This Offseason Will Make Or Break The Utah Jazz

This Offseason Will Make Or Break The Utah Jazz

what is up fellow sickos i am Damp Valley coming at you with the one the only the certified fantabulous Mr grant Hughes the season look ahead offseason look ahead train excuse me continues to roll onward we are on to the Utah Jazz who aren’t about that tanking [ __ ] grant no more thank you austin how are you doing before we get started i’m I’m ready to not tank this offseason lookhead either you’re not going to have to worry about that just like you won’t have to worry about the Jazz losing on purpose they’ll do it without they’ll do it naturally that’s kind of the place to start is because you see the Austin A comments and I think they’ve been overblown because you mentioned you sort of alluded to this you can be the Jazz use your picks do whatever you want this offseason and try to win in the West and you will still finish 14th or 15th next year probably so I thought it was it felt like him trying to make this show of force and I just think people kind of bought into it uh when I don’t think all right Walker Kesler won’t be taking five three-pointers a game at some point next like that might be what he means by we’re no longer tanking but I do think it lends itself to the question of do the Utah Jazz need to take a bigger swing this off seasonason because we’re now three seasons into their rebuild and they do not they don’t have a single person player on this team that is their guiding force of the future i think the closest they come if we were to rank them is Will Hardy their head coach then there’s a gap and then it’s like is it Larry Markin is it Isaiah Collier is it Walker Kesler is it the You could say the number five pick that’s probably I guess the number five pick is the answer right now right sure unless you say any of the future first rounders in drafts even later than this one like that’s Well that’s a problem then because you’re just sitting here waiting around for those that’s what Yeah no that the the core issue here is the cornerstone problem and that the Jazz don’t have one that that that that’s the thing to work through here i do they need to take a big swing let’s talk about like what what does that look like what does that mean like because to me we’ll get into it here with some of their uh their cap situation good this is so they’re going to have about you maybe more than 30 million in in in room beneath the tax um which will depend on some of the non-g guarantees on the roster that includes salaries they’re going to pay to first rounders this this could be a higher number before we get into so and they’ll have the non-t taxpayer mid level they’ll have the bannual um they already have 13 guaranteed contracts including those two first rounders got a billion picks coming uh in the next few drafts 11 actually they have control of the cap space thing i I want to ask you and we can you can take we can jump around after this like there’s a possibility given the number of expiring contracts they have on the books that they could be a Brooklyn Nets cap cap room level team next off season you because you’ve got Clarkson you’ve got Collins uh help me you got Colin Ston you basically don’t and Markin’s deal is the only big one on the books so could you could you think as the Jazz like let’s let that money come off let’s be a massive free agent player i know stop laughing it’s the Jazz that that doesn’t happen for them can we be Can we carve out a ton of cap space for next off season take on assets then be the facilitator be in the Brooklyn role that everybody’s so envious of this summer because everything goes through Brooklyn there’s there’s more competition probably next summer we don’t know a bunch of teams could spend up with the cap space or do you take on longer money now by trading those expirings and and filling up the books you remove the cap space play and then you get just the conventional get assets for the trouble of taking stuff on you got a couple options um and I don’t know what the right one is so what have you have you given that some thought like I know it’s this off season but the Jazz could really be gaming this for an offseason after this one there will be a point in the slideshow where it asks are they better off how does that impact it because they could have 70 plus million either yes we did not so I think it’s going to factor in a huge deal and I’m not I don’t What’s interesting is when people point out that cap space doesn’t matter in Utah for free agency they’re probably right except they’re also very wrong because two things you can always do something like Indiana did with Bruce Brown exactly in 2023 it’s not a star but you inflated someone’s deal that you can then use in a trade or by the way Keith Smith of Spra says this all the time cap space isn’t just about free agents you can use it in trades to facilitate trades to really define trades it can be the difference for if you’re going out and you identify the player that you want oh it we gave up one or two fewer first round picks than we would have because we were just able to absorb a bunch of money what I think is probably not being talked about enough though and you mentioned it a couple times they have so many expiring contracts this year that they could probably just functionally do the same thing like if they wanted to like John Collins is teams could look at assuming he picks up his player options teams will look at him or Clarkson or Colin Ston as either relief down the line or someone else they could flip for