As teams complete their seasons, ESPN Insider's NBA team will take a look at the offseason picture and priorities for all 30 teams. Below, Kevin Pelton offers a snapshot of the Utah Jazz.
2014-15 record: 38-44
Pythagorean record: 42-40
Offensive Rating: 102.5 (15th)
Defensive Rating: 102.1 (12th)
Draft picks
Own first-round pick (11th or 12th entering lottery, pending coin flip)
Own second-round pick (41st, 42nd or 43rd, pending coin flip)
Cavaliers' second-round pick (54th)
Projected cap space
Maximum: $17.4 million
Minimum: $6.1 million
Likely: $9.9 million
What's returning
Nearly every key player from the league's most improved team after the All-Star break. Utah went 19-10 after trading Enes Kanter at the trade deadline and promoting Rudy Gobert to the starting lineup, allowing 4.6 fewer points per 100 possessions than any other team in the league, per NBA.com/Stats. Perhaps more impressively, the Jazz were a respectable 19th in offensive rating after the break despite getting little offensive production from their point guards or bench.
Utah veterans Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward enjoyed breakthrough campaigns, elevating to the fringes of All-Star consideration in the first seasons of lucrative new long-term deals. And Gobert was a revelation in his sophomore campaign, averaging 10.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 37 starts.
The Jazz will hope for similar development from Dante Exum, their 2014 lottery pick. Exum proved ahead of schedule at the defensive end, using his 6-foot-6 frame to great effect against opposing point guards. However, he was passive to the point of invisible on offense, mostly serving as a spot-up shooter. Still, Exum was a major upgrade on Trey Burke, who failed to take a step forward in Year 2.
Shoulder surgery ended Alec Burks' season in December, which ultimately allowed rookie Rodney Hood to make his mark as a starter. Hood averaged 11.2 points after the All-Star break, making 42.0 percent of his 3s and demonstrating the ability to create for himself and others out of the pick-and-roll.
Free agents
Utah has just two free agents of note. Aussie wing Joe Ingles, an NBA rookie at age 27 after playing in Europe, proved a crafty contributor on the wing. Ingles was overexposed by playing a starting role much of the season and figures to be more effective as a reserve.
Forward Trevor Booker supplied a veteran presence in the frontcourt and developed a perimeter game to complement Favors and Gobert. Having made just one 3-pointer in four seasons in Washington, Booker knocked down 29 at a 34.5 percent clip with the Jazz. Utah now has the choice of bringing Booker back or waiving him to create an additional $4.5 million in cap room.
Biggest need: Point guard production
When I ranked teams by the play of their point guards earlier this season, the Jazz were dead last in WARP as the only team whose point guards collectively rated below replacement level. (Utah was 26th by RPM, which is more positive about Exum's defense.)
The Jazz were able to survive offensively by putting the ball in the hands of their wings. Hayward excelled running the pick-and-roll, and Burks and Hood are also comfortable in that role, mitigating the need for a ball-dominant point guard. Still, Utah needs to get something offensively from the point guard position, even if it's only the ability to make open 3-pointers on a consistent basis.
Biggest question: How aggressively will the Jazz chase a playoff spot?
There's every reason to believe Utah will be an above-.500 team in 2015-16. The Jazz were already positive in point differential over the course of the season and outscored opponents by 5 points per game after the All-Star break -- fifth best in the NBA. Even factoring in some regression at the defensive end from the historically elite numbers Utah put up in the second half, internal development makes 45 wins a reasonable target. The Jazz could accelerate the process of getting back to the postseason by adding a veteran but must be careful not to sacrifice their long-term future in the process.
Ideal offseason
Utah uses its cap space to lure restricted free agent Patrick Beverley away from the Houston Rockets, dealing away Burke to create room in the point guard rotation. Beverley gives the Jazz another quality defender and a decent outside shooter without committing so much to point guard as to block Exum from taking the next step in his development. Utah also adds a healthy Burks to the group that surged after the All-Star break and ends up winning 50 games and securing the seventh seed in the West.