It’s year 3 of the post-Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert Utah Jazz, and despite the expectation of insipidness at the league’s bottom, the reality of the last two seasons has had a more inspiring outlook.
With the movement done in this summer’s offseason, including the incredible job of tying down All-Star Lauri Markkanen to a five-year, $238-million contract extension this summer, the assumption can only be for a side that has outperformed set standards in a rebuild to continue.
Full Hands On the Youth Drive
Arguably, the most important aspect of the Jazz’s season to follow is how they integrate and manage their assembly of young players, including their three rookies drafted in the top 32 in this year’s NBA Draft.
The regular component of most rebuilds is the aggressive youth movement that ensues, and there is no team in the NBA pushing that rhetoric like those in Utah, with more than half the team’s current roster being born in 2000 and after.
“I think there’s going to be multiple opportunities for more young guys to play this year because we simply have more young guys as part of our rotation,” said general manager Justin Zanik during the team’s Media Day. “It’s going to look different.”
Center Walker Kessler will be entering his third NBA season and will be expected to make a jump in consistency and minutes; the same can be said for sophomores Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensbaugh. But there will be a particular focus on Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski—all drafted in this summer’s draft: 10th, 29th, and 32nd, respectively—and how they compete for minutes in the rotation.
Williams, Collier, and Filipowski all have gaps in their games that should be met with hesitancy in how valuable their minutes could be in the NBA; nonetheless, their ceilings, particularly Williams, brother of rising OKC star Jalen, are worthy of prioritising.
How High Can Lauri Markkanen Take This Team?
Despite such an emphasis on development over success, 27-year-old Markkanen hasn't been deterred from continuing his remarkable ascent at Utah via a max contract extension in the late summer. The strong interest of the Golden State Warriors and other organisations has been put off until at least next year’s offseason, being ineligible past the February 6 trade deadline.
For Markkanen, though, Utah was always where his heart remained.
“I think it’s fair to say that I saw the stuff online, but I tried very hard not to pay attention to it. I’m a big believer in what the front office and the coaching staff are doing,” he told The Athletic in a recently released piece. “I’ve embraced the leadership role, and my family truly enjoys Utah. We have enjoyed our two years here.”
By staying, the forward cements himself as the centrepiece of the Jazz organisation and is the prototypical player an NBA team would build around. The Finn has established himself as a 25-and-8 guy who can drive to the rim with assurance whilst being able to shoot with comfort from beyond the arc as a 7-footer in a league that values offensive unicorn big-men to the nth degree.
Markkanen led the team in Win Shares with 5.1 last campaign, and the team’s 31-51 won't take too much of a jump that it even threatens a playoff spot in an uber-competitive Western Conference. Markkanen’s personal development as a player—being able to improve as a playmaker given the attention he attracts—and as a leader alongside Jordan Clarkson and John Collins should lessen the frequency of losses, ultimately giving the Jazz front-offices more clarity for the future.
Is Will Hardy the Coach to Build Around?
Last Friday, Jazz head coach Hardy picked up his fifth-year option on a contract that will now go through to the 2026-27 season.
It was a move that showed both Hardy and the Jazz’s decision-makers that the former was the right man to move forward with.
Joe Mazzulla has set the modern path for what assistant coaches can amount to in the league, and 36-year-old Hardy, who is entering his third season as a head coach in the NBA, will aim to follow a similar path sooner rather than later.
Like Mazzulla, Hardy is more than a coaching figure. He wants to know more about the players he sees daily, as he showed in the offseason with intense relationship-building exercises.
Hardy's situation could be cited as more ideal than that of his former Celtics assistant compatriot Mazzulla, who was initially hired on an interim basis by a team that had featured in the Finals a year before with the aim of immediately getting back and going one further.
Hardy hasn't faced playoff pressure, nor will he for at least another season. Overperforming when everyone is expecting you to underperform can be a thankless task, but the makings of a coach capable of so much more are there; CEO Danny Ainge believes so, and the anticipation is for him to show that to the wider basketball world.
“We love Will. We love the direction he is (going). We love the teammate he is. He’s really excited this year to have a chance to develop these young players. We’re excited he’s a part of us.”
