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Apr 13, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacts to a call that goes the way of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

ESPN Breaks Down Utah Jazz's Top Focus for Next Season

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 9:30 AM ET

When looking ahead to what's in store for the Utah Jazz next NBA season, things will be a bit different on paper from what this roster had a calendar year ago.

No Collin Sexton. No John Collins. No Jordan Clarkson, but also with Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. newly in the fold to bring another inspiring layer of youth and potential to this team moving forward.

However, compared to how the Jazz fared across the year through their 2024-25 campaign and their 17 total wins to come with it, from a big picture perspective, Utah looks to be rolling into the coming season on a relatively similar track, and with a pretty identical standing around the league–– which leads their main focus for this season on two main factors: player development and lottery odds.

And with those two goals at the top of mind, in the eyes of ESPN, it places Utah in a select tier of teams rolling into next season with clearly defined goals, yet without many hopes to be competitive in terms of wins and losses.

ESPN Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton recently stacked up eight total tiers to place each of the NBA's 30 teams in for next season, spanning from those all-in on winning a championship, and those who are all in on "nothing."

For the Jazz, they're not quite slotted within that aforementioned "nothing" tier, but instead, find themselves one step ahead in a group labeled "All-in on... 'draft positioning," joined by the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets.

"These were four of the NBA's bottom six teams in the standings last season, and they have the four lowest over/under totals for the 2025-26 season at ESPN BET," Bontemps and Pelton wrote, "Of this group, the Hornets seem most likely to be competitive this season after adding more playmaking depth behind starting point guard LaMelo Ball with newcomers Spencer Dinwiddie and Collin Sexton. As the only top-four pick from this group, Charlotte's Kon Knueppel also appears most ready to help as a rookie of these lottery picks after being named MVP of the Hornets' NBA summer league championship game victory. Still, all of these teams are probably at least a season away from competing for a playoff spot, and they'd love to add another top pick first."

It's no surprise that the Jazz won't be gunning for a top playoff spot in the West next season. This team is young, has high potential, and still covets time to develop and get reps under their belt before stacking up to some of the surrounding talents in the conference, whether that concerns either of Utah's two rookies, or their second and third-year players heading into this next season.

But Utah also has some extra incentive to focus on their development this season, as a top spot in this year's lottery could secure the Jazz a difference-making talent atop a highly acclaimed group of prospects. Darren Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer are all in the cards for this team come next summer, all of whom could be world-shifters moving forward.

So, all of that's to say: expect another year of growing pains for the Jazz, but a season that's certainly for the greater good.