more value later that might appeal to teams more now so I don’t think it functionally changes what they do this offseason aside from if you’re on the fence about someone or you’re thinking about making a move just for the sake of making a move or taking on bad money let’s say I do think it could it’ll it’ll impact them there to where it’s if you want them to be the Jeremy Grant team or something if Portland’s want to compensate they’re probably not going to be that team because I think that they’ll want to roll over like now if it’s someone that has only a year left so that they’re an expiring contract next year like that’s the Sam Prey special right continuing to roll over like the expiring years but I think that if you’re looking at them to take on you know a player that has more than one season left on his contract like or two total that’s probably where like maybe they would draw the line to me okay because that is that has been sort of the conventionally discussed use of expirings right but it’s like for a for a team in their position it’s like hey we’ll send you Collins is if he picks up the option 26.5 million send him out for someone that makes roughly similar money for a longer stretch of time and or maybe more if you preserve enough cap space by via other means with picks attached like that’s that’s the playbook for the expiring contract so you’re saying you you don’t like the idea of that because just keeping that space clear allows you to get assets potentially as a facilitator in other trades that don’t have the the the bad money attached like that’s that’s like kind of plan A basically right because I just think like even when you’re talking about how valuable the open space is so to speak we very rarely just see like player like a top what 40 player was just sent basically for cap space and like that just doesn’t happen anyway so I don’t think it needs to impact them too much but at the same time like if you’re starting to get itchy or you view next summer as kind of that inflection point where if the number five pick doesn’t pan out like we really need to hit the turbo button elsewhere that’s where that becomes super valuable so I think it’s I I really don’t I I’m repeating myself i don’t think it impacts this off seasonason too much aside and by the way there are just so few long-term deals on the books that it’s just like them thinking someone with two more seasons we’re not going to take that list is so short but like a Bradley Beal as an example if he was ever to wave his no trade clause to go to Utah they probably don’t want that really big ass expiring contract on the books either because those can be we look at them as like these really awesome trade chips and it’s like no like 50 plus million dollars is actually pretty hard to move in a trade increase and it’s only getting harder i think that’s right we will get to needs and targets as always but I think we should begin with the extension eligibility of Walker Kesler this is just for reference he’s not getting the max but a four-year rookie max would be four years and 190.5 million or 5 years and 246.7 million i feel fairly confident in saying he is going to sign for neither of those values but Grant how much is he worth and is he worth more to the Jazz given their current situation where this is a player who is he’s valuable he can be the base of your of a defense it’d be nice to see better talent in front of him he’s show I mean he did take threes last year he shot like 54% from Florida range as well like how like if you’re the Jazz what are you doing here is he more is it better because if you extend him you’re probably not going to trade him then so is it better to just extend him and if so like what’s the number that would get you yeah we have to pounce on this or is it better to like just as an example does it make more sense to hold that like if the Lakers came with the Mark Williams special and said here’s Daltton Connect a 2030 swap and our 2031 first for Walker Kesler are you turning that down i mean I would think pretty hard about that if I’m Utah partly because of the extension and and how difficult it is to to figure out he’s a really dangerous player type uh to extend because he is a nonstretch non-switch big i I know I know like certainly those guys have more utility than they did like three four years ago when it was like you can’t play that guy it’s unless he’s Rudy Gober there’s just it’s untenable um but like I my first thought was like I don’t know are we talking like yaka purle money maybe like so you know do you go over a hundred for four years like that seems crazy but then Kesler also like you’re list going down the list of like who are their corners like he’s I think he’s their best young player like by a pretty considerable margin or at least the most established of their young guys not not including Markin in that group he’s he’s like in the middle of his career at this point um so like it would be easy enough for the Jazz to say like “Yeah we’ll do four for 140.” Like that’s I don’t know that that look how far below his max that is right he’s been one of the most productive players of his rookie rookie class like you could justify that i would feel very uncomfortable with that just because I think he’s he’s maybe not quite good enough to be like he’s our he’s the reason we’ll just have a top five defense forever like he’s not that level and then like what is he doing for a team that’s this bad and this young and has this few like projectable really good players like if you were if the Jazz had like sniffed the