Community Shootaround: Utah Jazz
When our readers voted on teams’ win totals for the 2022/23 season in September, the Jazz were given an over/under of 25.5 wins and voters overwhelmingly took the “under” on that number. After trading away Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Royce O’Neale in the offseason, Utah was considered one of the frontrunners in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, with a good chance to be a bottom-five team in the NBA.
Instead, three weeks into the regular season, the Jazz hold the top spot in the Western Conference, with their 9-3 record putting them a full game ahead of Phoenix, Denver, and Portland, all of whom are 7-3.
And it’s not as if Utah has been beating up on fellow lottery-bound teams. The Jazz have road wins in Minnesota, New Orleans, and Los Angeles (over both the Lakers and Clippers). They’ve beaten Memphis twice and Denver once, and they’re undefeated (5-0) at home.
As Ryan McDonald of The Deseret News notes, the Jazz’s offense has been one of the NBA’s best, ranking third in the league in points per 100 possessions. And that offensive production is coming from newcomers and incumbents alike.
Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton, acquired in the Mitchell blockbuster, are two of the team’s top three scorers, with Markkanen (21.9 PPG) leading the way. Jordan Clarkson (18.3 PPG on .444/.421/.731 shooting) and Mike Conley (12.5 PPG, 7.5 APG, .426 3PT%) have also been important contributors, with Kelly Olynyk, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt playing key roles too.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the fact that the Jazz are having some success instead of bottoming out in the early part of the season hasn’t come as a surprise to Utah players, who believed there was still plenty of talent on the revamped roster.
“We just kind of looked around (in training camp) and said we’re not anything what they say we are,” Conley said. “We have too many good players to tank. We knew from day one. This wasn’t a rebuild. We told ourselves that we aren’t that bad, and the guys locked in on that. We had a collective belief system and we knew we had a chance to have a good start.”
“Mike was preaching that to us,” Sexton told Jones. “It gave us a lot of confidence. Plus, there were so many people writing us off that we wanted to come out and play with a chip on our shoulders.”
Conley, who describes the Jazz as “gritty and mean and carefree at the same time,” joked to Tim MacMahon of ESPN that if the front office wants to lose, “They’ve got to get rid of me too.” While the veteran guard made the statement in jest, it raises an interesting question: What’s next for the NBA’s most surprising team?
If CEO Danny Ainge, general manager Justin Zanik, and Jazz management are committed to securing a top pick in the 2023 draft, perhaps more moves could be coming — Clarkson and Conley are the returning veterans who are the most obvious trade candidates, and it’s possible the team could flip some of the newly added pieces, such as Olynyk and Beasley.
But continuing the roster teardown would risk upsetting the positive culture and chemistry that new head coach Will Hardy and the new Jazzmen are building in Utah. Perhaps the front office will look at the roster, recognize there’s still not enough talent there to make the Jazz a legitimate contender this season, and count on the team coming down to earth on its own after a hot start.
Remaining in the play-in mix for the rest of the season could create some positive vibes heading into 2023/24 while still putting the team in position to land a pick in the top half of what should be a deep 2023 draft.
We want to know what you think. How real is this 9-3 start in Utah? Can the Jazz be a playoff team this season? Should they stick to their offseason plan and keep selling, or is standing pat (or even exploring buying) the right call at this point?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Mike Conley Thought He'd Be Traded To Clippers
- Jazz point guard Mike Conley believed at one point during the offseason that he was headed to Los Angeles, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones reports, Conley received a message from someone he trusted saying that he could be traded to the Clippers, but the team ultimately signed John Wall instead to fortify the point guard spot.
Jazz Notes: Horton-Tucker, Clarkson, Alexander-Walker, Vanderbilt
This year’s Lakers Night at Dodger Stadium included an unexpected surprise for Talen Horton-Tucker, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Horton-Tucker was at the ballpark for the August promotion when news broke that he was being sent to the Jazz as part of a trade for Patrick Beverley. The deal ended his time in L.A. just one season after re-signing as a restricted free agent.
