We’re getting to the point where it (the roster) becomes more concrete. – Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey

LAS VEGAS — So, a Brazilian, a German, a Canadian and an Australian walk into a Utah establishment.

Sorry, there is no punch line. This just sums up the Utah Jazz’s offseason.

With a young, talented core group already in place, Jazz management went into the 2015 offseason determined to mostly bring back the same group that finished the previous season so strongly.

The relative inactivity wasn’t exactly exciting for people who like new shiny things.

But it was a safe move for a team looking to save money and allow its investments to continue growing.

Before the 2014-15 season began, the Jazz had already locked up key cornerstones Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors — not to forget Alec Burks — with long-term contracts.

In addition, Utah has a handful of its other top players on rookie contracts, including Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood and Trey Burke.

While some fans clamored for an enticing free-agent acquisition to improve the point guard position, bolster the frontcourt and/or add much-needed shooting, Jazz brass was willing to watch other franchises go on spending sprees while they simply worked out deals for their assets and added another through the draft.

In order, the Jazz drafted versatile Kentucky forward Trey Lyles to fill a coveted stretch-four role; re-signed restricted free agent Joe Ingles, a mature shooting guard who added outside consistency to his game in the second half of last season; informed Trevor Booker they were going to guarantee the second year of the solid, fan-favorite power forward’s contract; and opted to lure speedy Brazilian point guard Raul Neto and offensively gifted German center Tibor Pleiss away from their European squads to round out the bench.

There are still two roster spots to be filled, presumably by a combination of guys on nonguaranteed contracts, including Elijah Millsap, Chris Johnson, Bryce Cotton and Jack Cooley.

Throw in second-year big man Grant Jerrett, the relatively unknown forward who came to Utah in the Enes Kanter trade, and the Jazz’s roster appears to be mostly set midway through July.

For better (their hope) or worse (their risk), the Jazz will pretty much look the same as they did at the end of last year when the 2015-16 season tips off in just over three months.

Same Jazz tune. Different verse.

There’s always a possibility, Utah could decide to sign one of the remaining free agents or the front office will opt for a trade to use some of its salary cap space.

But what you see now on the Jazz roster is likely what you’ll get come training camp.

“We’re getting to the point,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said this past week in Las Vegas, “where it (the roster) becomes more concrete.”

Considering all the money that flowed through free agency, it's understandable why some fans clamored for a new player or two. With the upcoming salary cap explosion — from $70 million this season to an estimated $108 million in two years, thanks to the league’s huge TV deal — some believe now is the time to make a gamble on free agents because teams will have ample spending room even if a player turns out to be a bust.

Utah management, however, opted to stay on the sideline in this spending cycle. Ingles was the only free-agent signee, and he’s only going to cost the team $4.5 million over the next two seasons.

Instead of gambling on new players, the Jazz are willing to roll the dice with the guys they know. Internal discussions within the organization led to Utah choosing to see if the strong finish from last season that included an NBA-best team defense after the All-Star Break and a playoff-pace 21-11 record in the final two-plus months would carry over into the 2015-16 season and beyond.

The Jazz believe Exum and Burke will improve from last year. Management is confident Hayward, Hood, Lyles, Pleiss, even Booker, can expand the court with their outside shooting.

Simply put, Utah went the "Sometimes the best transaction is no transaction" approach to free agency.

The Jazz have been lauded by NBA executives for their resolve to stand pat.

ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz wrote this past week that multiple coaches and general managers at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas “pointed to the Utah Jazz as an apt model — a young core that’s growing up together under a development-oriented coach — where culture is an equalizer for markets often seen as less desirable.”

Somewhere, Jazz coach Quin Snyder has to be smiling while rattling on about the importance of good habits, playing defense, playing with pace and playing with the pass.

A general manager from a Jazz rival told ESPN: “And you didn’t see Dennis run out and throw stupid money at a couple of free agents so they could jump three spots in the West. With all the new money, he can always do that next year or the year after that.”

In lieu of pricey pickups, the Jazz would rather allow up-and-coming players, like Exum, Burks and Hood, gain valuable playing experience. They're sticking with who they know instead of bringing in a more expensive free agent or two, even if currently better, who might slightly help improve the team now but at the cost of alienating their younger guys with diminished roles. They're looking to the future — all the better if it arrives sooner than later — instead of succumbing to instant gratification.

