THE Utah Jazz The Red Sox are entering their third year of rebuilding a franchise that is still just a few pieces away from getting back into playoff contention. The biggest talking point heading into the season will be Utah’s approach to winning basketball games.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy is tasked with prioritizing player development while distributing minutes to veterans who are playing for their next contract. So what is Hardy’s mindset for juggling the various schedules? The topic came up when Hardy joined The Ryan Russilo PodcastAUtah’s head coach revealed what he considers the best approach.
“There are a lot of days where it feels like you’re fighting on two fronts and it’s not always easy. I think the biggest thing for me is that the locker room is an echo system, a living, breathing place, and we need to make sure our team knows that we’re doing our best every day.” – Will Hardy
The Ryen Russillo Podcast | Will Hardy (Utah Jazz)
The interview starts at the 30 minute mark. Hardy is very good here talking about playing time decisions with a young team. https://t.co/jTryY7eVkc
– PickandPop (@PickAndPopNet) August 28, 2024
Appeasing veterans has become much more difficult this offseason. The Jazz signed Lauri Markkanen to a five-year deal, suggesting that winning basketball games soon is a must. John Collins and Jordan Clarkson are still on the roster, complicating matters. Both players are accustomed to getting playing time on the court, but the duo likely won’t be part of Salt Lake City’s future.
Clarkson and Collins were close to being traded this summer, but both players are on contracts that aren’t team-friendly. The Jazz may have to wait before parting ways unless they’re willing to accept a negative asset in return.
So what does this mean for Utah’s approach going forward? That remains to be seen, but if Utah is determined to land a top-5 pick in the NBA draft, then player development should take precedence over the needs of two players who will most likely be traded before their contracts expire in Utah.
However, Hardy says the Jazz will take a best-effort approach to distributing minutes. That’s good news for veterans like Collins and Clarkson, but bad news for Jazz fans who have their eyes on draft position in a loaded 2025 draft.
“The players who are getting real minutes in NBA games, well, they’re going to play. We didn’t want it to become a feeling of, ‘Hey, we’re here for the development of these two people, and the rest of you are just props around them. I just feel like that’s a dangerous thing to do, given how it feels every day here. We want the team to know and feel that we’re trying to win every night.’”
Giving your team the best chance to win in the moment can be a good thing, but it hasn’t worked out well when it comes to draft positioning since the rebuild. Utah has enough talent on its roster to keep it from being selected in the top five, and the bookmakers agree. FanDuel projects Utah to win 30 games this season. If that prediction holds true, the Jazz would have the eighth-best lottery odds based on the 2023-24 standings.
Utah has shown that it knows how to counter games when it puts its mind to it. Even with Markkanen, Collins, Clarkson and Collin Sexton on the roster, the Jazz finished the 2023-24 season with a 2-14 record. The big question heading into the season is: Will Utah get the tank moving in Game 1, or will it wait until the trade deadline to take the pressure off? The regular season begins in less than two months.
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