If you are a Utah Jazz fan, please buckle up and get comfortable. You’re a long way away from the glory days of title contention. Utah competed for NBA titles in the late 90s behind Hall of Fame players and a Hall of Fame coach in Jerry Sloan. As those players moved on, the Jazz revamped behind several young stars, including Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, and others. But at some point, the well runs dry. Years of not picking near the top of the NBA Draft do not mix well with a bottom-tier destination for free agents. Utah’s CEO of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge, began his Jazz tune-up this summer.
Disappointing Tune
The Utah Jazz were one of the top teams in the league for the last five years. They had stability behind eight-year head coach Quin Snyder. They had three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert. The Jazz also had a dynamite guard in three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell. Additionally, the Jazz had tremendous pieces coming off their bench, other All-Star caliber players, and everything you could ask for to contend. And they did. But they lost. They made the playoffs with top defenses, three-point shooting, and pick-and-rolls, but they could not get past the second round.
Early round bounce outs occurred even while their opponents were missing their best players. Last year was especially disappointing as Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic sat out multiple games of the Jazz versus Mavericks first-round series. Mavs guard, Jalen Brunson, turned into a star in that series, and now he is a 100-million-dollar New York Knick. I think the Jazz struggled to make adjustments when teams changed strategies. Now a major adjustment is upon them.
The Danny Ainge Tune-Up
Danny Ainge is a former Boston Celtic player turned executive that has experience with team teardowns. As the executive director of basketball ops for the Celtics, he traded away most of the 2003 team that made the conference finals. In what many consider this generation’s first successful super-team, Ainge orchestrated bold trades for Hall-of-Famers Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. This led to championship number 17 for the Celtics in 2008 and an NBA Finals appearance in 2010. Some argue that this Celtic team inspired future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James to bolt from the Cavaliers to the Miami Heat that summer.
Ainge later traded away the bulk of his 2008 championship team to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, he got a boatload of draft picks in a race to the bottom with other tanking teams. Some of those picks have turned into Boston’s current roster, including All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics just competed in the NBA Finals last year.
To the Spoiled Season Goes the Victor
Danny Ainge is looking to repeat his Celtic success in Utah. This summer, he has traded Gobert and Mitchell in monster trades to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. Roy O’Neale was traded to Brooklyn for a first-rounder. Ainge has also traded sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic in a minor deal to the Detroit Pistons. More players are rumored to be on the move as former Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, has interest around the league. Former All-Star point guard Mike Conley Jr. could be changing addresses soon also. The summer trading session yielded 14 first-round draft picks over the next seven years. Can you imagine being a Jazz fan right now? Large tech companies usurping your slogans. Best record in the NBA two years ago, but now an afterthought until the NBA Draft lottery.
Speaking of the lottery, the prize of next year’s draft class is one of the most gifted players since LeBron James entered the league. Victor Wembanyama is a 7’2” French professional basketball player who has already awed NBA executies while facing some of the best up-and-coming players. A spoiled season should increase Utah’s odds of getting Victor. However, it could prove difficult because the season starts this week, and Utah still has veterans and incoming players that will compete.
Today’s Song
The Utah Jazz hired a new coach in former Celtics assistant Will Hardy. Hardy is 34 years old and the youngest coach in the NBA. As a first-time head coach, he will be out to prove himself. The Jazz got Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen in the Donovan Mitchell trade. They received Patrick Beverley as part of the Gobert draft haul and rerouted him to the Lakers in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker. Along with Conley and Clarkson, the Jazz also retained veterans Rudy Gay and Kelly Olynyk. Tanking would be difficult with this roster. This Utah Jazz tune-up feels a lot different than the one Danny Ainge put together in Boston. From where I stand, this team is not missing much other than star players. If Coach Hardy brings a Celtic defense to this roster and can make adjustments game by game, they really won’t need a star in the short term. They can replicate the tough-nosed Jazz teams of yesteryear. Could it be that the Utah Jazz sneak up on teams this year? Consider betting the over on Utah’s win total this season.
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