The Utah Jazz have a lot of decisions to make this offseason where the draft, players under contract, free agency and trades are concerned, but one decision that seems to have already been made is to keep Kelly Olynyk on the roster.
“I would anticipate that we would be having him back. Obviously we’ll go through the offseason ... this is the kind of time to decompress and take a little bit of a break. We have some time to make those decisions, but I was really happy with Kelly’s contributions and he’s fit in great here.” — Jazz GM Justin Zanik
The final year of Olynyk’s contract (2023-24), is a partially guaranteed year, which pays out roughly $3 million in guaranteed money. If the Jazz were to waive Olynyk prior to the guarantee date, June 28, they would only pay out that $3 million. After that, his contract for $12.1 million becomes fully guaranteed. But that Jazz aren’t planning on getting rid of Olynyk anytime soon.
“I would anticipate that we would be having him back,” Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said on Wednesday. “Obviously we’ll go through the offseason ... this is the kind of time to decompress and take a little bit of a break. We have some time to make those decisions, but I was really happy with Kelly’s contributions and he’s fit in great here.”
Beyond Olynyk, the Jazz will be waiting on four players to make decisions that could impact the Jazz’s offseason. Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker, Rudy Gay and Damian Jones all have player options for next season.
Each of the four players have said they enjoyed their time in Utah and would be open to returning, but weren’t exactly forthcoming on any decision that would ultimately be made in counsel with their respective agents.
Jones, who would be returning on the smallest contract of the four, was the one player that seemed to be heavily leaning toward returning to the Jazz when asked about his upcoming player option decision.
“I plan on coming back, but we’ll see what’s up,” Jones said. “I’m definitely willing to pick it up. I’m liking what’s going on here — the culture, teammates, the coaches — it’s all great.”
Even if every player were to opt in and remain on the Jazz’s roster, and the Jazz fully guarantee the contracts of Olynyk, Kris Dunn and Luka Samanic, the team would still have more than $40 million in cap space to work with over the summer.
“The optionality that we’ve created with the roster, the possibilities are endless,” Zanik said. “There’s just multiple ways for us to continue to move forward with this team and continue to try to open that championship window.”
Udoka Azubuike and Juan Toscano-Anderson are the only two players from the Jazz’s 15-man roster that will become free agents this summer with no options or extensions on their contracts.
