Utah Jazz: Why Hasn’t George Hill Been Extended?
By Caleb Manser
When the Utah Jazz unloaded Tibor Pleiss and his contract last fall, all signs pointed to a long-term extension for someone on the roster… or so we thought.
George Jesse Hill Jr. has been a great addition to the Utah Jazz this season. The Jazz made a bold move of trading their 2016 lottery draft pick for the veteran point guard in a move that signaled the rebuilding stage was over.
The Jazz had been stuck on a point guard carousel for years after trading away franchise point guard Deron Williams in 2011. The keys to the team were then passed between Devin Harris, Mo Williams, Trey Burke, Dante Exum, Raul Neto and finally Shelvin Mack at the end of last season.
Although they were given plenty of opportunity, none of these floor generals were quite able to take the team to the next level. Utah made the playoffs with Harris in 2011, but were quickly swept in four games by the Spurs.
It’s been ping-pong balls ever since.
Last season, everyone knew the Jazz had potential; another gear they had yet to reach. However, they ultimately fell just one game short of a playoff berth.
As Mike Sorenson of the Deseret News reported last April, the Jazz contemplated trading for a veteran point guard at mid-season to stabilize the young players and be the vocal leader on the court the team didn’t have. Dennis Lindsey had this to say at locker room cleanouts —
"“We had two particular deals proposed to us that we said yes to,” he said. “They were more short-term-oriented and I was willing to give up a first-round pick, multiple picks, a very significant salary slot because we had built that into the equation.“But for whatever reason, we weren’t able to consummate it. I’ve got to go through all those postmortems and see if there was something else that would have allowed us to augment the team where we knew it needed to be augmented.”"
Lindsey and the front office reportedly considered trading for Jeff Teague last year; that obviously that didn’t happen. But they got an even better fit for the roster with Hill last summer.
In Hill’s first seven games as a Jazzman, he averaged 20.4 points per game on a 54/43/87 shooting split, while adding 4.8 assists and 2.8 boards per game. Although the Jazz were only to go 4-3 during that stretch, they had a signature win over the San Antonio Spurs in the Alamo City, and the buzz around town was that Hill was the missing piece to the puzzle.
Because of Hill’s ability to play on or off the ball, he fits right in the Jazz offense, whether they want to play through ball-handling wings like Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood or just let Hill initiate the offense.
Hill also comes with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, and has been a solid defender since his days in San Antonio.
Unfortunately, Hill has already missed 25 games this season thanks to a sprained thumb, sprained toe and a concussion/lip laceration. When he’s missed games, the Jazz have struggled to contain the opposing guards like Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, Lou Williams, and even Ty Lawson.
Without Hill in the lineup, opposing team can zone-in their defense on shutting down Hayward. The Jazz are also more likely to squander big leads and choke in the fourth quarter without their point guard.
So why haven’t the Jazz extended him already?
He wants to stay here long-term and he’s a huge difference maker on the court, so what’s stopping him from signing an extension? The Jazz even prioritized his extension over Favors’ last November, so what is taking so long?
That is up to the speculation of fans and media, but I think being in a critical playoffs or bust year for the Jazz, Hill’s primary focus is on winning right now. It would be more convenient for him to take care of the contract situation when the season is over, and he can base his decision with Hayward’s free agency decision.
For the Jazz front office, it makes more sense for them to wait and see a bigger sample size before locking up Hill long-term. He’s missed 25 games already, and it would frankly be wise for the Jazz to make sure he can stay away from injuries.
Concussions and thumb sprains are the kinds of nicks and bruises that come with the game of basketball, so I am not too concerned on Hill’s ability to stay healthy, especially since he’s played in 70-plus games six times in his nine-year career.
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Whether he hits the open market this summer or miraculously signs an extension by the March 1 deadline, it would be fair to see Hill get paid to the tune of three years/$52 million. He has proved his value as an above-average starting point guard in the league, and can serve as the floor general for a playoff team.
How much do you think Hill should get paid, and will it be with the Jazz? Hit me up in the comments section or on Twitter @CjChaze.