What does Joe Ingles' untimely season-ending knee injury mean for him and the Utah Jazz?
Viewers feared the worst after Ingles' left knee buckled on a drive during Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Monday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that an MRI confirmed an ACL tear for Ingles, ending his 2021-22 campaign.
Over the course of eight seasons in Utah, Ingles has worked himself from a fringe NBA player -- the Jazz claimed him off waivers from the LA Clippers at the end of training camp in 2014 -- into a quality starting wing, and more recently, one of the league's top reserves. He finished second to teammate Jordan Clarkson in last season's Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Now, Utah must figure out how to replace Ingles, given he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing on a one-year extension to his contract signed in October 2019.
Let's take a look at the implications of Ingles' injury, both for the Jazz and for his upcoming unrestricted free agency.
The Jazz have limited in-house options
One of the disappointments of the Jazz's run as Western Conference contenders has been their inability to develop young contributors since drafting Donovan Mitchell in 2017, futility that now leaves Utah short on options to replace Ingles in the rotation.
