big-name players are finally prioritizing winning and culture over bright lights and big markets (see the Los Angeles Lakers' and New York Knicks' offseasons).

In the midst of all this, one team has foregone the option of spending just to spend. As general managers around the NBA tried to lure free agents to their small tables, the Utah Jazz are focused on fostering what's already in place.

Organic growth is the order of the summer for the Jazz. Trey Lyles, Raul Neto and Tibor Pleiss are the only additions they've made so far. And none of those three could've signed with anyone else, as Utah held their draft rights.

2015 Acquisitions	Position	Acquired	Age
Returners		Notable 2014-15 Stat	Age
Trey Lyles	PF	No. 12 pick in 2015	19
Raul Neto	PG	Draft rights acquired in 2013	23
Tibor Pleiss	C	Draft rights acquired in February, 2015	25
Trevor Booker	PF	Booker shot 29-of-84 from three-point range (34.5 percent), after taking just 10 threes in his first four seasons.	27
Trey Burke	PG	Burke led the Jazz in assists, averaging 4.3 per game.	22
Alec Burks	SG	Burks shot a career-best 38.2 percent from three-point range, but appeared in just 27 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on his shoulder.	23
Jack Cooley (non-guaranteed)	C/PF	Cooley averaged 12.5 rebounds in 20 appearances in the D-League.	24
Bryce Cotton (non-guaranteed)	PG	Cotton averaged 22.4 points 34 appearances in the D-League.	22
Dante Exum	PG/SG	Exum's net rating of plus-3.3 ranks first among Jazz players who logged at least 1,000 minutes.	20
Derrick Favors	PF/C	Favors posted a team-best player efficiency rating of 21.8.	24
Rudy Gobert	C	Gobert averaged a team-best 3.2 blocks per 36 minutes.	23
Gordon Hayward	SF/SG	Hayward led the Jazz in scoring at 19.3 points per game.	25
Rodney Hood	SG/SF	Hood shot 42 percent from three-point range after the All-Star break.	22
Joe Ingles	SF	Ingles shot 42.7 percent from three-point range after the All-Star break.	27
Grant Jerrett	PF	Jerrett went 38-of-97 (39.2 percent) from three-point range in the D-League.	22
Chris Johnson (non-guaranteed)	SF/SG	Johnson had a net rating of plus-8.8 in 211 minutes with the Jazz.	25
Elijah Millsap	SF/SG	Millsap's defensive rating of 95.4 led all Jazz players who logged at least 500 minutes.	27

This, despite Utah having nearly enough cap space to go after a max player. So, why not pursue that option?

Well, the Jazz's unique roster puts them in a unique position.

They were the youngest team in the NBA last season, yet still managed to be the best defensive unit after the All-Star break.

	Defensive Rating	Rank
October 29 - January 1	108.0	27th
January 1 - February 19	103.1	16th
February 19 - April 15	94.8	1st

Why wouldn't you want to see what that group is capable of with another year of growth?

Every core piece was 25 or younger, suggesting that each has multiple years before hitting a ceiling. Even marginal individual improvements could arguably bring this team to 50 wins. After all, they did play at a 50-plus-win pace after the break.

Opting for organic growth over splurging in free agency or chasing trades may come to be known as "The Jazz Model," as noted by Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.

His tweet referenced an ESPN piece by Kevin Arnovitz, which goes on to quote another general manager.

"At the end of the day, there's only one ball and only nine or 10 rotation slots," the GM said. "It's not just about whether you can afford a player within the framework of the salary cap now or in the future. We're still in the personnel-management business, not just the cap-management business."

Being in the business of personnel management is something Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey has emphasized throughout his tenure, particularly this offseason.

Keeping the team together is encouraging for young players like Dante Exum.

"I’ve talked to a lot of the guys around the Jazz, and they said we have a good core," Exum told Bleacher Report at the Utah Jazz Summer League. "And now it’s about finding those little pieces around it. So, having a similar team, a similar core to what we had last year is only gonna help us grow. I think towards the end of the year, we realized what we can do as a team, and if we commit to what we’re trying to do. It’s good that the staff realizes it, and we’re starting to realize it too."

That vote of confidence from higher-ups can go a long way, but investing resources beyond that says even more.

A number of Jazz veterans with no obligation to the summer-league squad—Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks and Trevor Booker, just to name a few—have stayed in Salt Lake City for most of the summer to take advantage of the coaching and facilities Utah's made available to its players.

They get one-on-one attention with various assistants. And according to one of the Jazz's strength and conditioning coaches, the organization's weightlifting facilities are starting to mirror P3, a high-tech gym in Santa Barbara, Calif., where Utah players are sent every summer.

Further evidence of the organization's commitment to internal development could be seen prior to the draft, when the Jazz hosted 101 players in pre-draft workouts, the most of any team in the league.

The front office knows that continuing to build through the draft will be the key to sustained success. Establishing a good base of information and evaluating tons of prospects every summer will help the Jazz land solid players later in drafts, much like the San Antonio Spurs.

In fact, it's the Spurs model that Lindsey, once the assistant GM in San Antonio, has brought with him to the Jazz. Or maybe, it's the Spurs model with a twist.

As Genessy says, "The Utah Jazz model."

Statistics courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise noted.

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