The Utah Jazz has signed sharpshooter wing Joe Ingles to a 1-year $14 million extension according to an official team press release. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the signing.
“As one of our longest-tenured players, Joe’s shooting acumen, playmaking ability, and unselfishness have been integral to our team’s identity,” Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik said via the press release. “We are excited to keep a player like Joe, as his character and leadership are critical for the foundation of our team.”
Finding a player who can drill shots from deep and play tight defense is not only incredibly challenging, but also necessary. Ingles has turned himself into just that and proved to be a critical component to the Jazz success. The 32-year-old is a career 40.8% 3-point shooter and had per-game averages of 12.1 points, four rebounds, and 5.7 assists.
Utah is in win-now mode after their acquisition of Mike Conley and a smattering of other key bench pieces like Jeff Green and Ed Davis. The criminally-underrated Ingles, who maybe is not quite as underrated as he used to be, is a key piece for the team and their championship aspirations.
Ingles has spent the majority of his career with the Utah Jazz, and he has great admiration for the organization. “For the Jazz to have the faith in me to give an extension to an old man like me, it’s great,” Ingles said via Aaron Falk of nba.com. “For me, there’s nowhere else I’d want to be or play, so it was an easy decision.”
“From where I’ve come from 5-6 years ago to getting to this position, it’s more than I could have ever asked,” Ingles said.
