SALT LAKE CITY — In Thursday's article, I explained why it's most likely the Jazz stay above the cap in going into the free agency period that begins Saturday at 10 p.m. MT.

That means that the biggest tool that the Jazz will have to use in free agency is the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, that ends up being about a four-year, $37 million contract at it's longest.

The good news for Utah is that not many other teams will have that amount of money to spend. Only the Knicks, Spurs, Grizzlies, Magic and Jazz will realistically have the ability to offer that amount of mid-level money, and the Jazz probably have the best playing situation of any of those teams.

In other words, the Jazz have the ability to get a better caliber of player with that mid-level exception than they would in a normal year. Here are 10 possibilities.

Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza has been one of the best role players in the league for a long time. He's a ferocious and tough defender, one who Donovan Mitchell struggled with more than any other player last season. He's also a good 3-point shooter (36.8 percent last year), taking big volumes in Houston's offense. Ariza would be a fantastic fit to be able to play the small forward or play as a stretch four, as he consistently did in Houston.

It's just about whether or not he's willing to leave the Rockets. They're real championship contenders, but Ariza is scheduling meetings with other teams come July 1, according to Yahoo's Shams Charania. If the Rockets balk at paying him a long-term deal due to his age (he turns 33 tomorrow), there could be an opportunity for another good team to swoop in. I'd bet Ariza stays, though.

J.J. Redick

Still one of the best shooters in the league, J.J. Redick had the best scoring year of his career in 2017-18, averaging over 17 points per game while still shooting 42 percent from three. He's surprisingly old (34), but hasn't slipped yet. Imagine the spacing that Mitchell might have with two elite shooters like Redick and Joe Ingles on the floor, and Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has never had a weapon quite like Redick before.

But if Philadelphia wants cap space (and they do), they can't re-sign him unless it's incredibly cheap. So Redick is really likely to move teams, and the Jazz might give him the best match of money and being a quality team.

He recently had Mitchell on his podcast, so that's good that a relationship exists there. But it also seemed like Redick wasn't very jazzed about Utah. I don't think this move is likely, but it's possible.

Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans had a fantastic season for the Memphis Grizzlies before ending the season being held out as the Grizzlies tanked. But he averaged 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game on really impressive shooting numbers (40 percent from three). Maybe even more shocking: The Grizzlies were actually a net-positive team when Evans was on the floor.

Evans could just stay with Memphis, but it sounds like benching him hurt that relationship. And the most they could offer is the same non-taxpayer MLE that the Jazz have. Why stay with a worse team?

The question with Evans is just whether or not you can fit him into a winning culture and he can keep up that level of production. If you can, he would be a fantastic bargain signing. He's 28: not too old that a long-term deal is a mistake, but not so young that he fits the timeline of the league's worst teams with lots of cap space.

Will Barton

Barton has turned himself into one of the best microwave-scoring guards in the league, scoring nearly 16 points per game for Denver. He's a good 3-point shooter, but most of his value is from attacking the rim and finishing well there.

He reportedly turned down a 4-year, $40 million extension offer from Denver. Barton will probably get more than that in free agency, but it's not a sure thing. If he doesn't, he could fix the Jazz's bench scoring woes. That being said, he does have a tendency to hold the ball and take some bad shots, something Snyder has never been a fan of.

Joe Harris

I don't think the casual NBA fan has heard of Brooklyn's Joe Harris, who averaged 11 points per game for them this season in 25 minutes per contest. But he's a nice player: a good outside shooter (42 percent from 3-point range) who also an efficient driver and a poor athlete that is actually a pretty good defender anyway. Think Ingles, basically, but with less playmaking and trash-talking.

Harris is a logical Jazz candidate, though given the above, he'll have many suitors. A $9 million per season contract would probably get it done, though, and could be good value on that deal if he keeps improving.

Nemanja Bjelica

There's more buzz about Nemanja Bjelica joining the Utah Jazz than any other free agent. Bjelica posted this picture on Instagram with Mitchell, and then Ricky Rubio commented "Teammates next year?"

[Great to see @spidadmitchell in Belgrade for the @adidashoops event. You already know 🕷 ROY #heretocreate](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi-MPOuAQJP/) A post shared by [ Nemanja Bjelica](https://www.instagram.com/nemanjabjelica8/) (@nemanjabjelica8) on May 19, 2018 at 1:03pm PDT

The sense is that he's been chronically misused by Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, who stifled him on the bench for most of the season and then played him huge minutes (including 45 in a regulation game in Utah) late in the season when Jimmy Butler went down to injury. He fits the Jazz mold of a solid shooter who can attack closeouts and make the right play. Bjelica also infuriated Minnesota fans last year by passing up open shots, that also fits the Jazz mold.

He's a restricted free agent, so the Jazz will need to pay him enough to convince Minnesota not to match. That shouldn't be too hard, because they're in an ugly cap situation after next year. But given Bjelica's age (30), it's also probably silly to offer him too long of a contract. A two-to-three-year deal probably hits the sweet spot.

Davis Bertans

Davis Bertans isn't exactly the same as Matt Bonner, San Antonio's last shooting power forward who doesn't do much else offensively. But like Bonner, Bertans does adds a red beard and, while tries hard, doesn't have great rebounding and defensive skills.

But the Jazz are reportedly interested in Bertans nevertheless. If so, it's probably not for the full mid-level; it probably makes more sense to pay him from $2 million to $4 million per year.

Rudy Gay

Another Spur, Gay suffered an Achilles tear in 2017 before coming back with a decent season in San Antonio. Honestly, among players who suffer Achilles tears, Gay's decline was less severe than most. Remember Mehmet Okur?

But Gay was San Antonio's second-leading scorer last year and really contributed on both ends despite only shooting 31 percent from three. He really is the prototypical small-ball four at this point, though definitely less good than the elite ones. Still, he'd fill a hole for the Jazz. Gay turned down an $8 million player option for 2018-19 in favor of more long-term salary. He'll probably get more years, but less money per year. Maybe from the Jazz.

Doug McDermott

Dallas renounced their qualifying offer of Doug McDermott this week, making him an unrestricted free agent. McDermott is a knockdown 3-point shooter, making 49 percent of them last year. That's very good! He can kind of attack closeouts for closer shots too.

In 2017, he was one of the worst defensive players in the league. Last year, he somewhat improved but was still very limited. And McDermott doesn't add rebounding that you'd really prefer at small-ball four.

Like Bertans, he's not a full-MLE candidate, but a $2 million to $4 million per year guy. For anything else, I'd pass.

Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley has one of the best defensive reputations in the league; NBA players seem to hate facing him. But the metrics haven't matched up to that level of fear he strikes, interestingly. And Bradley had just a terrible season last year at Detroit and L.A.: he finished with a 9.0 PER, shot only 41 percent from the field, and then had season-ending surgery with the Clippers.

Defensively, he'd fit the bill, but offensively, it might not work. Bradley is only 27, so has a chance to bounce back, but he'd be a cheap option with upside, but wouldn't necessarily be a player that the Jazz could count on.

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