Once the Utah Jazz’s offseason kicks into full gear, one of the decisions they’ll need to make is what to do with the non-guaranteed players on the current roster — KJ Martin Jr., Johnny Juzang, Svi Mykhailiuk and Jaden Springer.
The Jazz will have four selections (two first-round pick, two second-round picks) in the 2025 NBA draft. Though trades could change the number of picks, there’s a good chance the Jazz will make all four selections, looking to maximize the number of prospects on the 2025-26 roster.
An easy way to make room for all of the incoming players would be to waive the non-guaranteed players. So it’s very possible these guys won’t be on the Jazz roster next year. But that doesn’t mean evaluating their time in Utah isn’t worthwhile.
KJ Martin Jr. — B
Through a series of trade-deadline moves, the Jazz acquired Martin on Feb. 6. At that point Martin had been sidelined since before Christmas due to a stress reaction fracture in his left foot. He had just been ramping up for a return to action when he was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Jazz, and eventually made his debut for Utah on Feb. 22.
Martin is a bouncy wing/forward who is athletically gifted and is a great above-the-rim player, as evidenced from his prior participation in the NBA’s dunk contest during All-Star weekend. But over the last couple of years he’s focused his efforts on the defense side of the ball and has proven to have an impact and some versatility on that end.
All told, Martin only ended up playing 19 games for the Jazz, who found a way to keep him sidelined for a couple of stretches due to minor injury and illness as the team tanked its way to the bottom of the standings.
In his games with the Jazz, three things stood out. First, his defensive abilities and athleticism are real and should be valued. Second, his improved shooting in Philly did not carry over to his time with the Jazz, though it’s important to take into account his time away from the game due to injury, his low volume as a shooter, and moving to a new team. And, finally, his effort.
Martin keenly understands the opportunity for playing time and exposure on a tanking team. Having played for the Houston Rockets during their tanking seasons, he knew that playing hard and giving effort on every play could be the difference between being someone that gets a second chance or being someone that is no longer in the league. That was a trait that was greatly appreciated by everyone in Utah, but especially by head coach Will Hardy.
Since Martin’s contract does not have a trigger date in the offseason, the Jazz could technically keep him on the roster as long as they want. They could even keep him as the 2025-26 season starts and pay him a prorated salary if they trade him after the season tips off. But, stringing Martin along is highly unlikely.
Obviously the Jazz want to have some roster decisions ironed out before the start of next season, but a player’s agent would probably not take kindly to a team leaving things so undecided for so long and then making it even more difficult to find a landing spot for that player after the season begins. Why does Martin’s agent’s happiness matter? Because he is represented by CAA, the agency that also has a client list that includes Walker Kessler and Cooper Flagg, among many, many others.
Johnny Juzang — A-
After playing on a two-way deal for two years with the Jazz, Juzang was given a standard NBA deal with the team. While it is a multi-year contract, only the first year was guaranteed.
During his time with the Jazz, Juzang improved his shooting and improved as a defender. And what’s most notable is that Juzang improved in those areas over the course of the 2024-25 season.
Whether Juzang will find another NBA team where he can be a part of a real rotation remains to be seen. But, as for his time with the Jazz, he deserves praise for growing his game and finding himself as a player who can impact both sides of the ball.
The first trigger date for Juzang’s contract is June 30, so expect for a decision to be made by then.
Svi Mykhailiuk — C-
Coming off a season with the NBA champion Boston Celtics has a nice ring to it, but Mykhailiuk played just 41 regular-season games for the Celtics in 2023-24 and was just as often a DNP-CD.
For the Jazz, it was a low-risk move to sign Mykhailiuk to a four-year, non-guaranteed deal. He ended up playing just 38 games this season, so a similar amount to what he got in Boston. But he played heavier minutes with the Jazz. Unfortunately in those minutes his shooting numbers went down across the board.
Mykhailiuk also has a June 30 trigger date for his deal.
Jaden Springer — N/A
It would probably be unfair to really judge Springer based on his time in a Jazz uniform.
He was a late addition to the team, played in just 17 games, and even then, he was only on the court for seconds in some of those.
The first trigger date for Springer is July 25, so the Jazz could keep him on the roster if they wanted to have him on the Summer League team. But Springer is headed into his fifth NBA season, so there might not be much interest.
