After trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell during the 2022 offseason, the Jazz won 37 games in ’22/23 and 31 in ’23/24. This season, they’re on pace for just 20 wins, which would be the lowest total in franchise history.
However, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News, the Jazz don’t view 2024/25 as the third year of their rebuild. Instead, they consider it part of their multiyear tear-down process. “In their eyes,” Todd writes, “the rebuild hasn’t started.”
As Todd points out, the Jazz still had several veterans on their roster after moving on from Gobert and Mitchell and have since traded many of those vets too, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Kelly Olynyk, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Simone Fontecchio.
Additionally, although Utah has drafted in the lottery in each of the past two years, the team didn’t have a top-eight pick in either of those drafts and none of its five first-round picks from 2023 or 2024 have established themselves as clear foundational pieces, Todd notes.
Given that context, it makes sense that the front office isn’t ready to pivot toward contending in 2025/26. Instead, hanging onto their 2026 first-rounder is a priority for the Jazz, according to Todd. That pick is top-eight protected and will be sent to Oklahoma City if it lands at No. 9 or lower. If that pick lands in the top eight, Utah would keep it and would no longer owe draft assets to the Thunder.
That means another tanking season in 2025/26 appears highly likely for the Jazz, Todd writes. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link) has heard the same thing.
Of course, there’s a scenario in which the Jazz land a player like Cooper Flagg in this year’s draft and find themselves with too much talent on their roster to be an obvious bottom-feeder next season. If that happens, Todd writes, the Jazz might be more inclined to trade a player like Lauri Markkanen or Walker Kessler to ensure they hang onto their 2026 pick.
While the Jazz may find marketing value in spinning the past three seasons as a “tear-down” instead of a “rebuild,” I expect many fans in Utah will view the distinction as a semantic one and focus more on the fact that it has been a while since the organization has prioritized winning games.
As Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune, several season ticket holders are upset about an announcement from the team that the price of their tickets are going up 2025/26. Some fans reported that prices have risen by up to 8%, Larsen writes, though the Jazz claim that most increases are closer to 3% or less and that the highest is about 6%.
“It’s extremely frustrating that I’m paying more than I was when we were the No. 1 seed and that it is far more expensive to be a season ticket holder than to just buy tickets from SeatGeek every game,” one season ticket holder told Larsen.
“Paying full price to watch a team play G League players and lose on purpose is already so disrespectful to your fan base,” another season ticket holder said, adding that he’s canceling his tickets for next season. “To then have the audacity to raise prices on season ticket holders, after being dead last in the West, shows how little this organization cares about the fans.”
This team is so close to finishing the rebuild. Just a elite SF and C prospects. This team is in great shape but must make all the right decisions now
This team has a young PG in Collier. Williams can hopefully take over the SG spot with George being a Poole type of sixth man. Hopefully they can draft Cooper Flagg or then if not Bailey at SF. With a another pick or trade with Walker Kessler draft Malanuch(yes I spelled it wrong) at C. Hendricks comes back at PF. Trade Lauri if something is needed or for the 1st pick with their pick. Or get that pick back
This team is in a great spot in the future but need to draft right
I honestly think they are close to the end of the rebuild. Danny has been building and competing at the same time for awhile
I’d prefer them play the longer game, similar to OKC. They have a legit chance to get Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey this year. AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer the year after that.
Of course, that entirely depends on if they declare for the draft as expected. Still, the talent is there to mostly complete an excellent rebuild.
Benboy
Yes that is probably the best idea. For the next two years but it’s time to start competing after that. They have a real chance.
OKC now needs to win something because all we will remember Sam Presti in OKC for is being a great GM but also making that Harden trade and winning nothing
None of their young players are elite yet. They all have some kind of major flaw.
They could definitely upgrade at SG, mainly due to their young guards being small and KG is a huge liability on defense. Flipowski has shown flashes lately and experts predict his eventual position will be Center
Yes that’s why getting Cooper Flagg is important. The next two drafts as well. Probably trading Lauri sometime soon for another draft piece or getting the number one pick.
I like Bailey a lot. Does anyone think he could be something good
It’s a good thing they think the rebuild is in the early stages cuz it definitely is.
It’s in the early stages because they were asking for too much for their veterans early on. However, they were able to trade them for quality assets. It just took more of them to get that then they probably expected.
The market, after their two monster trades, completely changed because of it I would also add the KD to the Suns trade affected the market in a big way as well. Now first round picks are hardly ever traded.
The good news is that it forced the Jazz to play the long game because their own first round pick became much more valuable to themselves. They could no longer plan on big trades, like they did in the past.
The Derek Favors salary dump, in this case, ended up being a good thing. It also forced the Jazz to have to tank more than they likely would have. I agree that next year will be the same because of it as well.
