The rebuild is over for the Jazz, who appear poised to take a significant step forward in 2026/27, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones details, Utah is excited to “finally take the shackles off” Will Hardy, whom they feel can be one of the NBA’s best head coaches, but who has been handcuffed by the team’s tanking efforts in recent years.
Hardy will be coaching a frontcourt that has the potential to be one of the league’s best, with Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler leading the way. The Jazz also have a rising star in the backcourt in Keyonte George and could have one of the best young duos in the NBA, with this year’s No. 2 overall pick joining last year’s No. 5 selection Ace Bailey.
Still, as Jones points out, the Jazz won’t be able to rest on their laurels going forward. Markkanen and Jackson are already on sizable contracts, with Kessler likely to get a lucrative new deal of his own in restricted free agency this offseason. George will also be eligible for a rookie scale extension in a matter of weeks and appears to be in line for a significant raise after increasing his scoring average to 23.6 points per game in his third season. In other words, the core of Utah’s roster will get expensive soon, so the front office will have to continue making savvy moves to supplement that core with winning role players.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Former Suns center Jusuf Nurkic raised eyebrows during an appearance on the X&Os Chat with Edin Avdic (YouTube link) when he discussed his relationship with former Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer and referred to him as an “alcohol addict” who would schedule 1-on-1 meetings with his players “just to provoke” them, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. Nurkic previously spoke about his frosty relationship with Budenholzer back when both men were still in Phoenix, with reporting at the end of the 2024/25 season indicating that the coach told the big man he was a “bad teammate.”
- The criticism that Tom Dundon has faced for the way he has run the Trail Blazers since he took control of the team earlier this spring has come as a surprise to many in the hockey world, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic, who says the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes is popular among his players and isn’t described as “cheap” by those who have worked with him in the NHL. “The fact of the matter is, he doesn’t always do things in traditional ways,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “I think in some ways he’s a bit of a disruptor, but he’s extraordinarily creative and effective. And the results in Carolina — they’re both on and off the ice.”
- Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman provides a roster primer for the Thunder as they head into a big offseason, while Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) considers what sort of moves Oklahoma City could make this summer. Gozlan speculates that four years and $104MM would be the floor for Cason Wallace on a rookie scale extension — that would put him in the range of Dyson Daniels and Christian Braun, both of whom received $25MM per year on their rookie scale extensions in 2025.
Yeesh. Nurkic talks a lot of doodoo, but that’s a bad look for Budenholzer. He did a great job in Atlanta. I’ve always assumed he was one of the leagues more skilled coaches.
He was good in Atlanta, but in Phoenix he only added to the dysfunction.
Nurkic did Budenholzer so dirty. Context is everything. Budenholzer’s brother/best friend died and that’s why he started drinking.
Nurkic is a trash person IRL, you should never think he makes a good point, he is always wrong.
It’s amazing how much insight you have into professional athletes lives outside of the game.
Why the personal attacks? I thought this was supposed to be a safe space here???
It’s amazing how far you will bend over backwards to argue literally anything I say when the facts support what I am saying.
Who am I personally attacking? No posters? I am critical of a the way a player presented this, it throws Bud under the bus without context – that’s dirty by every metric.
It’s amazing how you change the goalposts to fit whatever narrative you’re trying to make. No one is bending over backwards to argue what you are saying, just calling a spade a spade.
Calling a professional athlete a trash person IRL is attacking the player. Criticize the message and how it was conveyed, but to say that an athlete is a trash person is the literal definition of a personal attack.
Which facts are you basing your opinion on that Nurkic is a trash person IRL.
If Bud is exhibiting alcoholic behavior, throwing him under the bus is the best thing for him. Nobody ever sought help by sugarcoating things.
Nurkic is literally one of the most hated players in the NBA but when I hate on him, suddenly he is the nicest and best dude ever. Got it. Yawn.
I never said anything about Nurkic being loved or hated in the NBA. That is your issue.
If Bud does have a drinking problem, the best way to get them into recovery his throw him under the bus. They don’t get into recovery until they hit rock bottom.
Since you brought it up, what is your source for saying Nurkic is the most hated player in the NBA? You obviously must have seen some sort of survey to make that statement.
Drinking to deal with a personal problem is never a good thing. It only makes things worse. You just keep sliding. He needs to see a Therapist.
Exactly correct, and the way Nurkic is presenting it is so wrong and dirty. He shouldnt even mention it, or said “he was drinking because his brother died”
Davey, I agree with you in this case. Outing someone you dislike as an “alcohol addict” in a public interview is crass, uncaring, and kinda despicable. Anyone framing that as altruistic or what’s best for Bud in the long run does not have a realistic view on substance battles. Nurkic absolutely did not have to go there
It’s not about whether Bud has a drinking problem or not, it’s about showing some class and not blowing him up publicly.
If Bud does indeed have a drinking problem, regardless of the reason, handle it behind the scenes and maybe help him or ask the organization to get him help.
If he has a drinking problem, he needs to hit rock bottom to change. Being hush-hush about it doesn’t help him. He’ll find away around it. It helped Chris Mullin.
I’m not advocating for keeping it hush hush, I agree that he needs help if he has one. All I am saying is that Nurkic could have kept it out of the papers, taken it to team management/ownership and ask them to help. It’s the way he delivered the message, not the message itself.
Exactly on point @greg1