With only 16 games left this season, the Utah Jazz are closing in on one of the most successful runs at a star player in the draft in team history. There are wins you could quibble about, but overall you have to be happy with how the season has run its course. Everything has felt a little like the Jazz have been able to have their cake and eat it too. They’ve been able to keep Lauri Markkanen, play vets like Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, but still manage playtime on their way to a bottom-3 record.
The fine from the NBA has changed that.
Now the Jazz have been playing Markkanen and it’s putting all that they’ve done at risk. If the Jazz, who are now just one game back of the Wizards for the worst record in the league, can lock in that #1 spot for lottery night. If they do, it ensures them, at worst, the #5 pick. And that’s if the absolute worst-case scenario happens.
This means that the Jazz probably won’t eat their cake for the rest of the season. That is unless they’re able to figure out some loopholes to this thing. One of those is resting everyone but Lauri Markkanen, the only player who qualifies as a “star” for the Jazz because of his all-star nod a few years ago. But that still puts things in jeopardy when you’re playing teams like the Wizards and Hornets.
But with the Jazz now on the radar for the NBA, it makes it clear that if they want to do this next year, they won’t be able to rest Markkanen as much as they have this season. Considering Utah’s pick is top-8 protected next year, and that it’s reported they want to keep it next year, Utah has to make the moves that will ensure they’re in the top-8 next season.
What that means is, at minimum, a Lauri Markkanen trade. That may not be it either, but that’s the most obvious move now to ensure they have a chance at another top-3 pick in an incredible draft next season.
But why would the Jazz want to? Well, if the Jazz get a top-3 pick in this draft and in the next one, they ensure themselves the solid footing towards a successful, long-term rebuild. Just look at teams that have had multiple top consecutive picks:
Cleveland Cavaliers: Darius Garland (pick 5-2018), Evan Mobley (Pick 3-2020)
Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum (pick 3-2017), Jaylen Brown (pick 3-2016)
Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant (pick 2-2019), Jaren Jackson Jr. (pick 4-2018)
Houston Rockets: Amen Thompson (pick 4-2023), Jabari Smith Jr. (pick 3-2021), Jalen Green (pick 2-2021)
That’s the clear path the Jazz are on. If they keep on this path and are rewarded with top picks, they’ll end up in the same spot as these teams competing for the top spots in the standings. If they don’t, we’ll see a lot more of the last two seasons. Utah has to commit to this correctly, and that comes with tough decisions. Trading Lauri Markkanen is the move the Jazz now have to make.