Kessler has shown he’s a true high quality starter. Markkanen is harder to judge. Only the Jazz know how real all the injuries and missed games are. Only they know how much it’s contributed to his slump.
However, if they extend this tank for another season then Markkanen will be 29-30 years old by the time they’re ready to start winning. If they’re not competing for a playoff spot in 2-3 years then perhaps trading him while he’s younger would get them more assets? Although, I’d wait until he has a better run of games next year or the year after that.
Millsap was always better than Favors
What does that have to do with what I said? Of course he was. The Favors salary dump was from his second stint.
Benboy You sound smart but that is just pure spin. please
By saying the rebuild is still in early stage the Jazz are admitting they drafted terribly. This is a last place team again next year.
Kessler is good defensively but he’s no star. Markkanen has been in the league 8 seasons. He had 2 good seasons playing for a bad team. Now he’s back to his old self.
It’s more hopeful than spin. I could be giving the Jazz more credit than they deserve.
I’m just hoping they didn’t waste the last two years without a reason. They did get some nice young players last year. One of them is a huge part of their defense, Hendricks. He got injured on day one.
However, that injury was a good thing for the tank. Plus, it exposed just how bad the rest of the team’s defense really is. This should help the Jazz move on from the players that aren’t worth holding onto.
Sounds like the Uncle Buck five year plan.
Haha, been awhile for that movie.
But I would go for the worst record this year, trade their vets, and young guys that don’t fit, this off-season, go for the worst record next year, then let the team loose that third year.
Can fill in the gaps with other teams’ salary dumps beyond that. They also have a ton of second round picks they could combine, for optics, and get some role players that fit. GMs need to appear like they got back a haul for their efforts.
Benboy said
> It’s in the early stages because they were asking
> for too much for their veterans early on.
Respectfully, your analysis misses that the Jazz are in worse shape now than they were at the very beginning of the rebuild. Why? Because Ainge failed to recognize the cardinal rule of rebuilding in every pro team sport: the new young core needs to be acquired as soon as possible, in the first 2-3 offseasons, and then develop into a playoff team by year 4. If that process is extended over a longer period, as Ainge has done, it will fail.
The first 3 offseasons of this rebuild are history, and we can see how Ainge didn’t follow the plan:
1) instead of tanking in year 1 & 2 to maximize draft position, he used journeyman to avoid being terrible
2) chose to give starting roles and playing time to journeymen vets, not developing young players
3) failed spectacularly to acquire youth and draft capital by exchanging valued veterans like Markkanen, that didn’t fit the rebuild time window, (Inexplicably, Markkanen was given a 5-yr, untradable, superstar contract. )
4) Drafting poorly. Kessler and, maybe, Collier are future NBA starters, but there doesn’t look to be a future star among recent draftees. A rebuilding NBA team targets at least 2, ideally 3, star players to exit a rebuild.
Given the disappointing quality of this young core, the Jazz are, effectively, in year 1, not year 3, of the rebuilding process. In the best case, they need to tank for 2 more seasons after this one, but it may take longer if the draft picks don’t work out.
1. The Jazz didn’t intend to be good. Markkanen broke out and Will Hardy ended up being a good coach. This delayed getting a high lottery pick.
2. You’re arguing that the Jazz didn’t acquire young players… while also arguing they played their vets over them lol. Nice try.
3. Lol at thinking Markkanen is untradeable, or that his contract is a “superstar contract” once the cap goes through the roof. The alternative was also “lose him for nothing in free agency”.
4. The Jazz have drafted….
2024: 10th, 29th, 32nd (in an all-time bad draft)
2023: 9th, 16th, 28th
Drafting poorly? Who were they supposed to draft in those spots? Wemby?
Real 2K, every point you make suggests you don’t understand how rebuilds work. Check out Houston, OKC, San Antonio, etc for examples of below.
1. The Jazz should have been vet in 2023 and 2024, not playing vets like Markkanen, Sexton, Clarkson, and Collins. That was in the Jazz’s control. There is ZERO excuse for winning when you shouldn’t.
2. The Jazz should have traded all of the above players for youth/picks, not held on to them and played them. Again, rebuilding teams must do this: Get the best deal you can at that time, or you’ve failed.
3. Jazz could have traded Markkanen to Warriors for a Gobert-like draft haul: a bunch of firsts, seconds, and swaps.
4. Jazz had many ways to improve draft position and draft earlier, including packaging future firsts for earlier firsts. That’s what rebuilding teams do. Instead, they’ve decided to wait.
Hello?????? Who were they supposed to play in 2023? Luka Samanic? Talen Horton-Tucker?