playoffs last year because their defense was awesome maybe but right now it’s like I think four for 100 is I don’t know how you could go much above that right and so I would say this is that I probably would think because as you mentioned like the max for rookies is 25% coming off the rookie scale is 25% of the salary cap so when you were just lowering it four for 140 you’ve like basically slashed that to 20% of the salary cap or less and that’s for a starting center which I believe that Walker Kesler is that’s not the end of the world i don’t know if you would call great value that’s a number maybe I’m thinking about but if I’m the Jazz and this goes for all teams and I’m not saying I’m proc corporation here but just the way that the rules are set up I don’t understand why especially for like the nons superstars just take it to restricted free agency we just don’t see offer sheets given out the Jazz were actually the last one to give out an RFA offer sheet for Paul Reed it was Paul it was Paul Reed Grant and wasn’t that like weirdly like uh right tweet like Yeah screwed the Sixers yeah so it it was just it ended up not even guaranteeing anyway so I just I’m taking it to restricted free agency almost no matter what now if he’s like I will sign for four for 80 yeah i think you or even four for 100 you probably have to do it because like $25 million moving forward of the salary cap is like what 15% or close to it so like I I think you have to do that but if he’s going to maybe he wants to roll the dice too then I you just wait because what’s the harm who is is is someone who’s going to have cap space next year coming in and like tying up their flexibility and all their cap space and Walker Kesler no that’s not what’s happening and so it does leave the Am I doing the Lakers trade yeah i don’t think I don’t want to say I don’t think he’s an NBA player but like the Dalton Connect stuff is just I view him as like a second round flyer i don’t view him as just first round prospect level i I’m thinking about it i pro like what if there’s no protections on that first and it basically there can’t be if you wanted to convey I probably do it like Luca’s on this team now so it’s not the LeBron timeline i think you need to factor that in but I’m probably doing it just because I look at it now and say well maybe I don’t want to pay Walker Kesler 15 to 20% of the salary cap moving forward because I don’t think I’m going to be good enough yeah i think I think the the reluctance to pay Kesler I think for the Jazz to me has as much to do with the quality of the team and like where they are in their competitive trajectory it has more to do with that than with like how good he actually is if that makes sense like for them it doesn’t make sense to have $100 million center right now like I that I just don’t I don’t it doesn’t make I don’t get it would you trade him to the Knicks for you the money could work easily but you get both of their swaps in 2030 and 2032 and if they’ll give you like you could have Kolic or Doier and that Wizards pick which is going to be two seconds you would do that so yeah well again like what’s what is Kesler getting you right now as the Jazz i I’d rather just have I’d rather just try to short the future of more teams that’s why the Lakers thing is compelling to me too even though they have Luca it’s just like I don’t know you got control of so much control of Cleveland and Minnesota and you could just throw another team in there and somebody’s gonna suck so one of these is gonna pay off lowry marketing grant people want to know if he’s going to get traded do you want to take us through some stuff on him yeah so the question is what is his value and that’s become harder because he’s kind of slipped and from his all-star level of a couple years ago and has not been playing very much now with Austin Angel in charge I am sure he’s going to play all 82 games uh if only to avoid $100,000 fines um but he is still on the books well not still thanks to the deal last summer uh is on the books for 195 195.9 million over the next four years easy for me to say which takes him through this surprised me through his age 31 season lori Markin is not young anymore he’s 27 um can he improve his trade value this season i think a lot of that would depend on how good Utah is and how much he’s going to play do they have the infrastructure to set him up for success um that would probably include like quality point guards they have a couple prospects on that front they’re both iffy in Collier and Keonte George now if the offers aren’t great do you just keep him um he’s not hurting the rebuild because a big guy that can shoot on the move uh just opens the offense up and maybe that helps your young guards play better that spaces the floor for so your bigs uh have more room to operate inside like is a value ad um but if you’re the Jazz are you just kind of looking around at like where we are and ask this was the same question that we talked about last summer when he was up for an extension slash potentially being traded it’s like what use do we really have for this guy that’s clearly like not remotely in our timeline like and do what do we risk by not trading him like will his value go up will it go down like what so the pieces don’t he doesn’t fit here really in terms of like the age bracket but he but he helps he helps other guys look better so are you trading him like what’s that return need to look like for you uh do you wait you know see if see if he ups his value with another All-Star season i don’t know i don’t think you So here’s my thing is that I’ve seen people frame it as like you should just move him because he doesn’t make sense here that’s not why you move a player if he was winning you too many basketball games even when he was playing that’s one thing he was not and so you’re trading him you’re the Jazz we went over this at the top you have 11 first round picks coming to you over the next like you have extra first round picks unless those picks are going to be super high-end and because you don’t kind of have a cornerstone right now you might not actually be as interested in the like if the Miami Heat just came calling as an example and says here’s how Hakez will give you the two distant first round picks that we could like 2030 and 2032 or 29 2031 i don’t know if that’s enough just because if I’m Utah I need kind of more and maybe you’re super high on him Hakez i don’t know so I’m looking at it as unless it’s at like unless a team is gonna you’re not getting what the Nets got from Muel Bridges that’s not happening because the Larry Markin’s contract I do think it’s lowered his value even had he played well there’s value in having him under contract but at this number he’s no longer this super net positive but like because he’s not harming the rebuild I I don’t like unless the offers are going to bowl you over this is you don’t have to move him because you know what if his value gets even lower do you know what happens Grant nothing how has that hurt Utah like it’s at some point it’s now his deal is only going to have fewer years left on it so by the time you’re ready to contend he’s either going to have what two years or be an expiring contract so even if he’s like the worst basketball player in the NBA he’s not a movable and like spoiler alert the Jazz aren’t going to be contenders next season and if they are Larry it’s not going to be because in spite of Larry Martin either because of it yeah so I don’t understand the I understand why people look at this because they want to see him on a good team and think good teams should make an offer i don’t think the offers are going to be measure it with like not even what he’s necessarily worth to Utah but just like with the value proposition of let’s just like that guy can at least play and if you’re looking at these deals you’re getting picks from probably teams that will be better and then are you getting salary they don’t want so I don’t think they I’m not outright opposed to moving him again if someone just comes with an offer that you can’t refuse yeah do it like if Houston came calling cuz Houston can create its own trademark and it was like “We’ll give you Jabari Smith number 10 other stuff for Larry Market in sure.” Like yeah you you absolutely have to listen but like if you’re just getting two first round picks and salary no I don’t think you move Larry Mark in now what what do what do you think about the idea that like he does play really well and he does hurt the tank so you know what I mean like you say he’s not hurting the tank like what if what if he’s the reason i mean this has happened before but then you trade him for the real value that you want and it’s like you you have the leverage of saying we’ll just shut him down and take a couple million dollars worth of fines for the last like 50 games of the season or whatever it is so I don’t like that is an easier problem to solve than like looking back and just saying like we traded Larry Market in for the number 27 and number 21 picks in like alternating drafts or something yeah yeah yeah i I see I could see the like if you have to trade him because he’s hurting the tank then that’s a great problem because his value is high all of a sudden and and it’s just I don’t think you’re in a position to where even if this contract ages poorly that it hurts what vision you’re on that hurts you if you need to be a contender right away which the Jazz and this is putting it charitably are at least two years away in which case Lar you can already see the the the horizon at the end of the Larry Markin deal at that point if it was say like He he’s you’re saying like well he’s not going to hurt it he’s he’s not going to hurt the tank in in two years it’s like well when he’s retired the Jazz will be ready to contend like at some point like in the mid 2030s I guess like he really won’t be an issue it It feels that far off honestly do you know what’s a more fascinating conversation to me and I guess this would be a good time to pivot to kind of like well what do they need what is the the targets what if you tried to use Larry Markin to accelerate your position of getting a cornerstone to where you recognize you’re not a contender but is there just something to that where it’s I think preferably you would use you have Colin Saxon Jordan Clarkson John you have all this expiring money you have some prospects teams might be interested in you have all this extra first round equity and but you also have Larry Markin like that depending on what the team is that’s sending you who that’s sending you what like that might be of interest to them but I want to ask you though this goes back to the Austin A comments Like do you agree though that they were kind of being overblown first of all the whole we like we don’t do that here anymore when it comes to tech i I think that’s the way people wanted to take it uh but I agree with you that it was more like well one it’s like we’re trying not to get fined so we’re going to say upfront that oh no no we will not do you know no shenanigans here um but yeah I think the way I took it was like the way the