A second-round pick in 2019, Horton-Tucker spent three seasons with the Lakers and earned rotation minutes during the last two. He won a championship ring in 2020 and said he learned a lot by breaking into the NBA on a team with so many established veterans.
“Just being able to be around great players, just coming into the league with an understanding of how to work hard, how to become a star in the NBA,” Horton-Tucker said. “Being able to be around them guys, I appreciate it. I appreciate (the Lakers), too. Just welcoming me with open arms, even (LeBron James) texts me to this day, wishing me luck and stuff like that.”
Unlike the Lakers, Utah isn’t built around stars, especially after parting with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in offseason trades. Horton-Tucker believes part of the explanation for the team’s 7-3 start is that so many players are eager to show what they can do.
“I feel like guys are hungry to prove they’re good,” he said. “And I feel like we know that we’re good. We got NBA players. So we feel like we can compete with pretty much anybody. So being able to have a team like that, to have an attitude coming into games adds to everything else.”
There’s more on the Jazz:
- After seeing Gobert and Mitchell moved, Jordan Clarkson thought he might be next to go, per Mark Medina of NBA.com. Clarkson prefers to stay in Utah, but adds that he doesn’t get fazed by trade rumors. “I don’t really care about that stuff,” he said. “I just come out and hoop. If I have another jersey on tomorrow, I’ll still try to impact the game and try to win.”
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker played fewer than eight minutes in Friday’s win over the Lakers, but he scored five important points and helped stave off an L.A. run, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. In a season where he already has four DNPs, Alexander-Walker is learning the importance of taking advantage of whatever opportunities arise. The Jazz traded for him in February, but didn’t give him an extension on his rookie contract, so he’ll be a free agent in July. “I can’t worry about next summer until it gets here,” he said. “Nobody is promised tomorrow, so I think we all have to try and stay in the moment. I’m confident in myself and what I can do. I try to have a Kobe mentality on always being focused mentally. I have great agents that I put my trust in. So, I just want to come out and play hard whenever I have the chance.”
- Teammates say Jarred Vanderbilt is a “maniac” in his approach to rebounding and compare him to Dennis Rodman, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.
Mitchell Not Surprised By Jazz's Success
- The revamped Jazz have surprised a lot of people but not one of their former All-Stars. Donovan Mitchell says Utah still has plenty of talent, the Cavs guard told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “They got hoopers,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know why everybody was so quick to write them off. I think they got phenomenal leaders in that locker room. Mike Conley is a phenomenal leader. Jordan Clarkson is a phenomenal leader. Then they got Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen, guys who can really go … Malik Beasley. Like, they’re just not some slump. They have guys that can really go.”
Jazz Notes: Sexton, Conley, NAW, Bolmaro, Strong Start
Jazz point guard Mike Conley has taken new teammate Collin Sexton under his wing and is helping him see the game in a new way, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. With 16-year veteran Conley held out of the second game of a back-to-back set, Sexton received his first start of the 2022/23 season in Saturday’s win over Memphis, recording 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and four assists in nearly 32 minutes.
“We’ll walk through, and he’ll be like, ‘Alright, what are you doing in this situation?’ And I’ll let him know, and then he’ll be like, ‘Well, in this situation, I think you should do this. Just try it,’” Sexton explained. “During the game, he’ll be like, ‘OK, you got to the basket — now let’s see if you can pitch [the ball] behind two or three times.’ And I’ll do it. And then he’s like, ‘Alright, now the next time, try to see if you can get all the way there [to the rim].’ It’s opening my mind to multiple ways of playing, and also multiple ways of seeing the game, too. I know he sees it from a different angle than I do.”
As Walden writes, the Jazz have been cautious not to overextend Sexton after he only played 11 games last season with a torn meniscus, which required surgery. He’s technically not on a minutes restriction, but that’s partly why he’s only averaging 19.0 MPG.