They picked up Markkanen and Sexton as part of the Mitchell trade. Sexton was at a low point of his value coming off an injury. They rehabbed him. They could have not have traded him for ANY young players / picks without playing him. They will eventually move him for value.
They also picked up Collins, again at the low point of his value, and have rehabbed him. He’ll be very tradable this off-season with one-year left on his deal.
There was no Gobert-like haul from the Warriors for Markkanen WTF LOL. They were haggling over PODZ being in the ****ing trade.
What was tanking last season going to get them? Go from #10 to #5 and draft Ron Holland? What was trading up going to get them? Move from #10 to #8 for Rob Dillingham?
Ya’ll are doing some crazy revisionist history and haven’t actually looked at the team rosters over the last 3 years. Do yourselves a favor and spend 60 seconds on Basketball-Reference instead of spouting off nonsense about a team you don’t follow.
The idea of “rehab-ing” veterans while rebuilding suggests you don’t understand the rebuilding process. And the fact that these players are still on the roster 2-3 years later points to the failure of that project.
I suggest you study how success rebuilds work. As I said above, the cardinal rule is to exchange ALL assets that won’t be part of the young core in year 1, not hold on to them.
The goal is to be playing and developing young players immediately. Playing time given to vets you intend to trade represents failure.
There are MANY roads, not one set method. It’s a pretty ironic statement for you to make given the three teams you used as examples.
The only way a team really rebuilds quickly is if they get lottery luck, which the Jazz haven’t had yet.
No, you’re just confused.
All the teams I mentioned used the classic rebuild formula: they went all in on tanking in years 1 and 2 after immediately after trading all the assets they could.
Um. Did you forget to switch burners Bryan?
Your aristotle account didn’t mention any teams.
You sure I’m the one who’s confused?
“Check out Houston, OKC, San Antonio, etc for examples of below.”
Ah yes, lets see –
HOU: Sign veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks
WAIT A MINUTE…..
OKC: Trade two All-Stars for multiple picks, get back a player who becomes an All-Star…
This sounds…. oddly familiar??
SAS: Win the Wemby lottery as a 12th place team with 3.0% odds.
I’m so glad you brought this riveting team building insight to my attention.
The Jazz have gotten literally ONE of the five FRPs owed to them in the Gobert trade. They have yet to receive ANY for Mitchell.
I’m not a a Jazz fan btw. I’m just not talking out of my ass about rebuild strategy.
> I’m just not talking out of my ass about rebuild
> strategy
I couldn’t have come up with a better description of your posts.
Real 2K, I’ll try to explain more of what I was arguing. (This is not a novel analysis. You can read about this common rebuild blueprint, as described by Rafael Stone and Sam Presti, in several places on the Internet.)
Houston signed Brooks and vanVleet in year 4 of their rebuild, after they had tanked for 3 years and developed young players.
Houston followed the classic rebuild blueprint:
2020-21 “trade & tank”: Harden, Oladipo, etc. W-L: 17- 65
2021-22, 2022-23: “draft & develop”: Green, Sengun, JSmith, Eason, etc W-L: 20-62 , 22-60
2023-24: “exit rebuild”: sign VanVleet, Brooks. W-L 81-81
OKC’s was similar, with the exception that they started with SGA. Every tradable asset was exchanged for picks. Then they spent two years drafting and developing young talent. By year 3, they were about .500. By year 4, 2023-24, they were a contender.
Real 2k is right sorry
Who would the Jazz start out there instead of who they have. Nobody was ready. Danny has drafted great where he has. But if the Jazz don’t get a good pick and improve on this young roster from this point then you all would be right a year from now
Yes EasymoneySniper they could have traded Lauri for something but we will see. This year he will have to trade him
What the article is saying that they didn’t start the rebuild until this year. You can see why they think that. Look at how long they kept the veterans.
The problem is half the fan base wanted them to keep winning. The more realistic fans wanted them to tank right away. The media, and outside fans, are the ones that assumed they were tanking from the days they traded Gobert and Mitchell.
Utah has never ever tanked so why do it now. Danny has picked well. Danny has been planning before this year. He has been building for years now. Yes I see what the article is saying. Are you saying you believe everything you see?
I’m saying they’re finally admitting publicly that they’re really tanking. Many of us have felt like they were tanking, but weren’t sure. Can you say for sure they were tanking for sure before this year? Didn’t look like it.
Benboy, you insult the intelligence of Utah fans. No NBA team has ever torn a team down as completely as Ainge did in 2022 thru Jan 2023:
The Jazz traded their 7 best assets for future picks and youth, trading traded Mitchell, Gobert, O’Neal, and Bogdanovich in the summer of 2022, and then Conley, Ingles and Alexander-Walker in mid-season of 2022-23. That’s 89% of their 2022 payroll. No team has EVER turned over that much of their payroll in this period of time.
