In the middle or in the playoffs？Where will Danny Ainge take the Jazz

Last season review

In 2022, the Jazz has sent Gobert and Mitchell inside and outside the dual core, officially opened the reconstruction journey。Last season, the second of their rebuilding, they had a defensive efficiency of 119 for the entire season.6, ranked last in the league。

Midway through last season，The Jazz were on a 15-4 run，Mavericks, 76ers, Bucks, Nuggets, Lakers, Pacers and other teams were crushed under horses，At one point, the record was 22-20，I guess a lot of people thought Jazz could keep this up，They have every chance to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference，But the Jazz made a strategic retreat，From the middle of March，They went straight to a 13-game losing streak，Hit the lotto zone hard。

In the end, the Jazz's regular season record was fixed at 31-51, ranking 12th in the West for two consecutive years。

Offseason moves:

1、5年2.$3.8 billion early extension for Markkanen

This summer, the Jazz signed Markkanen to a five-year deal worth 2.The $3.8 billion early extension also makes Markkanen untradeable for the remainder of the new season until next offseason。

In the 23-24 season, Markkanen appeared in 55 regular season games for the Jazz, averaging 33 games per game.1 minute, you can contribute 23.2分8.2 rebounds 2 assists。

2. Executive coach Will Hardy's fourth-year team options

Hardy is entering the third season of his contract with the Jazz, who have gone 68-96 over the past two seasons。

3, 1 year 3.3 million dollars signed veteran Patty Mills

In 23-24, Mills appeared in 32 regular season games for the Heat, averaging 4 points 1 per game.1篮板1.1助攻。

4. The team signed Michalyuk, Eubanks and Johnny Juzan。

Mihailyuk signed a four-year, $15 million deal with the Jazz, with the first year of the $3.5 million deal fully guaranteed and the second three years non-guaranteed;The Jazz signed Eubanks to a two-year, $9.75 million contract with no guarantees through the 25-26 season.Johnny Juzan is back with the Jazz on a four-year, $12 million contract。

5. Draft Cody Williams, Isaiah Creel and Filipovsky

Cody Williams (No. 10 pick) is the younger brother of Jaylen Williams of the Thunder team, with a height of 201 cm, arm span of 216 cm, and weight of 81 kg, modeled after Jayden McDaniels/Jaylen Rose。He is a front-line player who relies on finishing near the basket, is tall and has long arms, and has the potential to defend multiple positions, but the ball handling ability limits his ceiling。

Isaiah Collier (No. 29 show), height 189 cm, 93 kg, is a steel cannon guard, good at running to the basket, has qualified organizational point guard technology, but the shooting motion is not stable, three-point production and efficiency and free throws are insufficient, the template is closer to Mudiay/Bledsoe。

Filipovski (No. 32 pick)，She is 211 cm tall and weighs 104 kg，Centre forward，He's a big, versatile player，He can do a lot of things on both ends of the floor，However, due to the limitations of physical conditions, the limit is limited，The template is Kelly Olynyk/Zach Collins/Moritz Wagner。

总结：The Jazz didn't make any big moves in free agency this summer as they rebuild and focus on further accumulating talent, but the problem for this young team is the same as in the pastThe current framework does not look very high, and the direction of reconstruction is not clear enough。There were a lot of trade rumors about Marka and Kesler and others in the offseason, but Ainge didn't press the trade button in the end。

Player turnover:Horton Tucker, Kris Dunn, Yutsevern

Player additions:Eubanks, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Mikhailyuk, Mills

Current lineup:

Defenders: Sexton, Clarkson, Kyonte George, Johnny Juzan, Patty Mills, Mikhailyuk, Isaiah Collier, Preston (both ways)

Front line: Markkanen, Collins, Bryce Sensaab, Tyler Hendricks, Cody Williams, Oscar Hibway (both ways)

Centers: Kessler, Eubanks, Filipovski, Mika Porter (both ways)

New season outlook:

In the middle or in the playoffs？

In the past few years, although the Jazz has been in the name of rebuilding, but the team still hid a lot of potential shares and immediate force, Markkanen, Clarkson, Sexton on any playoff team are able to shine and heat puzzle players, Jazz want to squeeze them in the hand for sale, but the strength can not hide。

They have two consecutive seasons with 30+ wins, the rotten effect is not ideal, and caught up with two small draft years, 23 years to get the No. 9 pick, 24 years to get the No. 10 pick, which also led to the Jazz in the start of a comprehensive rebuild two years later never get the right building blocks。

With the Jazz's current lineup, it is very difficult to enter the playoffs, and it is clearly said that the outside world is rotten, but they can still maintain the level of the play-offs, and it seems that they have entered a situation that is not on the table。In the new season, whether they continue to put bad to fight for good seedlings, or try their best to rush to the playoffs, all depends on how the management wants to play!

Should we continue trading？

Although the Warriors, Knicks and other teams expressed interest in Markkanen and Kessler in the offseason, the Jazz decided to stay put and use 5 years 2.The $3.8 billion Max extension for Marka also shows that they see him as one of the cornerstones of their future team, and they can use this season to tweak the roster and see who is worth working with Markkanen long-term。

But the Jazz obviously want more than that, and the ceiling is too low to build a team with Marca as the core, and this is certainly not the team Danny Ainge wants to build。Because the Jazz currently holds a large number of draft picks, coupled with the current roster of players, it is very easy to break up into pieces to become a good bargain, so compared to the Jazz's record, whether they will make a big trade during the season will be more attractive。

New season results forecast:

The Jazz have started the regular season somewhat higher and lower in the past two seasons, last season only achieved 31 wins, and belong to the ranks of stable bottom in the Western Conference。This year they are younger overall and appear to be less competitive in terms of results。

Looking to the future, the Jazz can choose to build a team around Markkanen to impact the playoffs, but the ceiling is not necessarily better than the Mitchell + Gobert era, and can continue to maintain patience to hoard draft picks, waiting for the opportunity to sell while developing potential players。Given the fierce competitive environment in the West, do not rush for quick success, with smart draft, reasonable trade and patient waiting, is the correct solution to rebuild the Jazz。

The Jazz record in the new season will also hover around 30 wins, and it is expected that the ranking will be 13-15 in the West。