Sexton is eager to prove his worth after inking a four-year, $71MM deal as part of the Donovan Mitchell sign-and-trade with Cleveland, but he recognizes he’ll have more opportunities as the season goes on, per Walden.
“Just giving [it all in] the time that I’m out there and just making an impact. And I might play four-minute spurts, so in those four minutes, giving it all I can, whether it’s pressuring the ball or pushing the ball and changing the pace of the game, whether it’s on the defensive side or offensive side,” Sexton said. “Just trying to use the little time that I’m given just to make sure that they know I’m out there, you know what I mean? Because I know once the season continues to go, more minutes, more time [will come].“
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Little-used guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker got an opportunity for extended run with Conley sidelined against the Grizzlies, and he showed that he can be a positive player when given the opportunity, writes Sarah Todd of The Desert News. Alexander-Walker played solid defense against Desmond Bane and Hardy was pleased with his effort, as Todd relays. “He came in with such a fire,” head coach Will Hardy said of Alexander-Walker. “He really got into the ball with Desmond Bane and I think he got two steals on the ball, just taking the dribble. He has really good instincts and really long arms and he did a good job of just trying to speed up their ball handlers, which I thought was great…It’s a difficult situation. He hasn’t played that much and he got thrown into a big game with Mike out, and I thought he handled himself great.”
- Second-year guard Leandro Bolmaro, who recently had his third-year option declined by Utah, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is out for Monday’s game against Memphis, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Rudy Gay and Simone Fontecchio are still in the protocols. Rookie center Walker Kessler (non-COVID illness) has also been ruled out for the contest, according to Jones (Twitter link).
- How have the Jazz gotten off to a 5-2 start? Tony Jones tackles that topic for The Athletic, concluding that the team’s depth, offensive pressure, floor spacing, and key adjustments from head coach Will Hardy have been instrumental to the surprising seven-game stretch.
Jazz To Decline Rookie Scale Options For Azubuike, Bolmaro
The Jazz won’t pick up the fourth-year option for Udoka Azubuike or the third-year option for Leandro Bolmaro, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Both players will become unrestricted free agents next July.
Azuibuike would have earned $3,923,484 during the 2023/24 season and Bolmaro would have received $2,588,400. The deadline for rookie scale option decisions is Monday, and those are the only two that Utah faces.
Azubuike, a 23-year-old center, was selected by the Jazz with the 27th pick in the 2020 draft. He has dealt with injuries during his brief NBA career and has played a total of 33 games, including one this season. The former Kansas standout is averaging 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game.
Bolmaro, a 22-year-old swingman, was acquired from the Timberwolves this summer in the Rudy Gobert trade. He appeared in 35 games for Minnesota last season and two so far with Utah, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per night. He was the 23rd pick in 2020, but didn’t come to the NBA until 2021.
Agbaji, Bolmaro Get First Extended Run For Jazz
- Ochai Agbaji and Leandro Bolmaro, two young players acquired in Utah’s blockbuster summer trades, got their first extended run with the Jazz on Friday night, as Sarah Todd of The Deseret News details. Agabaji scored nine points in 19 minutes, while Bolmaro flashed promising play-making and defense and was a plus-16 in 15 minutes. The Jazz have until Monday’s deadline to exercise Bolmaro’s $2.59MM option for the 2023/24 season.
Hardy Telling Players To Keep Proving People Wrong
- The Jazz have gotten off to a surprising 4-1 start, but the “general consensus around the league” is that opposing teams will take them more seriously going forward, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Head coach Will Hardy is telling his players to keep proving people wrong. “He’s tired of looking at media or even his friends telling him, ‘Wow, you guys are winning, this is crazy,’” Malik Beasley said of Hardy’s message. “It’s not crazy. We’re not even playing well and we’re still winning.”
