Salt Lake City is nicknamed “The Crossroads of the West” and appropriately enough, the Utah Jazz find themselves standing at a crossroads with the future of the franchise. Following the team’s first postseason appearance in four season, Utah has two starters and the club’s sixth man/spot starter hitting free agency at the same time. For a franchise that once owned a 20-year streak of playoff appearances, and seems on the verge of another long streak, the Jazz are in a precarious spot.

To get to how Utah finds themselves in this position, you have to go back to last summer. Prior to the draft, the Jazz agreed to a three-team deal with Atlanta and Indiana, where Utah gave up a first round pick to acquire George Hill from the Pacers. Hill filled what had become somewhat of a revolving door at point guard since the Jazz traded Deron Williams in 2011. Despite having a career year, Hill comes with two very real concerns for the Jazz. First, he missed considerable time due to injury in both the regular season and playoffs. Second is that he’s a free agent this summer. At 31 years old and with some injury concerns, there are questions as to how far the Jazz can go to retain Hill.

As they filled out the roster last July, the Jazz acquired Boris Diaw in a trade when the Spurs were shedding salary. Diaw performed quite well in Utah and ended up starting more often than planned as Derrick Favors battled injuries. The Jazz also signed veteran wing Joe Johnson to a two-year contract. Quin Snyder conserved Johnson throughout the year and he ended up one of Utah’s better players in the playoffs. He also reinvented himself to some degree by playing as a small-ball power forward. Adding that skill set is something that can lengthen Johnson’s career, as well as giving the Jazz some needed versatility.

Utah’s final big move of the summer was to sign Rudy Gobert to a four-year, $94 million contract extension that begins in 17-18. Because Gobert was coming off a season that saw him miss time with injury, the Jazz were able to get him at a slight discount from a full max extension. He’s developed into an annual contender for Defensive Player of the Year honors as the NBA’s best rim protector. He is the player Utah has built their entire defensive scheme around, along with having a rapidly improving offensive game.

With Gobert signed, two veterans providing key depth and Hill’s Bird Rights, the Jazz should be in prime position to build off last year’s success and establish a new playoff streak. Unfortunately, Utah’s franchise player holds the key to all of that in his hands as he hits free agency.

Gordon Hayward, after the Jazz matched a four-year, max offer sheet from Charlotte when he was a restricted free agent in 2014, is poised to hit the market again. The fourth year of that offer sheet was a player option for 17-18 and he will opt out and becoming a free agent. As the top free agent wing, Hayward will have no shortage of teams interested in him. He’s expected to draw interest from the Celtics and Heat at least.

This time around, Utah doesn’t have match rights. The expectation is that Hayward will receive max contract offers as a free agent, but Utah still has the ability to offer more than any team chasing Hayward. Even if Hayward was to sign a 4+1 deal with Utah, where he could be a free agent after four years, they can still offer over  more money.

However, money isn’t likely to be the decider for Hayward. More likely, he’ll make money part of an equation that is expected to emphasize winning heavily. Hayward knows he can win in Utah, witness a playoff series win in 2017. But the Jazz are still heavy underdogs to the Warriors and Spurs and possibly the Rockets. Going east could open an easier path to the NBA Finals, as well an opportunity to reunite with his college coach Brad Stevens. Or he could head southeast and play for the Heat under an equally good coach in a tax-free state with great weather and a history of winning.

Another part of the equation is how likely the Jazz are to wade deep into the luxury tax to keep this group together. Consider that Hayward will command a max deal, or near max, if he gives Utah a slight hometown discount, Hill is looking at between $16-20 million annually, and Joe Ingles will get plenty of offers as a versatile wing in restricted free agency, you are already looking at the Jazz being a tax payer in 2018. But it goes even deeper than that.

Both Rodney Hood and Dante Exum are eligible for extensions of their Rookie Scale deals this summer. Much like many of the non-Hayward Jazz players, the challenge in extending either player involves health concerns. Hood had recurring knee issues all season that kept him to just 59 games. He’s blossomed into one of the better wing scorers in the NBA and is an ideal running mate for Hayward, but there are concerns about his knees long term.

Exum bounced back from a torn ACL that cost him his sophomore season, but still isn’t back to himself. He showed improvement from his rookie year, but there are worries he’s not ready to be a starting point guard. Because of this, the Jazz are expected to retain Raul Neto, who has a fully non-guaranteed contract, because of his ability to be a competent spot starter.

The Jazz also have long term questions about Favors, as he’s under contract for just one more season. At one point, it appeared that Favors was part of a Utah core with Hayward, Gobert, Exum and Hood that the team would build around for the foreseeable future. Coming off back-to-back injury plagued seasons, there are real questions about Favors’ future in Salt Lake City. He was the key piece acquired for Deron Williams, but that was a long time ago. There can’t be any attachment to that when evaluating prospects for his next deal. In addition, with Gobert locked in up front, Favors isn’t a great fit in the new NBA, where small ball is prioritized. Either player is fine on their own, but together they can create problems for the Jazz defensively against smaller groups.

Utah has been lauded for doing it “the right way” and largely building through the draft and smart trades. Johnson was the first real free agent of consequence the team has signed in some time and even his signing raised some eyebrows because of his age. The test with building a team the way the Jazz have is that eventually everyone needs paid. Gobert got paid and Hayward and Hill are due this summer. Exum and Hood next year, along with Favors. To pay them all means a luxury tax payment like none the franchise has ever had to cough up. The clock doesn’t stop in the NBA, not even for teams that have done it the right way, and all bills come due eventually.

If Hayward chooses to move on, the Jazz have enough pieces to survive. They would be best served to let Hill walk at that point as well, waive Diaw at no cost and to hit a soft re-set. Utah can use their newfound cap space to bring in a Hill replacement. They can plug in Johnson and Hood in Hayward’s spot. Snyder’s defensive system can work around the absence of their star and keep Utah in the playoff picture behind the strength of Gobert and Favors.

Offseason Details

Guaranteed Contracts (8): Joel Bolomboy, Alec Burks, Dante Exum, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood, Joe Johnson, Trey Lyles

Partial/Non-Guaranteed Contracts (2): Boris Diaw, Raul Neto

Potential Free Agents (5): Gordon Hayward (UFA – Player Option), George Hill (UFA), Joe Ingles (RFA), Shelvin Mack (UFA), Jeff Withey (UFA)

“Dead” Money on Cap (0): None

First Round Draft Pick(s): #24, #30

Maximum Cap Space: $32,029,055

Projected Cap Space: None. $22,943,254 over