Open letter to the Utah Jazz

Dear Jazz Management, 

Thank you for putting together a decent team for the 2015-16 season. They played some good ball at times. Won some games against good teams, lost some against bad teams, and once again finished so close and yet so far away from the playoffs. That's pretty much par for the course the past few years for the Jazz.

This is 4 years in a row missing the playoffs. 6 years since we won a playoff game. It's been tough sledding. 

Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's time to admit that the guy who is going to take this team to the next level is not currently on the roster. Gordon Hayward is a nice player, but making him the center piece of an NBA team? I think we all know that is a stretch. D-Favs, I like how he plays the game but, once again he isn't great. There are lots of nice players on the Jazz! But the team is lacking one thing that you have to have in order to be a contender in the NBA, a superstar. That's right, I said a superstar, the likes of which the Jazz haven't had since Stockton and Malone. So, I'm just going to come right out and say it. It's high time the Jazz did something to bring a superstar in. 

There are two ways you can bring in a superstar: Draft one, or bring in a free agent. Let's start with the later. 

Every year there are a few stars on the free agent market, but a superstar becoming a free agent? That only happens once every 3 or 4 years, so when there is one you gotta take a shot at him. This off season happens to be one of those years, with Kevin Durant hitting the open market. Please don't watch his free agency unfold from the sidelines. I know it seems like a long shot but, as Wayne Gretzky said "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  Put your best foot forward. Charter a jet for the guy, bring him to SLC, wine and dine him, and then offer him enough money to make him think "hey, maybe Utah should be on my radar." So take a shot! If you miss, well be no worse off than we were before, but IF you hit, it would alter the future of this franchise.

Bringing a superstar in through the draft? It's a bit of a crap shoot! You hold the 12th pick in the draft. Odds are that at 12 the cream of the crop will be long gone. The way I see it, you have two choices. The first is to stand pat and take your chances at 12. The second is to package that 12th pick along with a guy who is good and has value but who might not be quite working out for the Jazz (maybe like Trey Burke) and move up the board.

Whatever you do, please don't stand pat like you have the past few years. Please throw your hat in the ring with KD! Don't let him sign with another team without at least making a competitive offer. Please don't draft another project from Europe. It's time to start making some real progress. It's time to show the fans that you are serious about making this team a contender again. 

Sincerely, 

A life long Jazz fan