Jazz Notes: Clarkson, THT, Markkanen, Gay, Fontecchio
The rebuilding Jazz have enjoyed a surprising 4-1 start to their 2022/23 NBA season, but still seem likely to trade several of their veteran players prior to February’s deadline. That said, Zach Lowe of ESPN suggested in his podcast The Lowe Post that the team is hesitant to offload 2021 Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson, who has thrived thus far this year.
“I’ve heard the same stuff that other people have reported, that they are just super reluctant to move Clarkson,” Lowe said on the podcast (hat tip to RealGM). ”They’re really fond of him for whatever reason. So, I would peg him as the least likely of all these Jazz guys to get traded.”
The 6’4″ combo guard out of Missouri has stepped into a starting role for the Jazz this season, and is playing well for the team under new head coach Will Hardy. Through five games, Clarkson is averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.2 RPG and 0.8 BPG. He’s currently posting shooting splits of .452/.429/.769.
There’s more out of Salt Lake City:
- 21-year-old Jazz reserve guard Talen Horton-Tucker had his first stellar turn for Utah in a 14-point, seven-rebound, four-assist, two-steal performance in a 109-101 win over the Rockets Wednesday. Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune wonders if that game could be the catalyst Horton-Tucker needs to start clicking with his new Utah teammates. “[When] opportunity presents itself, I’ll always be ready,” Horton-Tucker said.
- Jazz starting small forward Lauri Markkanen has enjoyed a terrific start to his Utah tenure, to which he in part credits a strong EuroBasket performance this past summer, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Through five games, the seven-footer is averaging 22.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 0.8 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 35.2 MPG. “I think having that experience this summer, coming in confident, I think I showed, yes, to you guys, but even to myself, that I can do all that stuff,” Markkanen told Fischer. “I was the guy this summer. And carrying that over [to Utah], we’ve got a lineup where everybody can do a little bit of everything. But mind-set wise, I’m trying to have that same approach.”
- Jazz reserves Rudy Gay and Simone Fontecchio have both been placed in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both will miss the team’s Friday contest against the Nuggets.
Forbes Releases 2022 NBA Franchise Valuations
For the first time since Forbes began issuing annual valuations of NBA teams over two decades ago, a team other than the Knicks or Lakers ranks atop the publication’s list of 2022’s most valuable franchises.
According to Mike Ozanian and Justin Teitelbaum of Forbes, the Warriors are now considered the NBA’s most valuable club, with a record-setting valuation of $7 billion following a championship season.
Forbes’ duo explains that the Warriors generated more revenue and operating income in 2021/22 than any other team in NBA history, buoyed by $150MM in arena sponsorships and advertising, along with $250MM from premium seating.
While the Warriors enjoyed the biggest bump in value since Forbes’ most recent round of valuations, every other NBA team saw its valuation rise during that time as well, according to Ozanian and Teitelbaum, who say the average franchise is now valued at $2.86 billion. That’s 15% more than a year ago, despite the fact that the stock market is down 15% over the same time period.
Of the NBA’s 30 teams, only one – the Nets – lost money last season, per Forbes’ report, which states that record-setting sponsorship and advertising revenue ($1.35 billion last season) has put the league back on its “pre-Covid growth trajectory.” Further growth is anticipated going forward, with a new television and media deal to be negotiated in the coming years — it will take effect in 2025.
Although Forbes’ figures are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands, they’re still useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.
Here’s Forbes’ full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2022:
- Golden State Warriors: $7 billion
- New York Knicks: $6.1 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $5.9 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $4.1 billion
- Boston Celtics: $4.0 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $3.9 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $3.5 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $3.3 billion
- Houston Rockets: $3.2 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $3.15 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $3.1 billion
- Miami Heat: $3 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $2.7 billion
- Washington Wizards: $2.5 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $2.3 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $2.1 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $2.05 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $2.03 billion
- Utah Jazz: $2.025 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $2 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $1.975 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $1.93 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $1.9 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.875 billion
- Orlando Magic: $1.85 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $1.8 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $1.7 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.67 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1.65 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1.6 billion