way I interpreted it cynically was like “Yeah of course you’re not going to do that because you’re just going to be really bad organically and you’re not going to need to pull a bunch of you know shifty moves to to be bad.” Um and he but he he can’t say that um it it’s like half half projection of like oh we’re turning it around and half like acknowledgement of like we’re bad and we that’s just where we are i don’t know so I think we could talk about like actual archetypes or like needs to fill but their biggest need is it’s a cliche but like it’s important and it’s really important for them because we’re three seasons into the rebuild they need that temple cornerstone and so I want to ask you if you’re Utah how aggressive are you this off season and I like just to add a layer to it is it we have number five maybe we could look at moving up in the draft a little bit could we get into the top could we I mean it seems like the Spurs might be shopping number two as we’re recording this or be willing to move it is it something like that are you is it just no we’ll use number five and like that hopefully that pans out if not we’ll continue to remain patient build try to build through the draft or is there like could you talk yourself into identifying the right player and saying like what if it’s John Morant what if it’s Trey Young what if it’s LaMelo Ball do you go out and try and accelerate your position by saying no we’re not trying to contend next year we’re not mortgaging everything but we believe we can get somebody who’s maybe a little maybe on the Larry marketing timeline but that gives us sort of a guiding force to move forward with like what is your running the Jazz how are you approaching that so I had not really ever considered option two of like let’s go get a second veteran star we have Markin we have Kesler let’s see where that gets us um and I guess I guess I I shy away from that because of how far away I think they are even with those other guys I just mentioned so I still think I’m playing it just sort of by the rebuild book of let’s let’s lose let’s collect young players and picks and hopefully this this number five pans out if you could trade up to two I’d be very interested other than that like I don’t the difference between three and like 12 to me is like I you read a lot of draft writeups it’s like I don’t know like it’s it doesn’t seem like there’s a there’s no consensus there that there’s like a clear you know advantage to being third versus fourth versus fifth versus eighth or whatever you would just have to say we’re in love with VJ Edgecomb or Ace B like that’s what you would need to think yeah which even even that would be somewhat encouraging because it’s like okay they found a guy they really like maybe this is the one maybe they’re right about this um yeah it’s boring but I I think I just play it straight and I just wait i continue to wait like they ran into bad luck they they ran into bad luck really like they were too good for a couple of first halves might have cost them winyama like where just you know like that’s you can’t let that just short circuit the whole plan i don’t think um and maybe like because of the names you mentioned like John Moran or whoever like what’s how good are you are you good enough like I guess if you don’t have to give up too many of those picks you have in that giant surplus for that there’s that could be compelling especially if you’re a Jazz fan that wants to watch a team that’s competitive i get it um but I think I’m just slow playing it still what about you honestly because if it was like LaMelo Ball where it’s just someone who’s super young or kind of early into that rookie extension like is there a I I don’t think they are and actually got trolled for one of my hottest like Blazers takes on social media the other day like if the Blazers were open to just talking about Scoo Henderson I think he’s going to be better than any of the guards Isaiah Collier or Keonte George they have in place yeah right now he’s already better than them quite frankly to me I know Kier the passing whatever i’m more open to it than I think you are but I don’t think that that’s like you go into this offseason like no that’s what we have to do i would be more inclined of saying like would you do this as an example John Collins and let’s say Colin Ston and number five for Paul George and number three i don’t think I want that Paul George contract i think that’s a good illustration though of how it’s generally oh I I don’t want to I don’t want to take a swing but it what I guess what I really mean more precisely is like it’s got to tell me the guy like it’s got certain guys yeah like you LaMelo is a great example i think you do if if you can get LaMelo for Garland if I don’t know why by the way we’re going to mention this like probably 80 i don’t know why there’s reporting that Cleveland would consider a move that just seems like such a boneheaded move by you can’t get better by trading Darius Garland i I don’t think u Yeah no yeah like LaMelo sure garland sure morant I don’t know um just run down the list of like young Scoot that you have my you have my interest uh but yeah like it would have to be pretty specific and none come to mind as obvious and like and also like getable you know what about like here’s a what about Jaylen Brown so you’re built around Brown Kesler Markin and whatever like young guys remain you want that Brown contract you sure i’m I’m just asking questions Grant i’m asking questions of you i I don’t I mean it depends on the cost but if it’s like number five and salary and I guess I I I don’t hate it because you have all this other stuff left over but the idea of paying Larry Markin and Jaylen Brown $100 million combined it’s just like we’re not even sure we have our best player like that like contender that’d be awkward but Jaylen Brown Walker Kesler and Larry Markin is a heck of a front line it’s it’s pretty good uh yeah then then the onus is really on the Jazz to find a a point guard they trust long term about two other names we’re just sticking with Grizzlies would you like Jiren Jackson Jr or Desmond Bane do those two do anything for you jackson more than Bane just because the him and Markin together I really like up front would be would be pretty interesting offensively um Jack I don’t know jackson is like right on the borderline of young enough uh to to like for me to be excited about that um yeah I don’t know i I I Bane No I don’t I don’t think I think Bane is has proved he’s like a third guy on a team that is you know dangerous but not a real contending threat so that that’s probably that’s the kind of guy you the Bane the Bane class of player at that pay rate is one I think you want to avoid right like you need someone either younger and hope and or better i think if you’re if you’re taking the swing would you do the and I feel like they the Jazz probably have close to like choose your own adventure trade assets right like create your own market what if you just went and you were able to keep Larry Mark as part of the process and you went to the heat and were able to get Bam out of bio i’m now I’m now I’m on board because he he transforms a whole end of the floor for you and now now like you could some things become possible with someone like Bam uh I’m just trying to think of like and he’s like older too like he’s closer to 30 than he is to 23 right so yeah I don’t What about Domas Sabonis sabonis and marketin together um you’re not guarding anybody uh I mean he would help with the like if you’re not sure about your point guards you can run a lot through Sabonis um I I don’t think it would be very on brand for me though to suggest that the Jazz should get Sabonis i’m assuming you’re anti-Tay Young for this team i would agree with you by the way yeah but that’s a closer question than you might think just cuz then you have an idea but you’re also wondering like would it cost basically almost nothing to get not nothing but it’s like oh not the number five pick but it’s like first rounders and expiring contracts like that yeah that’s a good point i was wondering what you were going to have Boston send with Jaylen Brown to to get him to the Jazz just because that Pton Pritchard like what I mean like what about why why Pton Pritchard i was just you’re asking for who do you want them do you want them to get Drew Holiday too like that’s saying you’re suggest You’ve just suggested multiple white guys uh for the Jazz come on um Well I’m about to suggest Am I about to suggest another white guy no I’m not uh I’m just Would you do it for Anthony Davis oh that’s interesting if he said I’ll stay i’ll sign my next deal here well is Walker Kesler gone no walker Kesler has to stay because AD’s not a center right right uh that’s a fun front line if Kesler Davis Markin gotta be You love the three sevenfooters up there that’s kind of fun i’m I’m not against that i don’t think that team I have no idea would you go would they be a Jamaal Murray team if he was available oh man no I I don’t think that that contract and he’s he’s too he’s too old i think the point of this exercise is how hard it is to find someone who’s like the exact right fit for the Jazz to hit the turbo button and there like there’s to use the Nuggets as like the example is just it would make more sense for Utah to try and swoop in pick up Michael Porter Jr as part of a larger move for the Nuggets and get compensated for doing so than it would be for them to go all out for Jamal Murray there’s a couple names where I think it would work but like when we name some of those guys LaMelo Ball is an example the Hornets unless you’re getting like kind of the same thing with Larry Markin this whole they should just trade LaMelo and rebuild around Brandon Miller and the number four pick okay great you don’t just do that just because like you need to be bowled over by an offer and so if he gets traded to the Jazz I’m kind of like all right well what did they give up to get him like was it seven first round picks or what did we not find out about LaMelo Ball that he’s like a human trafficker or something on the side like I don’t know yeah there’s two options and neither of them is great um Yeah no it is really hard and even you know some of the some of the stuff you you’re throwing out there is like yeah even that feels like a slow more of a slow deliberate play as opposed to like okay we got this guy and now we’re hey we can finish sixth in the in the West like no it’s there’s no magic there’s no silver bullet here it’s just even if even if you take the ambitious course of like let’s go get talent it’s still like we still need to draft and develop around that to have like any kind of like playoff aspirations and to wrap up I don’t like getting into the biggest needs with this team because I actually don’t think Walker Kesler is the closest they come and I know they have a billion fours including Larry Markin there’s no position or archetype that you just say there’s no one good enough on this roster to turn down anything but if we’re talking free agency or if they’re at a point in the draft where they want to take