This is part Lindsey’s “don’t skip steps” policy.

The Jazz GM has admitted that Utah’s finish last season demonstrated that this group might be further along in the rebuild than anticipated at this juncture. Even so, Lindsey still wants to allow blossoming players to flourish — and occasionally flounder — together instead of taking a chance at disrupting their impressive team chemistry.

"At the end of the day, there's only one ball and only nine or 10 rotation slots," another general manager told ESPN. "It's not just about whether you can afford a player within the framework of the salary cap now or in the future. We're still in the personnel management business, not just the cap management business."

Knowing the free agency market can be "unpredictable," Snyder admitted to being fine with not altering the lineup with new veteran players.

"What we have right now is a chemistry with our group that I think can hopefully accelerate that improvement," Snyder said. "There's a time and a place for free agency. Dennis would be the first one to tell you that. Right now, we're very, very aware of our group and trying to track how our guys can get better."

In other words, the Jazz want to see how far this current group can go now that players are in sync with his system and developing under his program. Nothing is guaranteed, but Utah is banking on getting even better results with more time together.

"Until we have a better understanding, it makes it more difficult to make decisions that have a lasting impact. It’s like an algebra equation: the A, B and C. If you don’t know any of the variables, it’s hard to come up with an answer. You reduce it. You just have to figure out what A is. That to me is the way eventually building this team will look."

For the record, Snyder prefers the D in this equation: development.

"We’ve got to see how far they come, how quickly, and then we can respond accordingly," the second-year coach added. "But when you see your guys working, that’s what gives you the encouragement and the patience to let these guys get better."

While Utah didn’t pay big money in the free-agency market this offseason, the Jazz did increase their coaching, development and analytics staff. Snyder and Lindsey convinced ownership to add multiple new hires and create new positions to give their young prospects the best chances to succeed in this reinvented Jazz culture, which was shaky for several reasons in the years after Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan’s shocking departure in the middle of the 2010-11 season.

Don’t underestimate the importance of returning Snyder’s entire since-enhanced coaching staff of Brad Jones, Tony Lang, Alex Jensen, Johnnie Bryant and Mike Wells, too.

"I think really one of the things that jumps out to me," Snyder said when his summer league group assembled, "is how far our staff has come as a group."

Last year, the group spent time getting to know each other and their players. Now they know each other well. That knowledge, camaraderie and continuity can go a long way in developing trust and building on progress gained.

“The guys have been great all summer. They’ve been dedicated,” Wells said. “Hopefully, we just keep building it.”

Before camp starts in late September, coaches will conduct more training sessions, observe open gym time and put in individual work with guys when possible.

That's a continuation of the offseason program that's been in place since right after Utah ended its 38-44 season in April. The fact that almost all of the Jazz veterans recently showed up to support teammates and to workout at the summer leagues in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas (paid by the Millers, mind you) is one example of how this organization has assembled a team that wants to improve together in that culture.

“It’s organic and pure,” Lindsey said of his players showing up en masse, “and it’s much appreciated.”

Added Favors: “Guys are just starting to feel part of the program.”

As it stands, there won’t be many, if any, position battles in camp.

The Jazz are high on Exum as a starting point guard, and believe the tall and speedy 20-year-old will be more aggressive and effective offensively while continuing to be a defensive force.

“I think we started to figure things out toward the end of last season. It only helps us continue to take that step forward,” said Exum, when asked about the Jazz roster continuity. “I’m comfortable with the guys, and I’m pretty sure the guys are comfortable with me. We just got to build on those relationships, and hopefully we can stay together for a while.”

With Hayward starting at small forward, Favors at power forward and Gobert at center, the Jazz are excited to have what they believe are three young players who are among the best at their positions in the NBA.

Hayward, rebounding from a subpar shooting year in 2013-14, showed last season that he’s as versatile of a swingman as there is.

Favors, using his unique size and athleticism, proved to be a defensive anchor as well as an improving offensive power.

And Gobert, whose confidence level skyrocketed from his rookie campaign, transformed into a shot-swatting monster who terrorized opponents with his comic-book-like length and natural instincts.

