They gave Bojan Bogdanovic fair market value in free agency and traded fair market value for a third All-Star in Mike Conley and the Sixth Man of the Year in Jordan Clarkson.
It’s how a team has to build in Salt Lake City, where stars will likely never flock and sustained tanking is financially infeasible.
There’s an undeniable degree of humiliation in losing to such a wounded Clippers team, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s worth turning the question around and wondering how the Clippers gave themselves a big enough margin for error to beat a No.
George went on to play a major role in recruiting Reggie Jackson, who averaged 18 points per game in the Utah series and did so on a minimum contract.
They are rewards for competence, to an extent, but competence is more attractive in Los Angeles than it is in Salt Lake.
The Clippers got away with playing such small lineups in part because Mitchell was the only ball-handler who could consistently penetrate the defense, scoring 8.3 points in the paint per game compared to 3.7 or fewer for every other player on the roster aside from Gobert.
The Jazz were capped out last offseason, but still had one powerful tool to wield in free agency: the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
But if Gobert struggled against the smaller Clippers as a Defensive Player of the Year, the slower Favors never stood a chance.
Imagine a scenario in which the Jazz had signed a traditional backup center for the minimum and then used their mid-level exception on another player they once let go of: Jae Crowder, who took a similar deal in Phoenix.
When they lost Serge Ibaka to injury, they were able to successfully pivot into small ball in part because of their excellent minimum signings.
When they sign the wrong player, they can’t have an alternative lined up to replace him.
The Jazz already owe well over $130 million to players next season before a new Conley deal is even accounted for.
They owe almost $150 million in salaries next season before accounting for Jackson, due a hefty raise through his Early Bird rights, and Batum, whom the Clippers will surely offer their mid-level exception if he demands it.
They just don’t have that Kawhi Leonard-sized margin for error that the Clippers did in this series.