No Utah fan would think that what came back in those trades could help right away. Kessler and Agbaji were newly drafted, and would be rookies. Vanderbilt was 23 yrs old. The 8 FRP’s and swaps couldn’t be used until future years. Markkanen and Sexton were throw-ins.
You really want to argue that Utah fans thought Ainge was thinking short-term?
No, just the stubborn ones that place their ego onto whether the Jazz win or not. They’re the ones the owner apparently listens to.
So many of us have wanted the Jazz to tank for the last three years, but some unknown reasons they never did, until now, again apparently.
This article does feel a bit too convenient. But I do think they have been tanking on purpose this year. They’ve played the young guys a LOT more this year than previous years. It’s like the end of that first year, but over an entire season.
Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it. I just know what I’ve seen compared to the rest of the Jazz seasons.
I’d also recommend you check out Hoops Nerd on YT.
The thought now is that the owner is the one holding them back. He has his own reasons to hold onto guys like Clarkson and Markkanen.
Benboy said:
> The thought now is that the owner is the one holding them
back.
That’s an interesting theory that the owner won’t let Ainge trade Clarkson, Collins, Sexton, and Markkanen. But why would the owner allow Ainge to trade Vanderbilt, Beasley, and Russell to the Lakers for a first round pick, a move that made complete sense in the context of a rebuild?
I think the more likely explanation is that Clarkson, Collins and Sexton have bad contracts: they have all had more than 1 year remaining on deals where they make more than they’re worth. (With apologies to Real 2K Insider, who insists those players were being “rehabbed” to increase their trade value.)
The 5-year deal to Markkanen is a different kind of problem. At the time it was signed, the Jazz could convince themselves he’d suddenly become a Top 30 player. Now that he’s returned to his old self, no team will touch him at 4 more years for $50M/yr.
I guess teams can do this with impunity in a league without a Commissioner. Embarrass the league and the sport for 3 years; then indicate through one of their media mouthpieces that it’s just the beginning. At least they didn’t pull a SAS and brag about their multi-year strategic brilliance in securing the Wemby draft pick. Of course, they couldn’t do that as of yet.
How convenient, they call it “still in the early-stages” just because they keep losing, even if they’re trying hard to win.
Except for Keyonte, most of their recent picks have been meh ……. Lauri isn’t the star many fans were hoping he’d be, Kessler is just a good rotational piece.
Honcho if you watch the Jazz you will see that Keyonte is the most meh on the team. It’s been a terrible season for him. Stats-wise, Keyonte is the worst defensive player on the worst defensive team in the league.
Keyonte no longer starts and Jazz have decided Collier is their PG. Cody Williams is Jazz’s starting SG of the future.
Stats-wise, Keyonte is the worst defensive player on the worst defensive team in the league.
Sexton has a worse plus minus. But it’s hard to dislike either guy. Just not looking like either will be championship pieces, at least right now.
Kessler is going to get three first rounders from a contender. He’s a Top 15 Center. In the Isaiah Hartenstein tier and 23 years old. But go off lmao.
2K,
That sounds about right: Kessler is a Top 15 center — maybe in the top 10 defensively, top 30 offensively.
Why would the Jazz trade him for more draft picks? The goal of a rebuild is to develop starting-caliber young players.
The Utah Jazz are a bad team with very little upside
And this is a very constructive comment.
As was yours.
I would call all their draft capital as major upside. I also really like Filipowski and Collier. KJ Martin is a recent addition and I like him already.
The only guys I’d keep beyond that are Kessler and Hendricks. They both play stellar defense. Hendricks has a nice 3-point shot as well.
Keyonte is one of those players that could still improve defensively. I’m just not sure how long that would take, or if that’s possible. Although, I can’t say for sure until after next season.
Usually players have a sophomore slump and then start to figure it out. Big guys can take longer, but guards usually are only 1-3 years. Depends on how old they are, their level of laziness on defense, and work ethic. Keyonte does work hard and puts forth good effort. Just needs to increase that up a level on defense.
Cody Williams is another possible keeper if he can get out of his own way. He already plays good defense, but he’s so young that he tends to lack the confidence to go up against grown men. He could still get there though.
The Jazz announcer Thurl Bailey said the other night during a game that he still thought Keynote would be a star in the NBA….
He has shown to be pretty clutch at the end of games. The all-star weekend gave people a taste of that. He can make 3’s over any defense, when he’s focused like that. That would be his training focus this Summer and next year. Take everything more seriously earlier in the game.
Keyonte is a career 34% 3pt shooter who is inefficient from the field and as a playmaker while playing league worst defense. Assuming the draft goes well for the Jazz at his position, I don’t think there will even be a next year for him. He’ll likely be in a much reduced role where he will need to make significant improvements or else his future in the league will be in jeopardy.
The Jazz will have enough young talent where they can’t afford to waste too many minutes on someone like him. He has had enough opportunities and needed to show more. The occasional flash or two isn’t enough by the end of year 2. Not impossible for him to get back on track, but things do not look good right now.
You must be was a stat watcher. Keyonte is clearly a better talent than most of the young players in this league.
You see, second year players struggle because defenses know who you are by now. They plan against you actively. This means your game will likely become less efficient than before.
It’s not usually until that third year that players either figure out how to beat those defenses or they can go in any number of ways around the league or out, like you say. In other words, I’d wait until next year to know if he’ll stick around.
Plus, I don’t think the Jazz will ever waive him. They could, however, package him in a trade. Nobody is untouchable on this roster. Otherwise, there are quite a few players on the team I’d get rid of before Keyonte.
Some players take awhile. Kessler had 22 rebounds and 5 blocks he is stud!
He had 25 rebounds and 8 blocks actually
Kessler in his 3rd year, right on track.
He’ll be a top 10 defensive center, maybe even top 7 within a few years.
The problem is that he’ll always be a poor offensive center. That limits his value. He’s the poor man’s Rudy Gobert (with apologies to those who believe he’s worth 3 first round picks).
He has actually improved on his 3-point shot. The Jazz right now have mostly only used him as a roll man. However, when you literally lead the NBA in field goal percentage then it’s wise to lean into your strengths.
> He has actually improved on his 3-point shot.
Are we talking about Walker Kessler’s 3-point shooting? He’s taken only 10 in 48 games, and made 3. He shoots 53% from the line, indicating he’ll never be a shooter. He makes less than 1 attempt per game from outside the paint.
My larger point: Kessler doesn’t have to be guarded unless he’s under the basket. Hence, “the poor man’s Rudy Gobert”.
True. He doesn’t shoot that many 3’s. I’ve noticed that the Jazz shifted their push to make him better at 3’s and instead have kept him rolling to the basket or just near the basket.
The payoff has been him getting top stats in field goal percentage and rebounds. I believe he leads the league in offensive rebounds, in particular.
Kessler doesn’t have the same defensive moves as Gobert. He’s more of a pure shot blocker. However, I would say he’s averaged more blocks than Gobert at this point.
I just don’t see him as good on guarding perimeter players as Rudy. Rudy is much better at recovery defense. I think his arms are longer, for one thing. The other thing is Rudy’s intensity and focus. Rudy demands more from his teammates on defense. Kessler is instead a chill guy personality.
The two players are similar, but it’s not fair to compare him to Rudy since he was only a small % of the trade. However, he’s mostly replaced what’s they gave up in Rudy–he’s a real value. He’s just not ever going to be as intense or as long.
Excellent analysis.
Yeah …….. ok. Donovan was traded in 2022. Rudy was traded in 2022. We are going into 2025 draft. And Jazz again are in the lottery. With a top 5 pick. Danny is going into year 4 in 2025.
Thibs is in his fifth year. And is contending, so they tell me. Mitch is longest tenured Knick. This is his 7th year. Brunson is next, this his third year.
Danny is doing a full rebuild. The Process ….
Building thru draft. Just accumulating picks. And praying to hit a HR. All singles so far.
The Knicks are in year zero of contending. They are in year 3 of being a second round team.
2K, Ainge would do well to follow the Knicks’ example for how to gain credibility with its fans. In June 2022, Ainge promised Utah fans that in 3 years the Jazz would be better than the MItchell-Gobert version he just broke up. 3 years later, he’s saying the rebuild is just starting. OK. So, Jazz are 4 years from contending?
The Knicks may not pull it off, but they told their fans they were going “all in” on winning a Championship NOW. They’ve made several aggressive moves to get better NOW.
The Knicks don’t have the first clue how to win in the playoffs.
I have never heard Ainge say they’d be better in 3 years. Instead, I’ve heard them go back and forth on their plan. My thoughts are hopeful on what they should be doing.
Honestly, I don’t think anybody really knows what the Jazz are thinking.
For example, this article is the first I’ve ever heard them actually say they’re rebuilding. They kept calling it a “retool”, or something else, up until this point.
I do agree that the Jazz should’ve been tanking from the start. These half rebuilds never work without star free agent signings or miracle drafting/trades.
> Honestly, I don’t think anybody really knows what
> the Jazz are thinking.
Occam’s Razor screams that the explanation is incompetence.
Jazz ownership made a commitment to Ainge 3 years ago. Ainge is doing the only thing he can at this point, which is to try to reset expectations. “It takes 3 years to tear it down. Then you can start a rebuild.”
That may work for the true faithful among Jazz fans. But the rest of the world isn’t buying.
Buying what? Trades take at least two teams. We’ve seen how limited trades have been in the last three years.
Then add that the remaining players the Jazz were trading weren’t wanted by themselves. They had to be packaged into larger trades. Those take time to find all the teams needed.
That being said, I still think the Jazz are 1 season behind schedule. They could’ve tanked last year much better
> Buying what? Trades take at least two teams. We’ve seen how
> limited trades have been in the last three years.
Buying that the delay isn’t due to incompetence.
It is confusing, yes. However, if the owner really does cancel deals and conflicts with what the front office wants to do, then how is that incompetence? Guess you could say incompetent ownership decisions.
Just look at those horrible yellow jersey rebrands. They didn’t even get feedback from the fans before doing that. It would make sense that they were doing the same things with the player direction.
If nothing else, this is a new ownership and a mix of new and old staff figuring things out. They’re bound to make mistakes.
To me, it looks like they couldn’t decide what they wanted to do. So they just let things progress organically or something.
Regardless, if they can continue to tank this year and at least next year then they’ll be fine.
Benboy said:
> Regardless, if they can continue to tank this year and at least
> next year then they’ll be fine.
That seems to be the one point on which we disagree. I argue that tanking can’t stop until a young core has demonstrated it will develop to be the core of a contending team. That requires multiple players with star potential. Otherwise, the losing will continue indefinitely.
Houston, OKC, Orlando, and, now, Detroit have all had successful rebuilds. By the end of the second year of tanking, all 4 of those teams had at least 4 young players better than any on the Jazz.
I’m confident saying the concensus in NBA circles is that Utah’s young core has 2-3 future NBA starters but no future stars. Looking forward, the current roster has, by far, the least value of any in the NBA. That places them at the very beginning of the rebuild process. Fortunately, they have a lot of draft capital.
This is true. That’s why I included the tank from this year and next year. If everything goes well then they’ll get at least two high potential stars at the top of the draft.
The key is securing the 1-2 so even if they drop they’ll still get a high quality talent.
Beyond that, I just don’t see the Jazz waiting much longer than that. Of course, they could still lose not by choice.
This Summer will be a big deal either way.
Brunson has less time on Knicks. Than Jazz best player. Your phone has a calculator. Google how to use it.
Brunson: 3 years, 7267 minutes
Markkanen: 3 years, 5472 minutes
You sure you followed Google’s instructions correctly?
BTW I’m actually a Knicks fan, which is why I routinely find your takes so laughable. You were surely quite the Marbury/IT/Phil apologist in your heyday.
Walker Kessler is worth keeping, but then again if they have no intention of trying to win they should move him so he can actually play meaningful professional basketball somewhere.
Future lineup
PG. Collier
SG. Williams
SF. Flagg or Bailey (drafted)
PF. Hendricks
C . Malanuch(yes spelled wrong) draft rights traded for Kessler. Utah receives something else too
Sixth man. George
Danny should keep Collins, Sexton and Clarkson for expiring contracts, veteran leadership and one year starters. Lauri will be traded this year
Rather than speak in rebuild platitudes, let’s actually look at what Ainge has done in Utah.
2025 Jazz Trades
Trade Kris Dunn for a 2030 SRP in the Westbrook salary dump
Sign Drew Eubanks + Patty Mills
Trade Cash for two 2025 SRPs in the Luka trade (JHS salary dump)
Trade Drew Eubanks + Patty Mills for a 2030 SRP in the PJ Tucker salary dump
Turn 39-year old PJ Tucker into 23-year old KJ Martin
Net: KJ Martin and 4x SRPS (2x 2025, 2x 2030)
2024 Trades
Trade a 2026 SRP for John Collins (salary dumping Rudy Gay)
Trade Ochai Agbaji + Kelly Olynyk for a 2024 FRP (!!! ya’ll wanna speak down on Ainge???) (Isaiah Collier selected)
Trade Simone Fontecchio for a 2024 SRP (Kyle Filipowski selected)
NET: John Collins, 1x FRP, 1x SRP
2023 Trades
Trade Royce O’Neale for 2023 FRP (Brice Sensabaugh)
Trade Rudy Gobert for Walker Kessler, Malik Beasley, Pat Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, 5x FRPs (Keyonte George + 4 more)
Trade Beverley for Talen Horton-Tucker
Trade Donovan Mitchell for Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, 3x FRPs, 2x Swaps)
Trade Bojan Bogdanovic for Kelly Olynyk
Sign Simonte Fontecchio (later traded for a SRP)
Trade Mike Conley + Nickeil Alexander-Walker + Malik Beasley + Jarred Vanderbilt +2x SRPs for a 2027 FRP (Westbrook salary dump)
Sign Kris Dunn out of the G-League (later traded him for a SRP)
NET: 10x FRPs, 2x Swaps, Markkanen, Kessler, Sexton
The Jazz are up ELEVEN First Round Picks + Two Swaps since Ainge took over.
They traded every single member of the 2022 starting lineup in the first year.
They signed multiple players on the margins that they later turned into second round picks.
But these armchair clowns are gonna parrot some narrative about how he’s done it alllllll wrong because the talent they got back in the 2023 trades ended up better than expected.
The most ridiculous part of this exercise is Ainge arguably hasn’t made a single bad move in the last 3 years.
Exactly. I see this all the time. People, outside of Utah, don’t watch any of their games, and yet act like they’re experts.
I also see a lot of Danny Ainge haters constantly hunting for an excuse to bash him and say he’s failed. Those people were traumatized by some trade he did with their team. They likely need therapy. Although, most people in the world have some trauma they need therapy for, so no biggie. =)
The reality is that nobody knows what the Jazz were doing before. This info coming out now isn’t a surprise, but it is surprising they’re saying it now. It does appear that like they’re making an excuse to continue to tank.
Then again, if you look at the minutes they’ve been giving the young guys, this year, then it makes this article feel more like a confirmation, at least for this season.
Real 2K, let’s use Danny Ainge’s standard for evaluating his performance.
When Ainge traded away an entire team after 2022, he promised that within 3 years, the Jazz would be better. No surprise there, because no GM would ever say otherwise. Imagine a GM saying “I’m trading away this entire winning team now so that we’ll be losers for the next 6 seasons. But it’s all worth it because I’m getting 10 future first round draft picks!”
Ainge started with a strong hand. The previous season, Utah’s best 7 had the best record in the NBA. Mitchell, a rising superstar, and Gobert were top 20 players both in the first year of 4-5 year deals. Bogdanovic shot 43% from 3, 18ppg. Oneal was a premier defender. Connely, Ingles, and Alexander-Walker were valuable pieces. Rather than making 1 or 2 moves, as most GM’s would do, Ainge bet on getting rid of the entire team.
Ainge has failed by his own (very reasonable) standard: 3 years later, this team is not better than what it was. And no reasonable person expects it to be better after 5 years (the Jazz are saying the rebuild is just beginning). A GM in any sport is an unqualified failure by that standard.
Three years ago, acquiring lots of future first round picks was a natural part of the process. But at this point, the benefit of those picks will be too late to have been worth it for Utah fans and ownership. Best case, 5 years of losing.
Well, you can see they agree and that’s why they’re acquiring unprotected, lottery projected picks and second picks. The Jazz need more trade assets for future trades.
I would also point out that the Jazz are run by committee. I hear Zanik talk more to the press than Ainge does, overall.
Although, Ainge has been speaking more lately, but that first bit of time he was more of a consultant.
You also need full autonomy as a front office to do what you need to do. The last two years has been a confusing back and forth on not being able to decide if they’re tanking or not.
Zanik kept saying they wanted to try to win every game. Many of us were saying this was dumb. Lol. Now they finally agree and are tanking. Just took forever to get everyone in the front office and ownership to get onboard.
Benboy, Ainge is the CEO and he’s also on the board. He’s in full control and bears full responsibility. Zanik reports to him. If Zanik is making dumb decisions independently, that’s on Ainge.
You and Real2k have agreed on this thread that Ainge hasn’t made a bad decision in 3 years. Any executive is judged by RESULTS.
Best case, based on the declaration the rebuild is just starting, it’ll be SIX YEARS for Utah to be as good as they were when Ainge blew up the team. That’s a staggering FAILURE.
Ainge was initially brought on as a consultant. You could see in interviews how hesitant he was in that first half year.
It wasn’t until they made the Gobert trade that he took a more vocal presence with the team. He said he explained how it’s much more fun to have options available. The Jazz had no options before that.
Now if Ainge had been here before that Summer then I’d agree it’s been too slow. However, when you consider he’s already taken a team with no assets to a team bursting with assets and a growing number of young players, I’d call that a HUGE success.
The rebuild was always labeled as a RETOOL until this year. You seem to ignore that part. The trades brought back veterans. They had to first figure out if they were going to be able to compete with them or trade them. That took a year and wasn’t a rebuild in their minds.
The second year Zanik, speaking for the group, said they want to win every game. The owner said he wanted an all-star representing Utah in the SLC ASG. That happened, but only because the Jazz started out solid enough to get him that pick as an all-star. The second half of the season they tanked, just like that first year, but again they never called it that.
This year, there’s a clear choice to rest guys more, take more time on injuries, and give more guys on the roster minutes. I do think Hendrick’s injury kind of forced them to think more this way. They weren’t going to be nearly as good defensively without him.