The shooting guard position will present the only real battle for a starter’s job this fall, although the athletic and fearless Burks had that first-five spot ahead of the sharpshooting Hood before a shoulder injury ended his season in late December.

“I don’t really look at it as a battle,” Hood said this past weekend. “Me and him (Burks) both got one goal in mind — just make the Utah Jazz the best team we can possibly be. He was a great mentor in my time that I was out and when I was playing when he was out. … We’re just out there trying to play.”

Bench rotations and combinations are the big mysteries for now.

Can Lyles replace Booker as Favors’ main backup?

Will Pleiss, known for his terrific perimeter shooting, be able to use his sweet shot while also using 7-foot-3 frame to provide adequate interior defense when Gobert needs a break?

Can Burke rebound from a so-so sophomore season and provide quality backup minutes to Exum, a playmaker who also needs to transform his game to get the Jazz to the next level?

And if Burke struggles, will Neto or Cotton be the guy waiting in the wings, assuming the Jazz keep four point guards?

How will Snyder divvy up reserve wing minutes amongst Hood, Ingles, Millsap and Johnson, if he survives?

Perhaps most important, will Lyles look as good wearing a pink backpack as Ingles, Exum and Hood did last year? (Gobert has already purchased one, by the way.)

Financially, the Jazz are in an excellent position heading into the new season. Utah only has about $58 million in guaranteed contracts for 13 players. Even the addition of two of the nonguaranteed guys — Millsap, Cotton, Cooley and/or Johnson — would only bring them up to approximately $60 million.

That is $10 million under the $70 million salary cap and $3 million below the salary floor. (Teams have to spend at least 90 percent of the annual salary cap. The difference, if any, is divided up evenly amongst the players.)

Lindsey continues to mull over his options with that salary cap space. The Jazz could still sign a free agent or take on a salary dump from another team in a trade, like they did two years ago when they received multiple picks and cash for absorbing $20 million worth of contracts of Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush from the Warriors.

Lindsey brought up another scenario that might factor in if the Jazz are in the playoff hunt leading up to next February’s trade deadline.

“We’ll see if we want to go in asset accumulation mode and pick up something for our flexibility,” Lindsey said. “We could always wait until the trade deadline and see, based upon performance and injury, how the team’s trending. … If there’s a way to augment our team in a (playoff) push, we’d like to do that.”

Or, Lindsey added, smiling, “But if someone wants to throw a bunch of first-round picks to us as well, we’ll definitely pick up the phone and listen.”

One promising aspect in terms of Utah’s mostly intact crew is that the Jazz have assembled a team that can play big, small or somewhere in between. They can adapt to teams that throw unusual lineups on the court — or be the team that adds that wrinkle to a game plan. Lindsey has pointed out that the Spurs did that in their 2014 title run, and the Warriors emulated the small-ball style again en route to their 2015 championship.

Looking at the bigger picture, it's now incumbent on the Jazz to maintain their top-level defense while getting their offense to run like Snyder would like — open, free-flowing, fast and efficient. If the Jazz can improve on last season’s point guard and shooting struggles, the West will likely have a new playoff contender.

Becoming a championship-contending organization is the ultimate goal. While that sounds good, the reality is the Jazz haven't been to the playoffs since 2012, and they haven't been a legitimate postseason threat since Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko got them to the Western Conference Finals in 2007 and the second round in 2008 and '10.

So, are they almost there again?

Some national media members believe Utah is knocking on the postseason door. That group includes Yahoo! Sports writer Marc Spears, who recently tweeted, “Based on what I'm seeing in free agency, I'm expecting the Utah Jazz to get back to the playoffs next season.”

Hood smiled when asked about possibly making the playoffs next April.

“I’m not going to put that type of pressure on us. We’re still a young team. We’re still in the West,” Hood said. “This year is going to be even tougher because a lot of people know who we are now.”

The pieces are in place, and the work is being put in, though.

“(With) the run we had after the All-Star break, a lot of teams are not going to take us for granted, so we’ve got to be that much better,” Hood continued. “But I think with the work that we’ve put in, we’ll be fine.”

So, a kid from Mississippi, a new dad from Indiana and a huge French man walk into a Utah establishment …

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody