Jazz Notes: Is Utah Going About Rebuilding The Right Way?

SALT LAKE CITY – After trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz appeared to be entering a rebuild.

Over the past year and a half, Utah hasn’t been in contention for a top-five pick though. What does this mean for the rebuild?

Do you think Lauri Markkanen will be named an All-Star this season? 👀@BensHoops and @ChandlerHoltKSL talk over this and more in this week’s episode of the Jazz Notes podcast!#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/hiC19Rt1A3

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 30, 2024

On the Jazz Notes podcast, Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt talked about the successes and failures of the Jazz’s rebuild so far.

This topic was sparked by a question in the Jazz Notes mailbag from Adam Ray King.

King asked when the Jazz front office will realize that they need to compete for a title every year to finally be named champions.

When is the Jazz front office going to realize that if they’re going to compete for a title, they need to actually compete for a title every year, since experience is the best teacher? They need to learn for themselves what it’ll take, not hope for an instant championship.

— Adam Ray King (@CrimsonMonarch8) January 30, 2024

Since moving on from their All-Star duo, the Jazz have gone 61-69.

They finished as the 12th seed last season and may potentially look to fight for a play-in tournament spot this year.

Some fans have been caught off guard by Utah’s performance and think that they are either not rebuilding right or haven’t started to rebuild.

This just isn’t the case.

The Jazz are still in a position where they can improve every year and remain competitive which benefits the younger players on the roster.

the young fellas, puttin’ on a show 🍿#TakeNote | @youngoch pic.twitter.com/RNjTRbkh70

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 30, 2024

Even though Utah hasn’t been as abysmal as Detroit or other rebuilding teams, this doesn’t mean they aren’t in the same boat.

The Jazz have the sixth-youngest roster in the NBA. In addition to this, trade rumors have been circulating some of the older players on Utah’s roster like Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson.

Utah understands as well as anyone that they will not accidentally win a championship and the road to the top is a long one.

This means that the Jazz are likely not interested in moves that will only slightly improve the roster. Unless a superstar becomes available and wants to come to Salt Lake City, Utah’s front office has its eyes set on the future.

“I don’t think maxing out your assets with mid-level players just to make the postseason year in and year out is all that beneficial,” Anderson said.

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐊𝐄𝐘 🔑

Keyonte George is headed to Indy as a 2024 Rising Star 💫 #TakeNote | @withtravelpass pic.twitter.com/8VXXgKDXBF

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 30, 2024

Luckily for the Jazz, they have a lot of young and promising pieces who could contribute to a championship team either now or in the near future.

Back to King’s question, there is no doubt that playoff experience is crucial when April and May roll around.

If Utah hopes to win a championship in five years, the two years leading up to the run need to have playoff appearances.

However, the Jazz seem to be taking things one season at a time.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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