The Utah Jazz’s offseason is almost over. With training camp just a few weeks away, it can be broken down into three parts.
1. Their 2024 recruiting class of Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski
2. Re-signing Lauri Markkanen (after weeks of trade rumors)
3. Added and removed some veterans
After signature of Svi Mykhailiuk and Patty MillsThe Jazz have their opening night roster in place, pending surprise trades. However, this cannot be completely excluded until the start of the regular season.
At this point in the offseason, it’s unlikely the Jazz will make any big changes between now and the start of the season. For that reason, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report explained the Jazz’s biggest win and biggest loss of the offseason.
Favale explained how the Jazz handled the Markkanen situation as their biggest victory, writing that the trade gives them “a lot of latitude.”
“The money is far from exorbitant. Markkanen is making 30 percent of the salary cap next season, and that share is going to decrease every year,” Favale wrote. “Footing that bill for an All-Star who will be 31 years old by the end of this one is perfectly acceptable.”
Favale then explained why keeping Markkanen long-term is good for the Jazz, no matter what direction they go.
“Best of all, the Jazz no longer have to worry about complicating his future as he rebuilds. If they want to accelerate their timeline with a big trade move, they know he’ll be there. And if they want to take a more gradual path, they don’t have to worry about disenchanting him with too many Lauri-plus-kids deals that aren’t designed to win.”
Favale then explained why losing Kris Dunn was their biggest loss.
“No, the Jazz were never going to be good on defense. But Dunn’s pressure on the ball, his magic in the passing lanes and his bandwidth to defend, say, 3.5 positions will be missed. Immensely.
“No one else on the roster fills that role. Taylor Hendricks has shown he can defend effectively, but he probably shouldn’t be battling the Shai Gilgeous-Alexanders and Anthony Edwards of this world on a regular basis,” Favale wrote.
The fact that the Jazz’s most notable win and loss came on moves everyone saw coming shows that this offseason has looked more like what the Jazz have been since they blew up their team two years ago: a holding pattern.
The Jazz’s last two seasons have divided fans because, while they’re clearly assembling promising young talent, they haven’t fully embraced the rebuild. There have been some really encouraging stretches, but it hasn’t resulted in anything worthwhile.
And after these last two seasons, the Jazz haven’t really chosen their path. Markkanen is under contract for at least one year, which means they’ll have an All-Star caliber player entering his prime, combined with a mix of veterans and young players.
It can be frustrating, because it sometimes feels like a déjà vu. Yet Jazz clearly wants to develop a youth movement while developing winning habits along the way. Sure, such a product doesn’t produce good results immediately, but that doesn’t mean good results aren’t coming, period.
Have the Jazz ever won anything big? Of course not, but they haven’t lost much yet, either. This offseason has revealed that the long-term game is exactly what you might describe it as: long.