a flyer on you know selecting for need they need wings like they still just they have a they have a [ __ ] ton of what feel like pure fours at the moment which is hard in today’s NBA right so and like they even I think you could also like yes they need a tent pole first and like do they even have a floor general is it Kier is it George like do they have enough there i just like there’s Cody William like who are the wings on this team cody Williams and I don’t think I’m not put Sensiba is more of like a guard or a swingman uh like Kenya Martin Jr is not a wing larry Markin is not a wing it’s I mean Johnny Juang’s probably like Jaden Springer so yeah it would be if I had to distill it down it’d be wings but they’re to me they’re very much in talent accumulation mode and I we haven’t mentioned him once and I feel like I’m obligated to do so because I think he could be better than Jiren Jackson Jr one day i will not give up on Taylor Hendricks healthy Taylor Hendricks is coming everybody you heard it here probably not first but you heard it here you heard it here again because we we have talked up Taylor Hendricks yeah no I agree it’s just to to wrap it like this team more than almost we’ve talked about plenty of rebuilders but like just to compare it like Washington well okay they maybe Bub Carrington’s something at the guard maybe Kulabali’s something on the wing and maybe Alexar is something in the middle it’s just like the Jazz just don’t it’s just they just need someone that you can look at and be like maybe he’s the one you know like that they just don’t have that guy and until they get him it’s going to be just best player available at all times we didn’t really go into this but like you can’t know like what would need to happen in summer league with whoever they drafted number five to feel like you know that that’s going to be the guy yeah yeah i mean what what you don’t want is for it to be like a Cody Williams situation where it’s clear like pretty quick like oh no like that that’s there’s a long way to go for for someone like that um but yeah we didn’t look I’m I’m sorry we didn’t mention this and we should have but like would you use Larry Marketing to move up to number two or is that like too much to give like if it was number five and Larry Mark in for number two I don’t know if the the Spurs even want that salary when they’re thinking about okay we have Fox and then Wem in a couple years but they’re pretty they could be pretty flexible like for the next like they don’t have to worry about finances probably until the third like with I don’t know two years from now at minimum i I think I if if what you hear and read about and have seen from Dylan Harper if you think that’s real if you think it is like oh he might really have like some allNBA ceiling or like several all like All-Star games like I think you we’ve just said they don’t have the guy and if there’s a chance he’s the guy then I think you do trade whatever you got to get to get him because then it just organizes your whole thing it’s like you you you then have more direction on okay what do we need now to support him since he’s the one you know like that that just there’s added value in just having a kind he gives you a direction so when you get the guy in there that’s the cornerstone that’s what you build on top of and around like that the Jazz don’t have that so yeah I think you should be willing to make pretty wild ass trades for that why isn’t has that been one that’s floated around that no I feel like that hasn’t that’s weird maybe it’s because people view of Larry Markin’s deals underwater like could the J Spurs just say why are we moving down to take on that could be like a reasonable response so if you’re including something else um but I haven’t seen that floated anywhere but yeah if I’m Utah it’s one of those things where it’s oh that’s a risk for the Spurs but it feels like a lot for Utah to like move up just uh three spots but I’d probably do it if I’m Utah I think I think so uh yeah a lot depends on the perception of marketing contract that’s true um anything else on the Jazz Nope all right need a cornerstone that’s And they should trade lower market you heard it here again jazz need a cornerstone thanks everybody for listening for watching remember to rate review and subscribe if you’re watching this on YouTube let us know uh what your jazz thoughts are should they pull off the Lori market and trade that you’ve only ever heard here um join our Discord links for that in YouTube and podcast description please word of mouth help spread spread the word about this podcast uh and if you’ve got a friend with a favorite team that we’ve done a lookhead for let them let them know uh help us grow the podcast um we got a few more look aheads to go um this was a good one thank you Dan thanks everybody for listening for watching uh shouts Frank Millino apologies Jared Allen [Music]

Dan and Grant break down the ins and outs of the Utah Jazz’s 2025 offseason, including whether the team is itching to make a big move. Check out all of our offseason lookaheads here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsDA9BkMoPHSNt1oBSdendJRQJ9nEBwaT. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE for more in-depth NBA content! CHAPTERS BELOW.

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CHAPTERS⬇️
0:00 – INTRO
0:34 – Is it time for the Jazz to make a big swing?
2:03 – Utah’s cap situation
7:36 – Future of Walker Kessler
13:40 – Future of Lauri Markkanen
19:34 – Jazz’s biggest needs + potential trades

#nba #utahjazz #laurimarkkanen