With a frenetic summer signing period finally slowing down, we have finally have a chance to evaluate how everything has come together for teams across the league. Five franchises in particular stood out because of the collection of talent they acquired both in the draft and free agency. In this series, we’ll look at not only why these teams “won” their summers, but the work that’s now required in order to mold their new-look rosters into a cohesive units.

What the Utah Jazz got right

After just missing out on the postseason, the Jazz took measures this offseason to bring in veterans capable of pushing them over the playoff hump. By working both the free agent and trade markets, Utah was able to nab Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and George Hill to complement their promising, young core.

On the surface, these names are hardly the types that turn heads. Hill is a dependable starter lacking the playmaking or scoring punch to stand out at the league’s most loaded position. Johnson, despite earning his seventh All-Star nod just two years ago, is no longer a foundational piece for a team’s offense. And Diaw, at 34, played less than 20 minutes per game last year -- the first time he’s dipped below that mark since his sophomore season in the NBA.

Yet every single one of these players fills a crucial need for the Jazz.

It’s no secret that Utah’s failure to reach last year’s postseason was in large part due to the substandard production from the point guard position. But even with that in mind, the Jazz couldn’t just reach for any productive starter available in either free agency or the trade market.  Utah’s combination of system and personnel created a need for a point guard that’s effective without having to dominant the ball. Hill’s jack-of-all-trades offensive game and comfort level playing second fiddle (two things that have been considered knocks on him in past spots) will be a perfect fit in an offense with lots of ball movement and wings -- like Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks and now Johnson -- that break down defenses in the same actions, like pick-and-rolls and dribble hand-offs, traditionally reserved for point guards.

In the bigger picture, the player Utah acquired to fill that spot also couldn’t be attached to a long-term deal. With Dante Exum (who missed last season due to an ACL injury) still considered the team’s point guard of the future, Hill, whose deal expires after this season, essentially buys the Jazz a year of developmental time for their stud prospect. In a perfect world, Hill pushes the Jazz team into the playoffs this season while Exum grows his game (and knocks off the rust of a season lost to injury) in a limited role. Then this summer, Hill is allowed to cash in on the free agent market while Exum steps right into the starting role.

The acquisition of Johnson works a little bit differently. Instead of sliding into a starting role, Johnson will instead provide cover a Utah wing rotation that, on the surface at least, doesn’t seem to need it. Hayward and Hood are entrenched as foundational backcourt pieces. Despite another surgery, this summer, Burks is slated to be healthy come training camp and (hopefully for Jazz fans) ready to return to the slashing, foul-drawing ways he showcased before these recent setbacks. On top of that, Joe Ingles has always been a favorite of head coach Quin Snyder.

If Utah went into next season with those four in tow, they could have been justified in doing so. But counting on Burks to be available, much less return to his pre-injury form quickly, after his recent health woes is considerable risk. And while Ingles’ offensive glue-guy schtick holds up for some lineups on a .500 team, it may not work so well for a team that has the pieces to seriously contend. Johnson basically hedges against all these bets.

If Burks is healthy, he can combine with Johnson off the bench to form a wing duo with considerable punch (and maybe more importantly, complementary skill sets). If he’s not, Johnson protects the Jazz from turning over heavy minutes to Ingles in a backup role. Not to mention that a trio of Hayward, Johnson and Hood combining with one of Utah’s bigs and Hill could turn out to be one of their go-to lineups in crunch time.

Like Johnson, Diaw’s arrival not only aids depth, but adds an element of versatility. With Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors in the fold, Utah’s main problem has been effectively counter when teams go small against them. With emerging youngster Trey Lyles, the Jazz have a mobile 4-man in place. Diaw gives them a real small-ball 5, who can handle on the break, pop and roll as a screener and battle bigger bodies near the basket. At 34, he won’t be able to do it for extended periods, but his presence gives Snyder another solution for problems he’s been unable to solve the past few seasons.

Questions that need to be answered

- Can Snyder handle the depth and versatility of this roster?

Assembling this impressive roster depth is only productive if the head coach manages it effectively. In the frontcourt alone, picking the right combinations from Favors, Gobert, Diaw and Lyles will be hard enough. And that’s not even factoring any lineups that include someone like Hayward or Johnson sliding up to the 4. The options are so vast for Snyder that it’s unlikely he’s going to get a great feel for who to play together and when until well into the season.

That’s the paradox with depth. Sometimes, especially in the hands of the wrong coach (not saying Snyder is that), it could do more harm than good. An argument could certainly be made that that teams with a group of only eight or nine rotation-ready players are almost better off than teams with so many options.

It’s totally acceptable if Snyder costs the Jazz a game or two early while he tinkers with lineups and gets a grasp for which personnel groupings are best for specific situations. Utah fans should actually expect as much. The time for concern will be when spring rolls around and Snyder still seems unable to push the right buttons, especially late in games. But if Snyder gets a handle on how to operate this malleable roster (or has injuries force him into a set rotation), the Jazz could end up playing deep into the spring this season.

- How will the Jazz handle crunch time touches?

Even in their equal-opportunity offense, there will be situations late in games where Utah will have let one specific player control a vital possession. The problem for a team built on all-around depth instead of around a defining star, is that there tend to be multiple players worthy of having their name called at crucial junctures.

For the Jazz, there are three such players worthy of getting the call. In some ways, it’s like the basketball version of a Christmas Carol. The ghost of Utah’s present is Hayward, how has been the incumbent closer in Salt Lake the past few seasons. The ghost of clutch situations past is obviously Johnson, who spent the vast majority of his career getting the ball in tight, late-game situations. The team’s future in these spots, however, likely lies with the up-and-coming Hood.

Snyder could opt to let matchups dictate these opportunities. Or he could simply let Hayward continue to assume the mantle as a go-to-guy in crunch time. The fun though for Jazz fans is the prospect of Hood taking such a gigantic leap forward the team has no choice but to turn the honor over to him. No matter what happens, it will be a fascinating subplot for a franchise that could be involved in plenty of high-stakes, late-game situations this upcoming year.

Synopsis

It seems like no team has done less to change their outlook more than Utah has this offseason. Every single acquisition of note pales in comparison to other the big moves that shook the landscape of the league. Yet at the end of this frenetic period, the Jazz may have succeeded in building the deepest and most versatile roster in the entire league. But winning the summer won’t mean much if Snyder and his staff can’t get the victories during the time of year they really count.