Utah Jazz Mailbag: Is A Rebrand Coming?
Mar 26, 2024, 4:20 PM | Updated: 4:26 pm
Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn (11) high fives a teammate during an NBA game (Credit: Ryan Sun, Deseret News_
(11)
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag where every week our NBA insiders answer your questions on social media about your favorite team.
Each week we will send out a prompt on KSL Sports Threads, Instagram, X, and Facebook pages asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
You can also hear our responses to more of your questions on this week’s episode of the Jazz Notes Podcast.
Jazz Mailbag: Will Fans See A Rebrand Next Year?
Is the rebrand still happening or are we stuck with the yellow and black forever? Also, how many years do we rebuild before Will Hardy’s seat starts to get hot.
— Jimbo Slice (@JimboRudding) March 26, 2024
Question: Is the Jazz rebrand still happening or are we stuck with the yellow and black forever? Also, how many years do we rebuild before Will Hardy’s seat starts to get hot?
Answer: I’ll start by answering your second question first, with the keyword being “rebuild.”
I don’t think that Hardy’s seat will be hot at any point while the Jazz are “rebuilding.”
The team’s front office has gutted the roster at the trade deadline each of the last two seasons, and that has unfairly influenced the perspective on Hardy’s coaching ability.
It is important to remember that over the first half of each of the last two seasons, Hardy has proven to be a .500 coach, even while leading a team of castoffs from previous blockbuster trades.
So, until the Jazz put together a roster designed to win 45+ games, I don’t think Hardy’s coaching performance is under a microscope of any kind.
No more highlighter yellow for the @utahjazz this season 🟡#TakeNote https://t.co/15Rc5kLG0w
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 26, 2024
Now let’s address the Jazz rebrand.
I will share a loose collection of rumors I’ve heard about the team’s future look, recognizing I haven’t seen any mock-ups nor had anything confirmed to me by anyone within the organization.
I’ve heard there will be new uniforms next season.
I’ve heard that mountains will be a prominent feature in the team’s design, though my guess would be the Jazz Note logo also remains.
And, I’ve heard that yellow is not a featured color, though I’d suspect black, white, and purple are here to stay.
Again, this is a loose collection of rumors I’ve heard about a rebrand next year, and I have no idea how far the Jazz are in the design process, or if they even have jerseys mocked up.
So take from that what you will.
Is Kenneth Lofton’s scoring prowess at the G League level going to translate to the NBA game? Are he & Darius Bazley going to get extended looks from the Jazz down the stretch run of this season?
— Jake Hatch (Yawk) jakehatch.bsky.social (@JacobCHatch) March 26, 2024
Q: Is Kenneth Lofton’s scoring prowess at the G League level going to translate to the NBA game? Are he & Darius Bazley going to get extended looks from the Jazz down the stretch run of this season?
A: I asked Will Hardy about this very topic before Monday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, and whether he expected the two newest Jazz players to get live minutes before the end of the season.
Here’s what he said:
“Right now I have some other guys that are priorities for me in terms of trying to get them some real minutes.”
Related: Jazz Sign Lofton, Bazley to Multi-Year Deals
Both players were in uniform against Dallas, but did not end up seeing the floor in what was a relatively close game.
“They’ve both done a really good job since they’ve been here,” Hardy added. “They’ve only been here a short time but they played pretty well in the G League.”
King Kenneth👑#ItStartsHere pic.twitter.com/OYOCn8DqNJ
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) March 23, 2024
Lofton notably scored a career-high 52 points with the Salt Lake City Stars, though I suspect it’s unlikely he would ever get the number of touches required for a post player with his skillset to rack up those numbers with the Jazz.
With that said, in Lofton’s lone NBA start he scored 42 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies last April.
But, even if fans don’t see Lofton or Bazley over the final two and a half weeks of the regular season, both veterans will remain with the Jazz during the offseason.
“They’re both guys that we’re excited about having with us, not only for the last 11 games but through the summer,” Hardy said.
Whether the two play with the team during the Summer League remains to be seen, but the Jazz own both players’ rights for the foreseeable future, meaning they’ll likely be on next year’s training camp roster if the Jazz deem them worthy.
If we get lucky and jump into the top 4 who would you want the jazz to draft?
If we stay at 8-9 range who do you like?Also. If we did jump into the top 4 do you prefer taking the pick or trading the pick?
— Glen Andersen (@glendersen) March 26, 2024
Q: If we get lucky and jump into the top four who would you want the Jazz to draft? If we stay at the 8-9 range who do you like?
Also. If we did jump into the top 4 do you prefer taking the pick or trading the pick?
A: I haven’t dug too deeply into the draft yet, so I probably won’t be as specific here in my answers as I will be a month from now when I start my pre-draft research.
But, after observing the team this season, I think the Jazz severely lack upper echelon passers, and would continue to benefit from positional size.
There are good passers in this draft like Reed Sheppard, Nikola Topic, and Kyle Filipowski who are projected to be drafted in the lottery.
Updated NBA mock draft for @YahooSports: International prospects dominate the top half of the lottery. Where will the G League Ignite players land after a tumultuous season? Full first round predictions ⬇️ https://t.co/y6zmsBk0Ce
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) February 20, 2024
Related: What Happens If Jazz Win The Draft Lottery?
There are also players with good size like Topic, Zaccharie Risacher, Cody Williams, Matas Buzelis, and Ron Holland, all of whom are expected to hear their names called in the top 14 picks.
Honestly, because the Jazz have so few core pieces, they need to add the best player available, regardless of position, but there’s an argument for all of the names I mentioned filling a specific need in Utah.
With that said, if the Jazz moved into the top four selections, I would strongly expect them to hold onto the pick. If they stay in the 8-10 range, I’d expect them to be involved in more pre-draft trade rumors.
If you submitted a question for this week’s mailbag on social media, listen to this week’s Jazz Notes Podcast where we addressed more of your replies.
Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
