The Utah Jazz have a BRIGHT FUTURE

The Utah Jazz have a BRIGHT FUTURE

After the Utah Jazz decided to pivot from Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobear at the end of the 2021-22 season, this Utah team has been at the bottom of the Western Conference in one of the worst teams in the NBA the last three seasons. And despite that, they have loaded up on a litany of draft capital. They have a ton of young ascending players and they have great leadership in this organization from top to bottom. And that’s why I am so excited to talk about this Utah team, which I believe has such a bright future and why they are one of my young fun teams to watch in the NBA. Now, if you take a look at the 2024-25 season for this Utah team, they posted a record of 17 and 65. They were at the bottom of the Western Conference with the worst record in the NBA. And if you could use one word to describe this team last year, it’s not pitiful. It’s not bad. It was tank. And we all know that the tank did not work out 2020 hindsight. Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks ended up landing the number one pick for Cooper Flag. You can say it was an inside job, but you know, I’m moving past that. The Jazz ended up getting the fifth pick in this year’s draft, which ended up being Ace Bailey, somebody that we’ll talk about later on in this video. But one thing that this season showed me time and time again is that no matter how badly the Jazz want to tank, or any organization wants to tank for that matter, you are never guaranteed the number one overall pick. And that is something that has been shown time and time again as Utah is one of the only franchises, maybe the only one, I’d have to fact check it, that has never landed the number one overall pick in their franchise’s history. The NBA has something against Utah. But in this video, I want to talk about their offseason moves, the way that I think that this depth chart is coming together, and why I believe in this team so much and for the long-term future. So, let’s go ahead and talk about this Jazz team. Now, I think the first and biggest move that the Jazz made all off seasonason was giving head coach Will Hardy a contract extension through the 2031 season. Hardy is now going to be entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. And he has had a precipitous drop off in his coaching record as he’s gone from 37 wins to 31 wins to now 17 last season. And he has posted a record of 85 and 161. And while a majority of NBA fans want to have a ton of criticism for Will Hardy and the Jazz organization for this contract extension, anybody, and I mean anybody, who watches the game of basketball or has watched any Jazz games knows that Will Hardy is a damn good coach. He earned this contract extension and he is one of the best young bright coaches in the game of basketball. If anything, I can make a case and an argument that he has overachieved and exceeded all expectations with the roster construction and the opportunities that he was limited to because he was told to tank and because the organization was in a tank mode the last three seasons. You’re talking about a 37 win team where they had Jared Vanderbilt, a first year of Larry Markin in there, a first year of Colin Sex in there, Jared Vanderbilt, rookie Walker Kesler, you name it, they overachieved. Will Hardy has shown time and time again. He is a very good coach. And I even told him, I believe it was back in January or February whenever I saw him at the Kia Center when I was covering the Magic and Jazz game that, you know, hey, look, I believe in you guys. I believe in the direction of what you guys are doing. I told him he’s a damn good coach and that he deserves everything that’s coming towards him. Of course, I’m paraphrasing here cuz it’s been a while, but nonetheless, I believe in Will Hardy. I believe in this organization and he deserved every single penny of that contract extension. Just want to take a moment to say if you are enjoying today’s video and appreciating this type of work and coverage from me, the best and easiest way to support me is by liking, commenting, and subscribing down below. It’s free and it helps me out tremendously. My goal is to get this channel up to a,000 subscribers by the end of August. And if you guys want more exclusive content from me outside of YouTube on my social medias, the links are in the description down below in the link tree. But thank you so much and let’s go ahead and get back to today’s video. Now, another sneaky good move for the Jazz this offseason was not with their depth chart or their roster. It was into their front office when they hired president of basketball operations, Austin A, obviously the son of Danny A. And I thought that this was an incredible hire. And when Austin A was asked in his introductory press conference if the Jazz would do anything in terms of minutes manipulation, what the reporter had asked, he simply stated, “You won’t see that this year.” Now, whether or not I believe Austin, time will tell. But here’s what makes it tricky. Because I do believe that the Jazz are trying to develop a winning culture now with a bunch of young ascending talent. But more importantly, the Jazz still owe Oklahoma City a firstround protected pick. And if Utah has a pick that lands from number nine to number 30 in this year’s draft, their own pick, it will go to Oklahoma City. So