They also said last Summer that this year would be a development focus, particularly on the young guys. That’s never been the case so far. That means that this is the first year in the rebuild, in their minds.
The media and outside fans are the ones that keep insisting they’ve been rebuilding for 3 years. They haven’t. They did tank the later part of the last two years, but not the first part. I think that’s where it confused everyone. Understandable and not what many of us would’ve preferred.
But insisting that Ainge, out of everyone in that front office, is a failure, is just obsessive. Maybe be more objective when it comes to Ainge. You sound petty, in this case. ;-)
I would say I didn’t like how long it’s taken them to pivot from a retool to a rebuild.
I would also say that trading all those veterans took much longer than probably was planned or hoped it’d take. Several are still on the roster.
Plus, them adding Collins and Svi would suggest that they were still retooling up until this Fall. Why do that if they were indeed rebuilding already?
Benboy, i enjoy your well-written posts, but none of this excuses the facts: Ainge blew up a winning team with valuable assets and turned it into, best case, 5 years of losing. Results matter. This is failure by any standard.
Rebuilds fail when young players get used to losing. Bad habits and selfishness eventually define the culture. You see it with the Hornets this year. The Jazz have ~5 young players that will be flushed after this season. And so it goes.
Wow. This year’s club is even worse than their horrendous first-year expansion team in 1975.
Not sure who you’re referring to, but you need to check your stats. Lol
New Orleans was an expansion team in 1974. They relocated to Utah in 1979.
Shocking fact: Teams that get/want the first pick in the draft tend to have the worst record in the league. Shocking! I know!
I’m old enough to remember when throwing games was a bad thing. Now teams openly throw not just games but seasons.
Yeah, it’s dumb and not ideal. The problem is free agency. Players are allowed to leave to greener pastures. This hurts certain teams and benefits the same ones over and over.
This makes the draft even more important because certain teams can’t get and keep these desirable free agents. At least, they can’t get them regularly enough to be able to plan on it.
> The problem is free agency.
Respectfully, the facts don’t agree. Poor management is usually the problem.
The last 4 years’ league champs won without significant free agent contributions: Boston, Denver, Golden State, and Milwaukee.
This year, the best teams, Cleveland and OKC, are models of building with the draft and trades. Even small-market teams with limited payroll can succeed.
The need for extended tanking is caused by poor decisions by front office and ownership. Utah, Charlotte, and Washington all continue to make their own problems. It’s rare that failure ends without changing ownership or firing the front office.
You’re forgetting that trades only happen if the team trading for them can get an agreement that the player will extend after or during the trade. Can’t assume players always do that.
Each of those teams you list have had guys resign with their teams. Spida likely would’ve left if the Knicks didn’t use up all their cap room. Plus, they already replaced the need for Spida.
OKC and Denver have unique superstars that prefer to focus on basketball than the limelight.
Golden State got KD to sign with them as a free agent. They were then able to trade him for his replacement in Wiggins. Before all that they got Iggy in free agency.
Milwaukee only got Dame cuz that was one of the teams he’d accept playing for.
In other words, you’re trying to force your narrative because you clearly hate Danny Ainge. Whatever sells it you’ll agree with. Lol
Also, the Jazz haven’t been tanking all this time, according to them. Why else trade for Collins and sign Svi. Both are vets, comparatively.
Lastly, comparing the Jazz to Charlotte and Washington is just silly. The Jazz were the #2 winningest franchise in the last 20-30 years. They dropped to #3 I believe after these last couple seasons.
No, losing usually comes down to stability. Teams that change coaches every year tend to cause more instability. That can be negated with star players already in place. But getting a good coach and sticking with him is usually the best course of action for winning.
The front office definitely affects that, but ownership are the ones that affect stability the most. They are the trend setters for their organizations. They hire the front office.
I will agree that the Jazz trading so many players every year has also caused a lot of instability. Players never know who’s next. Ainge does seem to be trigger happy.
However, without all those trades the Jazz wouldn’t have so many assets going forward. They had to build that up first before embarking on a full rebuild. That would suggest they’ll do more trades this Summer to fully tear it down. Should be an interesting Summer.
As a Boston Celtics fan, I can say to Jazz fans, you have a great man for a rebuild, in Danny Ainge. He did it twice in Boston, first acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007, along with smart FA signings like James Posey and Eddie House, that immediately led to an NBA Championship in 2008. Once Pierce and Garnett were totally washed up, he sent them to the Nets, which led to the foundation to a fast rebuild, and an eventual title. Brad Stevens has done great in the front office as well, but Danny was the architect of two NBA titles. The Utah Jazz are in safe hands, with Danny Ainge. I wish you guys the best of luck, I’ve always admired the Jazz franchise.