The Utah Jazz brass has been using buzzwords like flexibility, optionality and sustainability as they’ve gone through the tear down and rebuild of this NBA franchise. They want to be open for business and ready to strike without anything holding them back, when the time is right.
Building a team that will provide sustainable success? Well, we will have to wait quite a bit longer to see how the Jazz fare in that department.
As far as being flexible and having optionality, the Jazz have done a really good job of making sure that they don’t have undesirable long-term contracts on the books, collecting draft assets, and planning to have lots of cap space, just in case they need the room to sign a big-name or multiple big-name players.
Next year we’ll have plenty of time to talk about the remainder of the Jazz’s trade exceptions (from the John Collins and P.J. Tucker trades) and how they can use that money, what kind of other exceptions the team will have available based on who is on the roster and who is available.
But the future decisions are not what the Jazz have to worry about right now. Instead, the most pressing matter for Austin Ainge, Justin Zanik and the rest of the Jazz front office is what to do about the upcoming team options for the young players on the roster, and this plays a big role in the flexibility and optionality of it all.
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) moves Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during an NBA game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 11, 2025. The Jazz lost 145-111. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Rookie scale team options
The first thing you need to understand is that, first-round draft picks sign rookie scale contracts for four years, which includes guaranteed salaries for the first two years. The third and fourth years are typically team options.
Most people understand contract options. If it’s a player option, it’s up to the player whether they exercise that option and remain with the team. If it’s a team option, it’s up to the team to make the decision.
The really important component of a team option on a rookie scale contract is that the options have to be decided on by Oct. 31 one year prior to the option year. For example, Ace Bailey, who was a first-round pick for the Jazz this summer, is on a rookie scale contract with team options for his third (2027-28) and fourth (2028-29) seasons. But the Jazz will have to make a decision about the third-year option by Oct. 31 of 2026, at the start of his second NBA season.
This means the Jazz face a critical juncture in shaping their future roster or shaping the value of the young players on the roster. With several players on rookie scale contracts, the team must decide whether to exercise their team options, thereby retaining these young talents and allowing them to develop further under the Jazz’s system, or decide that they’ve seen enough.
The players in question: Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier.
Again, this would be an easy decision if the Jazz were having to decide if they want to see another season of each of these players. But they have to decide by Halloween of this year, if they want two more seasons of each player — the upcoming, already guaranteed 2025-26 season, as well as the 2026-27 season.
But it’s not just about whether or not they want to continue to see development. When they are making decisions about whether or not to exercise these options, they are also deciding if it is worth having the player take up a roster spot down the road and how it will impact the overall flexibility of the team in the future.
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) gestures after making a shot as the Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Jazz won 133-126 in OT. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Pros and cons
Players on rookie scale contracts come with financial advantages due to the structured, lower-cost salaries and the upside of promising development. Exercising team options maintains cost control, which is crucial under the salary cap structure (optionality! flexibility!).
Conversely, letting go of a promising player due to short-term performance struggles can be a costly mistake if they blossom elsewhere.
Of course, it can also be costly to hold on to a player even at the lower salary of a rookie scale deal if he isn’t reaching his potential and then holds little-to-no value in a trade.
The team’s long-term strategy, its commitment to the rebuild and its timeline for wanting to compete will influence these decisions. Players that align with those plans — whether as future stars, role players, or trade assets — are more likely to have their options picked up.
Utah Jazz guard Isaiah Collier (13) controls the ball while guarded by Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) during an NBA basketball game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News Player analysis
The easiest decision here is probably with Hendricks. He’s set to come back completely healthy this season after a broken leg and dislocated ankle kept him sidelined last season after just playing in three games (by the way, that injury happened just seven days after the Jazz picked up Hendricks’ third-year option for the 2025-26 season).
The Jazz still have a lot of hope for Hendricks’ potential and they want to give him a giant runway to succeed. They’ve said no to teams who have asked about him in trades, they’ve been extremely cautious with his rehab and they are hoping that he will be a huge part of the team’s future. I have no doubt that they’ll pick up his fourth-year option.
Sensabaugh’s option is probably the other relatively easy decision to make. Having a player who shoots the ball the way that Sensabaugh does on a team-friendly deal is almost always a good thing. It would be great to see him develop more of a defensive game and refine his role with the Jazz, but even if he doesn’t, there’s always a market for shooters.
The tougher decisions will be deciding what to do with George, Collier and Williams. All three of these players desperately need to prove something. For George and Collier, they need to prove that they are not just replacement-level players, and Williams needs to show even the slightest amount of improvement this season for anyone to believe that he has NBA staying power.
The rub is that the Jazz won’t have time to wait and see if they prove those things this season. Ultimately, most players on rookie scale deals have their options picked up, even if they aren’t going to be major players for a team because the contracts are so affordable. But, that’s not always the case.
The uniqueness of the Jazz’s situation is that they have five, rookie scale players whose contract status for the 2026-27 season has to be decided. That’s a lot. The Washington Wizards are the only NBA team that has more rookie scale team option decisions (seven) to make. And there aren’t any other NBA teams with more than three of these decisions currently pending.
Timeline is going to mean everything for the Jazz here. The team is hoping to add another top-5 pick in 2026 and is definitely not going to go forward with this many young players on the roster in the long term. So, are they ready to say that they’ve seen what they need to from any of these five players?
The Jazz have two months to make these decisions, which is why it is the most critical roster or cap-related issue the Jazz are currently facing.
Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) drives the ball toward the basket while guarded by Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham (4) during an NBA basketball game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News