The Utah Jazz appears to be in NBA purgatory as they are between a total rebuild and trying to be at least somewhat competitive. It all started last July when the Jazz dealt Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Jazz then traded Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland and Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit. They then sent Mike Conley to the Timberwolves at the trade deadline as part of a three-team deal that landed them Russell Westbrook, who they subsequently released. Utah also hired 34-year-old Will Hardy as coach last season.
2023-24 NBA Power Rankings Offseason Edition: No. 23 Utah Jazz
The perplexing part is while the Jazz stockpiled draft picks and young players through the trades, they dealt for John Collins this offseason. Collins is just 26 years old and is a good, scoring big man who can rebound. But Collins is coming off a disappointing season and is owed $78 million over the next three years. They extended Jordan Clarkson‘s contract instead of trading him, and they still have Kelly Olynyk on the roster.
While the Jazz needs some veterans to go along with their young players, they really haven’t helped themselves, particularly keeping Clarkson and Olynyk. The Jazz already had Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, and Lauri Markkanen to fill the mentor role.
Utah also didn’t do much to help improve its defense or turnover issue, which is why the Jazz are No. 23 in my early power rankings. The Jazz ranked 23rd in defensive rating, 26th in opponents’ field goals made, and 19th in 3-point made. They also ranked 30th in steals, 28th in turnovers forced, and 28th in turnovers. Granted, first-round picks Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George showed some defensive chops in their lone year in college.
Best Offseason Decision: Drafting Keyonte George
Utah had a trio of first-round picks, and each has some upside. However, George is the most likely to have an immediate impact. The 19-year-old combo guard is an elite scorer who is an outstanding finisher at the rim. He is extremely quick but needs to improve his shot selection and 3-point shooting.
George played well for Utah’s summer league team on both ends of the court. George produced 18.7 points and 2.6 threes in six games with a shooting slash line of .457/.386/.750. The first-team all-2K24 summer league performer also compiled 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. His best game came against the Los Angeles Clippers (July 8), where he recorded a double-double with 33 points, on 12 of 24 shooting, with half of his field goals being three-pointers and 10 assists. George also tallied 26 points against the Timberwolves.
Worst Offseason Decision: Not Trading Jordan Clarkson
I like Clarkson, but I don’t think he fits with the Jazz. Utah is a rebuilding team with some young guys who need court time to develop. But Clarkson projects to see between 28 to 33 minutes a game.
The 32-year-old combo guard is coming off a career season. He can light up the scoreboard instantly and has developed into a reliable 3-point shooter, albeit highly streaky. He produced a career-high three double-doubles and recorded a career-best 4.4 assists. Turnovers and defense are issues for Clarkson.
Clarkson has reportedly been on the trade block since last trade deadline. It makes some sense that the Jazz gave Clarkson two more years and increased his base salary by $9.2 million to $23.4 million if they intend to trade him at some point this year. Now, they can match salaries easier.
What’s Next: Finish Roster?
Utah has 15 players under standard contracts though three do not have a fully guaranteed deal. Omer Yurtseven and Luka Semanic have partial guarantees, while Dunn’s is completely non-guaranteed. The Jazz have filled all three two-way spots.
Salt Lake City Tribune’s Andy Larsson believes that the Jazz aren’t necessarily done making moves. Larson said that the Jazz’s most solid position groups are at the forward and center positions. With Markkanen and Walker Kessler anchoring those spots there are few questions about Utah’s frontcourt.
However, Larsson believes the backcourt is a different story. In Larrson’s view, Dunn, Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Ochai Agbaji all had bright moments last season but would need to make significant leaps to be full-time starters. That’s why Larsen believes the Jazz will be active in the trade market in the coming weeks and months.
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