Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The Utah Jazz Potential 3 Point Problem

Here is the potential starting 5 I heard for the Utah Jazz this season and their perspective 3P% over the last two season:

Walker Kessler (non 3P shooter)
John Collins (32.2 3PT)
Lauri Markkanen (37.7 3PT)
Jordan Clarkson (32.7 3PT)
Collin Sexton (35.3 3PT)

That is three players shooting under 33% from 3 over the last two season, and at 35%, and one just under 38%.

That might be the worst 3-point shooting starting 5 in the entire NBA!

Last season, the Utah Jazz were starting Kelly Olynyk (shot 39.4 3PT) and Mike Conley (39.7% 3PT) along with Lauri Markkanen. So this season would a huge downgrade in spacing for the Utah Jazz is that is truly their starting lineup.

For reference, here are the two #1 seeds from last season:

Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic (38.3% 3PT)
Aaron Gordon (34.7% 3PT)
Michael Porter Jr. (41.4% 3PT)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (42.3% 3PT)
Jamal Murray (39.8% 3PT)

Not a single player under 34% 3PT. After Aaron Gordon, not a single player under 38% 3PT. NONE of the projected starting 5 for the Utah Jazz shot over 38% over the last two season.

Milwaukee Bucks.

Brook Lopez (37.4% 39T)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.5% 3PT)
Jevon Carter (42.1% 3PT)
Grayson Allen (39.9% 3PT)
Jrue Holiday (38.4% 3PT)

Four of the five players shot over 37% from three.

In today's NBA, I think the Utah Jazz will struggle to win games if they starting lineup consists of 4 players that shoot under 35% from three.

Solution?

Lets take a look at the starting lineup for the Utah Jazz at the beginning of last season when they were surprising a lot of people and winning more games than they were supposed to; before they made that big trade to send away Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley.

Jarred Vanderbilt (33.3% 3PT. Started more games than Walker Kessler despite getting traded at the deadline.)
Kelly Olynyk (39.4% 3PT. Started the most games of any Jazz player last season.)
Lauri Markkanen (same)
Jordan Clarkson (same)
Mike Conley (40.2% 3PT over the last 3 season)

In this roster, instead of a none shooter in Kessler, they had Jarred Vanderbilt who wasn't great but could knock down an open corner 3. Instead of John Collins shooting 32% 3PT, they had Kelly Olynyk shooting almost 40% 3PT. And instead of Sexton (or THT or Dunn), they had Mike Conley shooting 40% from three.

The Utah Jazz don't have Mike Conley anymore, but they still have Kelly Olynyk that started 68 games last season knocking down nearly 40% of his three.

If the Jazz started John Collins in the Jarred Vanderbilt spot with Lauri & Olynyk, bringing Walker Kessler off the bench, that would immediately make their spacing infinitely better.

Plus, another huge weakness in the original projected starting lineup is passing. Kelly Olynyk is the best passer on this Utah Jazz roster by a large margin. Putting him into the starting lineup immediately helps that huge problem too.

A third (and much smaller) reason to start Kelly Olynyk is that is spacing and passing helps other players play better on the court. So if the Utah Jazz are planning on being active at the trade deadline, starting Kelly Olynyk would help increase the value of their tradable contracts (Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, Collin Sexton...).

Friday, July 21, 2023

Grading Utah Jazz 2023 Off-season Moves

Spencer Keele 7/21/23

Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, & others watch Keytonte George in the Summer League

Drafting Taylor Hendricks #9: A+

Passing on the "obvious choice" in previous drafts always seems to backfire on the Utah Jazz. For example, the Jazz drafted Udoka Azubuike in 2020 when everybody expected them to pick Jaden McDaniels or Desmond Bane. The Utah Jazz had two "obvious choices" here, but they overthought it and took the wrong guy. (Honestly, drafting Azubuike might be the biggest reason former GM Dennis Lindsey is no longer with the Jazz and is now in the Dallas Mavericks' front office.)

I feel like Danny Ainge deserves a lot of credit for drafting Taylor Hendricks. Reaching for someone like Keyonte George or Nick Smith Jr at 9 is totally something the old Utah Jazz front office would have done.

I absolutely love that the Jazz picked the best player available at 9: the "obvious choice." Taylor Hendricks is a great defender and shooter, with awesome size, a high motor, and high character.

Drafting Keyonte George #16: A-

Tony Jones (covers the Utah Jazz and the NBA for The Athletic) says that Keyonte George was a serious contender for the Jazz at 9. I love that the Jazz still got Keyonte at 16 when they almost took him at 9!

Personally I had Cam Whitmore as my pick for the Utah Jazz at 16 but Keyonte George already seems to be proving me wrong! Keyonte looked awesome in both the SLC Summer League and the Las Vegas Summer League (before rolling his ankle). His decision making and control of the offense was amazing for a 19-year-old. He was getting teammates involved early and then was able to score when the team needed him to. He seemed to make the perfect decision with the ball everytime - whether it was to pass or shoot. He could get to the free-throw line and make his free throws. He had a great assist-to-turnover ratio. Keyonte was also noticeably improving from game to game as he diligently watched film. Many sports media members even say he looked like the BEST player in the Summer League! (To be fair it was Cam Whitmore that ended up winning the Las Vegas Summer League MVP, but who knows what would have happened in Keyonte didn't roll his ankle...)

Drafting Brice Sensabaugh #28: A+

Huge boom-or-bust potential. Brice could easily be the steal of the draft. Honestly this was the player I would have picked at #28. To me, Brice looked like a mix of "scrappy James Harden" & "3-point shooting DeMar DeRozan" in college. He has an amazing ability to score and can do it in so many ways. He can get his shot off against anybody. Amazing jump shot that is just un-guardable. Can get to the rim with ease. He shot over 40% from 3. He looks effortless when getting to his spots like James Harden. And he was able to do that on an Ohio State team that had very bad spacing. He could really explode on a team with great spacing like the Utah Jazz.

Brice was seen as the 3rd best shooter in the entire draft and he is an underrated passer. Brice was a lot higher than #28 on many draft boards. In fact, the Utah Jazz say that as Brice began to fall down the draft, a lot of teams started calling the Utah Jazz trying to move up.

If his scoring and shooting can translate to the NBA level, Brice Sensabaugh could be a superstar in my opinion.

Trading for John Collins: A

The Jazz were in the perfect position to take a gamble on a large contract that a team wanted to get off of, like John Collins, and try to build value.

If the Utah Jazz are able to build John Collins' value, he could end up being a nice trade piece or even better, John Collins could end up being a long term piece on this Utah Jazz roster. At still only 25-years-old, the 6'9" Collins has seen his numbers drop consistently over the last four seasons. And coming off a nasty finger injury, John Collins is hoping to show that he can get back to his 2020 numbers when he averaged nearly 22 PPG on 40% 3PT (as opposed to the 13 PPG on 29% 3PT last season). The cost of trading for John Collins besides taking on the contract? Rudy Gay & a 2nd. So practically free. The Jazz might have been willing to give a 2nd round pick to get off of Rudy Gay's contract honestly. (The Hawks ended up re-trading Rudy Gay and now Gay has been waived by the Thunder and has yet to sign with another team.)

Extending Jordan Clarkson: B

The Clarkson’s extension feels... anticlimactic. The Utah Jazz traded Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and 2 second round picks at the trade deadline for 1 protected first round pick and the opportunity to buy out Russell Westbrook so they can have a lot of cap space this offseason. And how do they use a huge chunk of the freed-up cap space? To restructure Jordan Clarkson's contract to give him a lot more money next year and then extend him beyond next season.

This feels like the Jazz stuck out in free agency and had nothing to do with all that cap space they traded Mike Conley for so they ended up overpaying Jordan Clarkson as plan B (or more like plan Z).

To be fair, I actually love how the contract is structured: with almost 50% of the three year deal frontloaded into the 1st year. It is a good value contract! Especially as time goes on.

The problem is that Jordan Clarkson is just not a good fit for this current Jazz roster: he is a bad 3pt shooter / bad defense who’s best skill by far is getting his own bucket in isolation. The Jazz need their younger point guards / combo guards (Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Talen Horton-Tucker, etc.) to get reps - not watch Jordan Clarkson in isolation. The Jazz need veterans who can space the floor for their younger players, play defense, and/or pass the ball. A veteran bucket-getter is the last thing this young roster needs.

On the positive side, the Utah Jazz are in "asset accumulation mode" right now. They aren't looking for perfect roster fits since they aren't quite contenders yet - so getting Jordan Clarkson on a good value contract is a good move; even if he's not a good fit with the rest of the roster.

Jordan Clarkson is also well liked in Utah by the Jazz front office and is a fan favorite, so keeping him around goes beyond his fit with the roster or overall talent. A lot of people in Utah are very happy that Jordan Clarkson will be returning to the Utah Jazz next season.

As potential long-term fit with this Jazz roster: Jordan Clarkson actually showed signs of being a good facilitator at the start of last season. While the Utah Jazz don't need a veteran bucket-getting SG, they really missed Mike Conley's veteran presence as a facilitating PG after he was traded at last season's trade deadline. If Clarkson can find a way to become more of a combo guard that efficiently runs an offense that doesn't turn the ball over too much (like he was at the beginning of last season), instead of being a bucket-seeking, turnover prone SG (like he reverted back to after the first 15-20 games last season), perhaps he actually could be a good fit with this new look young Jazz roster after all.

If not, at least JC's contract should be enticing at the Trade Deadline and is overall good value for any team.

Saturday, November 12, 2022

4 Anthony Davis hypothetical trades

The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They can't tank because the Pelicans own their draft swap.

They can't trade soon-to-be 38-yr-old LeBron James this season because of the extension he signed in the offseason.

They can't get anything of value for Russell Westbrook without attaching their future 1st round draft picks, and even so, their options are not good.

That leaves 1 option left.

Trade Anthony Davis.

And, as one Twitter account puts it, "Anthony Davis looking like someone who doesn't want to be a Laker anymore"

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1589853712671199232?s=20&t=fE_pkFYUgLOAf94EGiWlAg

There would be a lot of interested in AD if the Lakers were to make him available. And the Lakers should be able to get back some decent pieces.

4 teams that I think should be interested in most AD that have pieces that could intrigue the Lakers:

Bulls
Knicks
Nets
Blazers

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls are very interesting for a lot of reasons. First of all, Anthony Davis if from Chicago and grew up there. Also, the Bulls nearly traded Zach LaVine in the offseason. And they were also having discussion with the Utah Jazz about Rudy Gobert. Also they have former Lakers on their team that LeBron liked playing with and can stretch the floor (Alex Caruso & Lonzo Ball)

Some trades that would work finically to send Anthony Davis to Chicago:

Zach Lavine straight up for AD (LaVine cannot be traded until January 15th)
Nikola Vucevic + Lonzo Ball
Nikola Vucevic + Alex Caruso + Patrick Williams
Lonzo Ball + Alex Caruso + Patrick Williams

Personally, I would love to see AD playing for him hometown Chicago, and Alex Caruso back on the Lakers with LeBron James.

New York Knicks

The Knicks, once again, find themselves the middle of the pack in the NBA. Too good to get a high draft pick, but not good enough to actually compete for a championship. Adding Anthony Davis could be the piece that puts them into serious contention.

And the Knicks certainly have a lot of pieces they could put together and plenty of picks to choose from to put together pretty much whatever offer the Lakers would want.

Pretty much pick two of: Fournier, Rose, Robinson, Randle, Hartenstein

Plus any combination of: Grimes, Toppin, Quickley, Reddish

*Hartenstein cant be traded til Dec 15
*Robinson can't be traded til Jan 15

If it was something like Hartenstein + Fournier + Grimes + Reddish, the Lakers would all of a sudden get much younger, much deeper, and much better at shooting. And the Knicks will have added superstar Anthony Davis without even giving one of their core players (Brunson, Barrett, Randle, or Robinson). Plus they'd still have Rose, Toppin, and Quickley.

Brooklyn Nets

This one would be a blockbuster trade for sure. If the rumors are true that the Nets are done with Kyrie Irving and frustrated with Ben Simmons.

Anthony Davis + Russell Westbrook for Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons??

LeBron James has always liked both Kyrie and Simmons so I could see that working. The Nets get out of both Kyrie and Simmons with one trade and bring back Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to pay with Kevin Durant.

It works financially, but at the same time, the Nets would be adding $12.6M extra in salary. So the Lakers could ask for another shooter in the deal like Seth Curry, Royce O'Neale, or Joe Harris into the deal as well to make the salary closer and perhaps make the deal more fair.

Portland Trail Blazers

Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons' contract combined matches exactly Anthony Davis. But neither can be traded until January 15th.

They could also look into players like Josh Hart and Gary Payton II.

Saturday, June 11, 2022

4 Reasons Why Mike D'Antoni is Perfect for the Utah Jazz

5 days ago, Quin Snyder stepped down as head coach of the Utah Jazz after 8 seasons.

Since then, there have already been 14(!) candidates confirmed for an interviewed with the Utah Jazz (LINK). Bryant, Hardy, Lee, Mazzulla, Jensen, Stotts, Vogel, Skeeter, Quinn, Griffin, Young, Sweeney, Allen, and Terry. And if you count the Fizdale rumors that's 15 candidates.

With such a wide net, there is one name that I cannot believe isn't on this list yet:

Mike D'Antoni.

And today, it was announced that D'Antoni officially would not get the Charlotte Hornets job (Kenny Atkinson named HC). So maybe the Jazz have been waiting to reach out to D'Anotni while he was finalist for the Hornets job?

Personally, I believe Mike D'Antoni is the perfect head coach for the Utah Jazz at this time. He checks every box the Jazz are looking for.

The Utah Jazz want a head coach who can manage "chaos" aka manage the different personalities of the players on the Jazz. They want someone who is willing to work and is willing to work together. They want someone who will help Donovan Mitchell to be the best he can be. And they want someone who will win playoffs games.

Reason #1 - Managing Chaos

In an recent interview with David Locke, The Jazz CEO Danny Ainge talked about the head coaching search. A word he kept using was "chaos."

(here is a LINK to that interview)

Danny Ainge: "It's complex, and you also have to be able to manage chaos. Everybody wants a beautifully run machine; but my NBA experiences tells me that most of the great players & most of the great teams I've been around are mostly chaos. Managing an entire organization, all that it entails, from medical staffs to training staffs to travel, which hotel, and 17 players and their agents... you're managing a lot of chaos. And sometimes you have to focus on some of the chaos as opposed to the just basketball. It would be nice if I could just concentrate on which offense we're going to run tonight for the game but the job is much, much bigger than that."

Mike D'Antoni has more success "managing chaos" than any other available candidate.

In his first head coaching job, with the Phoenix Suns, D'Antoni made deep playoff runs between 2005-2007. D'Antoni was managing all sorts of wild personalities on those teams. Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Amar'e Soudemire, Steven Nash, Shawn Marion, etc. He was able to put together incredible successful playoff runs.

In his last head coaching job, the Houston Rockets, he was also managing some big personalities. Particularly James Harden and Chris Paul who didn't get along. Yet, the Rockets are the only team to have ever pushed the Steph Curry / Kevin Durant Warriors to 7 games. And they might have won if Chris Paul didn't get hurt after going up 3-2.

In that same interview, Danny Ainge talked about Doc Rivers. Ainge said Doc Rivers impressed him with that he "had command of the locker room even with strong personalities... Doc was in charge of that team." Ainge also mentions Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr "being able to manage all of the personalities, especially on the NBA level where there's big egos and big dreams and All Star appearances lead to millions of more dollars. It's complex."

Mike D'Antoni is the only available head coach that was shown he can do that.

Reason #2 - Someone that's willing to work and willing to work together.

Danny Ainge also said that an important characteristic of a head coach is "A partner. Someone you can work with. That you can build something special together." Ainge then said one of the biggest things that made Doc Rivers and Brad Stevens successful was "our relationship and our willingness to work together."

Let's be honest. At 71-years-old, Mike D'Antoni is likely looking for his last head coaching job. D'Antoni isn't looking to prove himself for a next job. He isn't looking to make name for himself. He's looking to be the best head coach he can be, probably for the last time. Because of that, I believe D'Antoni extremely willing to work with Danny Ainge and the Jazz front office. At this point in his career, I think he truly just wants to win. There's nothing else to prove.

Danny Ainge says later in the interview: "I want a coach with integrity that's willing to work and that's willing to work together. Someone that understands that it's bigger than 'his' program and that we have to work together to have success. I want a coach that knows how hard he has to work and has a hunger and is going to give all that he has to the franchise and to his players."

I am not sure if Mike D'Antoni in the past would understand "it's bigger than his program." But at 71-years-old, again, this would likely be his last stop as a head coach, so I would expect that he would put everything he has into this last stop. D'Antoni would be willing to give all that he has to make this work, while also being willing to work together with the Utah Jazz front office.

And some people might point to age being a problem. But in this case, I think the experience is only a benefit. The Jazz have Donovan Mitchell under contract for three more seasons. In my opinion, finding "the next Jerry Sloan" who will be the Jazz head coach for the next 20+ years is way down the list in terms of importance. The Jazz need someone that will have success with Donovan Mitchell now. Which brings me to my next point.

Reason #3 - MVP Donovan Mitchell

This one is simple. The Utah Jazz want to build around Donovan Mitchell.

Offensive minded guards are Mike D'Antoni's specialty.

Steve Nash's only two MVP awards came during the four seasons he played under Mike D'Antoni.
James Harden's only MVP came during the four seasons he played under Mike D'Antoni.

You want to build a team around an offensive minded guard? Mike D'Antoni.

Reason #4 - Proven Success.

A lot of people love to say "D'Antoni is a great regular season coach but is a bad playoff coach." That's completely unfair. D'Antoni has done extremely well in the playoffs. But he might be the most unluckily coach of all time.

The Utah Jazz want to build around Donovan Mitchell and win now with Donovan Mitchell. If winning is what they want, they should hire the available coach that is best at winning.

Here's Mike D'Antoni's 5 best teams and how they ultimately fell short:

2005. Western Conference Finals. First year of D'Antoni's head coaching career. Ran into the best team of the 2000s right in their prime; the San Antonio Spurs (Duncan/Manu/Parker/Horry). Also, Suns' lead player in minutes all season Joe Johnson missed the first two games.
2006. Western Conference Finals. All-Star Amar'e Staudamire missed the entire season and playoffs. After going up 1-0, Raja Bell also got hurt and missed two games. Mavs took advantage of the Suns missing two starters and went up 2-1. Bell tried to play through injury, but Dallas ended up winning in 6.
2007. Western Conference Semifinals. Ran into the best team of the 2000s right in their prime again. But this time, the Suns should have won. The Mavs had been upset by the 8th seeded Warriors and the East was weak. Although this was just a "semifinals," everyone (correctly) suspected the winner of this series was going to win the whole thing. Tied 2-2 going back to Phoenix for game 5, both Amar'e Staudamire and Boris Diaw received a one-game suspension for “immediate vicinity of their bench,” after Robert Horry "hip checked" Steve Nash into the stands. A rule that was immediate changed after this because of how bad it was. The Spurs barely beat the short handed Suns 88-85, and then finished them off in San Antonio in game 6.
2018. Western Conference Finals. Going against what I believe to be the greatest team ever assembled (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguadala, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green), Mike D'Antoni's Rockets were up 3-2 and Chris Paul got hurt. On top of missing Chris Paul, they went completely ice cold in game 7, missing 27 consecutive 3-pointers.
2019. Western Conference semifinals. Lost again to the greatest team ever assembled. I cannot call losing to the 2018 and 2019 Warriors a "failure."

If we're being honestly, untimely injuries and two ridiculous "letter of the law" suspensions probably cost D'Antoni multiple championships.

Also, again, I can't call running into the prime Duncan/Manu/Parker Spurs (twice) and the Curry/Klay/Durant/Draymond Warriors (twice) a "failure."

Mike D'Antoni is not a bad playoff coach. He might be the unlucky playoff coach though.

Conclusion

The Utah Jazz need someone who can manage the chaos, is willing to work with the front office, will unlock Donovan Mitchell's potential, and will win playoff games.

Mike D'Antoni is the one for the job.

Friday, June 10, 2022

Every Candidate For The Utah Jazz Head Coach Offseason 2022

Here is a list of coaches the Utah Jazz are going to interview so far since they started looking (3 days ago)

Johnnie Bryant

36-years-old
Jazz assistant 2014-2020
Knicks assistant 2020-present

Will Hardy

34-years-old
Spurs assistant 2013-2021
Celtics assistant 2021-current

Charles Lee

37-years-old
Hawks assistant 2014-2018
Bucks assistant 2018-present

Joe Mazzulla

33-years-old
Celtics assistant 2019-present

Alex Jensen

46-years-old
Jazz assistant 2013-present

Terry Stotts

64-years-old
Hawks Head Coach 2002-2005
Bucks Head Coach 2005-2007
Trailblazers Head Coach 2012-2021

Frank Vogel

48-years-old
Pacers Head Coach 2011-2016
Magic Head Coach 2016-2018
Lakers Head Coach 2019-2022

Lamar Skeeter

33-years-old
Jazz assistant 2015-present

Chris Quinn

38-years-old
Heat assistant 2014-present

Adrian Griffin

47-years-old
Bucks assistant 2008-2010
Bulls assistant 2010-2015
Magic assistant 2015-2016
Thunder assistant 2016-2018
Raptors assistant 2018-present

Kevin Young

40-years-old
Born Salt Lake City Utah
76ers assistant 2017-2020
Suns assistant 2020-2021
Suns associate 2021-present

Sean Sweeney

38-years-old
Nets assistant 2013-2014
Bucks assistant 2014-2018
Pistons assistant 2018-2021
Mavericks assistant 2021-present

Jerome Allen

49-years-old
Celtics assistant 2015-2021
Pistons assistant 2021-present

Jason Terry

44-years-old
NBA player 1999-2018
Sixth Man of the Year 2009

Sam Cassell

52-years-old
NBA player 1993-2008
3x NBA champion (1994, 1995, 2008)
NBA All-Star (2004)
Wizards assistant 2009-2014
Clippers assistant 2014-2020
76ers assistant 2020-present

Bonus: David Fizdale*

*This one hasn't been confirmed. Just "sources."

47-years-old
Grizzlies Head Coach 2016-2017
Knicks Head Coach 2018-2019
Lakers assistant 2021-present

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Utah Jazz 2022 Offseason 4 Options: Option 4 - Tank Next Year

After losing to the Mavericks in the 1st round of the playoffs, the Utah Jazz must face reality: they are not a Tier 1 team and they are not going to get better with time. They must make a big change.

And they only have four options:

Option 1: Fix their biggest problems while keeping Rudy Gobert & Donovan Mitchell (if possible). READ HERE

Option 2: Trade Rudy Gobert & do a mini-rebuild around Donovan Mitchell. READ HERE

Option 3: Trade Donovan Mitchell for an aging superstar for ~2 year championship window (if possible). READ HERE

Option 4: Tank.

Option 4: Tank to get the player you want and bribe the commissioner to make sure you get the #1 overall draft pick.

Comp: 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs / 2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers

In the 1996-97 NBA season, David Robinson was recovering from a fractured foot. After it healed in January, he played six game, then the Spurs shut him down for the rest of the season. They were horrible the rest of the season and ended up getting the #1 overall pick - Tim Duncan. They finished 13th in the West (they were the 2nd seed in the West the year before).

In the 2002-2003 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished season with a record of 17-65, their worst record since 1982. Just in time to get the #1 overall pick so they could draft Cleveland native LeBron James.

The Utah Jazz have NEVER had the #1 overall pick, and they had the #2 pick just one time (1980 - Darrell Griffith).

Maybe it's time to change that?

If the Jazz can't get to where they want to be this offseason through Option 1, Option 2, or Option 3, then it's time to tank.

And honestly, 2022-23 is shaping up to be a pretty good year to tank.

First of all, there's not many tanking teams this year. The Thunder will be tanking again. Same with the Rockets. Probably the Magic. Maybe the Knicks? I don't think the Pistons will take this season. Aka: the Utah Jazz would easily be a bottom 4 team in the NBA this year if they trade their vets for future picks.

Secondly, This is supposedly a deep draft class. Is projected #1 Victor Wembanyama "that dude"? Is he a Tim Duncan or LeBron James can't miss player? Is it worth throwing away a season to try for him? Are there other franchise-caliber players in this class?

Does tanking even work?

6 out of 8 playoff teams say yes.

6 of the 8 current playoff teams have a player they drafted in the top #3 since 2014!

The Phoenix Suns starting center Deandre Ayton was the 2018 #1 overall pick.
The Dallas Mavericks best player Luka Doncic was the 2018 #3 pick.
The Memphis Grizzlies best player Ja Morant was the 2019 #2 pick and their 2nd best player Jaren Jackson Jr. was the 2018 #4 pick.
The Boston Celtics best player Jayson Tatum was the 2017 #3 pick and their 2nd best player Jaylen Brown was the 2016 #3 pick .
The Philadelphia 76ers best player Joel Embiid was the #3 pick in 2014. And their second best player James Harden they got by trading their 2016 #1 overall pick Ben Simmons.
The Warriors tanked just two years ago and got James Wiseman with the #2 overall pick.

Whereas the Utah Jazz haven't had a top 4 draft pick since 2011 (when they blew it on Enes Kanter) and in 2005 (Deron Williams - the last guy to take the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals).

I think it is safe to say that Tanking can be an effective long term strategy.

Options 2, 3, & 4

If the Jazz don't want to tank, they will need to pull off one of these three options instead:

Click HERE for Option 1 - Getting better while keeping Gobert & Mitchell (if possible).

Click HERE for Option 2 - Trade Rudy Gobert.

Click HERE for Option 3 - Trade Donovan Mitchell in a trade that improves their chances of winning now.

Utah Jazz 2022 Offseason 4 Options: Option 3 - Trade Donovan Mitchell

And they only have four options:

Option 1: Fix their biggest problems while keeping Rudy Gobert & Donovan Mitchell (if possible). READ HERE

Option 2: Trade Rudy Gobert & do a mini-rebuild around Donovan Mitchell. READ HERE

Option 3: Trade Donovan Mitchell for an aging superstar for ~2 year championship window - if possible (this article).

Option 4: Tank next year. READ HERE

Option 3: Trade Donovan Mitchell

Comp: 2018 Toronto Raptors

If the Utah Jazz choose to keep Rudy Gobert and trade Donovan Mitchell, that means their window becomes much smaller. Rudy Gobert is turning 30 this year. If you keep Gobert, trading Donovan Mitchell for draft picks and undeveloped players is unacceptable. This would guarantee wasting the rest of Rudy Gobert's prime.

They have to upgrade their current roster if they are going to keep Gobert. Like the Toronto Raptors trading DeMar DeRozan for 1 year of Kawhi Leonard and helped Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol win a championship.

If the Jazz want to keep Gobert and trade Mitchell, the Jazz will need to look for a trading partner who is wanting to trade an aging and/or disgruntled superstar for the 25-year-old Donovan Mitchell.

Lets take a look at four aging superstars that might fit the criteria:

1. LeBron James

Stephen A Smith said on his ESPN show First Take last week that he believes the Lakers should considering trading LeBron James. Stephen A believes the Lakers should call the Utah Jazz and offer LeBron for Mitchell (LINK).

And the more I think about it, the more I love it for LeBron James.

First of all, this would only be for 1-2 seasons. LeBron wouldn't even have to sell his Los Angeles house!

Secondly, the Lakers are not going to be legit contenders next season. They dug themselves into a hole when they gambled with Russell Westbrook. Now they are stuck next year. LeBron coming to the Utah Jazz next season would significantly increase LeBron's chances at winning ring #5.

Thirdly, Dwyane Wade is a part-owner of the Utah Jazz. D Wade and LBJ are famously besties. They
would be able to spend a lot of time together during the season trying to win a championship for Utah and banana boating in the Great Salt Lake.

Fourthly, this is a "Low Risk / High Reward" opportunity. It would probably be the least pressure to win that LeBron has had in over a decade. If LeBron gets traded to Utah and falls short of a championship, who cares? It's Utah. But if LeBron comes to Utah and wins a championship, it would be a huge add to the GOAT argument. Utah has never won a championship. And honestly, if he helped the Jazz win a championship, the Jazz would probably retire his jersey number, build a statue of him, and officially declare June 23rd "LeBron James Day" (6/23).

Fifthly, LeBron James would fit perfectly right into the Utah Jazz lineup. Without even making any moves, you are looking at a line up of:

PG: Mike Conley

SG: Danuel House

SF: Bojan Bogdanovic

PF: LeBron James

C: Rudy Gobert

6M: Jordan Clarkson

And with LeBron James on the team, the Jazz should be able to get a good MLE (Bruce Brown?) and a good Vets Min (Otto Porter?). Plus they could trade their 2026 1st rounder for another piece at the trade deadline.

After become a deity in Utah, LeBron would be a Free Agent and could sign right back with the Lakers. Bronny will be of age by that time too. So LeBron Sr. and LeBron Jr. can join Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, and whoever else the Lakers got during the hiatus and LeBron probably wins ring #6 (helloooo Michael Jordan!).

2. Paul George

I heard this one suggested on a YouTube channel called "NoDunks Inc." (LINK)

Paul George, like LeBron James, would seamlessly fit right into the Utah Jazz lineup. He is 32 years old and often injured, but this gives the Jazz exactly what they would be looking for in Donovan Mitchell trade; a two year window of legit title contending with Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley.

Plus, Paul George would get something he's never had: an legit title contending team in which he is the #1 guy (not that there's anything wrong with being Robin to Kawhi Leonard).

3. Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler's remaining time with the Heat started to come in to question after we saw THIS heated argument during the game with Erik Spoelstra. Players had to holding both Jimmy Butler and Coach Spoelstra back. They were ready to fight!

If the Heat don't make it out of the East this year, they may be looking to get younger from Jimmy Butler. And Miami has been maybe the most talked team surrounding Donovan Mitchell besides the Knicks.

Butler would also seamlessly fit right into the Jazz veteran lineup. And his work ethic and passion would really benefit this Jazz team.

And in this scenario, I wouldn't be surprised if the Jazz could get back another good player back as well with Butler for Mitchell. If I were Utah, I would ask for Tyler Herro first and see if we can't figure out some kind of Butler/Herro deal. If no, I would ask for Max Strus with Butler.

4. Damian Lillard

The Trailblazers need to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror and decide what they are going to do this offseason. Without Damian Lillard, they are probably the worst team in the entire NBA. They are nowhere near near title contention. Besides soon-to-be-32-years-old Dame Lillard, they only have young, undeveloped players.

Portland needs to get some legit help this offseason to justify keeping Dame Lillard.

If not, for the good of the organization and for the good of Dame himself: TRADE HIM TO A CONTENDER!!!

Jazz fans have always has a soft spot for Damian Lillard - ever since his college days at Utah's Weber State University. Also, Dame dropping random 'love kernels' throughout his career about Utah being one of his favorite places, like this tweet from 2017 when a fan asked Lillard "if you had the opportunity to sign with any team in the league today other than trailblazers what team would it be?" and Dame responded with "If blazers said they didn't want me... Utah Jazz or Lakers."

Dame coming to the Jazz would feel like a player coming home.

And Dame fits the Jazz's window of ~2 years of elite contention.

However, Unlike the other three player mentioned, Lillard doesn't "fit perfectly" into the current linup. Acquiring Lillard would mean the Jazz to also trade their current starting veteran point guard Mike Conley. Maybe to make salaries work, the Blazers would do a Mitchell+Conley for Lillard+Josh Hart deal? If not, the Jazz would look to move Mike in a separate deal with a different team as soon as possible.

Here is a "blow it up" trade getting a huge haul in picks from the Houston Rockets (LINK)

Erik Walden, Utah Jazz writer for the Sale Lake Tribune, proposed "Houston gets to kick-start its rebuild with a bonafide star, while Utah blows it up, adding last year’s No. 2 pick, this year’s No. 3, and a couple of big men with upside besides."

Rockets get: Donovan Mitchell

Jazz get: Jalen Green, Christian Wood, Usman Garuba, No. 3 pick in 2022 draft, Brooklyn’s 2024 first-round pick

Or this crazy 5 team trade

The reasoning: The number 1 team that Donovan Mitchell has been linked to is the New York Knicks. However that has seemed very unlikely given the fact the Knicks don't have what the Utah Jazz want. To make that work, you would have to find a 3rd team that has a high draft pick that is interested in Julius Randle (like the Trailblazers LINK). Then, find a 4th team that is interested in Mike Conley (like the Clippers). And preferably a 5th team for Bogdanovic. The Jazz get 6 first round draft picks between Mitchell, Conley, and Bogdanovic. That's a bit hefty, but it gets Mitchell on the Knicks.