Utah has to aim for that top eight if they want to keep that pick. and maybe they take the kid out of BYU and keep him in the state of Utah with the number one overall pick. I hope and I pray that the Jazz do not tank this year. And if they luck out in the draft and they get the number one overall pick, fine. That’s great. But having said that, I’m not sure if I believe Austin Age, I would love to see the Jazz actually out there competing and trying to win games, but only time will tell once we see how this team starts performing on the court. Now, moving into the offseason moves, let’s go more towards the additions onto the roster. And the first one was when the Utah Jazz acquired center Ysef Nerkage from the Charlotte Horns in exchange for Colin Ston in a 2030 second round pick. I was absolutely baffled by this trade and to be honest I still am. Colin Ston was a wonderful addition to this team. I think he really embraced being in the state of Utah and just Jazz fans really rallied around the young bull. But what confused me about this trade was the fact that you traded for Yousef Nerkage, who is a solid veteran in this league, but you had Kyle Filipowski, who now turned into the summer league MVP, and Colin Saxon had negative trade value. The fact that you had to give up more than what you got in return says a lot. But you know what? At the end of the day, I’ve just got to continue to trust the process with Danny A. The Jazz also got involved in a three-team trade with the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers, sending John Collins to the Clippers. Norman Powell went to the Miami Heat. And the Jazz received a 2027 second round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers, as well as Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. Moving towards the draft, the Jazz went ahead and took Ace Bailey with the fifth overall pick in this year’s class, who obviously did not work out for anybody and really was just plummeting his own draft stock going into this year’s draft. But Ace Bailey, I do believe, is going to be a very good player in this league for a long time. At 18 years old, he has the athletic talent. He’s got the raw athleticism. He’s shown time and time again that he can hit tough contested jumpers. and as he continues to refine his game, grow and develop in the NBA with Will Hardy and especially on a young Utah team where he’s not asked to be the guy day one as he’s playing alongside guys like Keonte George, Larry Markin, Walker Kesler, Taylor Hendricks coming back off injury, Ace Bailey is going to have a very good opportunity in Utah, especially in his rookie season to grow and to develop and I think that he’s going to be a terrific player in Utah for a very long time, assuming he stays. And the Jazz also made another big splash on draft night, training up from number 21 to number 18 to select guard from Florida, Walter Clayton Jr., the national champion. And for you guys that know me personally or have seen my work in the past, you guys know I live here on the East Coast in Florida. So, I am a huge lifelong diehard Gator fan and of course a Jazz fan. So, seeing Walter Clayton get drafted to Utah honestly made my heart so warm. I was definitely geeking out when it happened and I think he’s a terrific fit in Utah. The Jazz desperately need offensive bucket getters. The Jazz desperately need guys who can knock down the three ball with consistency and at a high volume. And that’s exactly what Walter Clayton Jr. can provide to this team. Watching what he did last year at the University of Florida, leading that team to the national championship games. He was not just a bucket getter, but he delivered in the clutch time and time again. And he was a huge catalyst and probably the biggest reason as to why the Florida Gator won this year’s national championship game. and he’s going to be a terrific fit in Utah. I think he’s going to fit very nicely with this team and you already saw some of the promises and flashes with him in the summer league. Jazz fans everywhere should be extremely hype about Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. Now, that gets to me into talking about some of the offseason losses for the Jazz. And one of them, and probably the one that broke my heart the most, was when the Jazz bought out the contract of Jordan Clarkson before he signed with the New York Knicks. Now, for JC, I’m absolutely happy for him. I hope that he can go and contend with the New York Knicks and he has a solidified role off the bench. But of course, he’s another guy like the Young Bull who embraced the state of Utah. He was an absolute fan favorite. I absolutely love the flamethrower. He had the triple double and he broke that streak which had happened. I guess a triple double hadn’t happened in like 15 years, something like that. Like I absolutely love Jordan Clarkson. I think he’s a terrific guy. I’ve gotten to speak to him personally before and just a terrific man. I can’t say enough great things about him. Jazz fans everywhere love him and he will forever be missed in Utah. Jazz also lost out this off seasonason from John Collins and Colin Ston who I mentioned earlier as well as Johnny Juang and Jaden Springer. And Jaden Springer actually just got waved this week earlier. But you know, wishing all of those guys the best moving forward wherever they end up in land. So now when you take a look at this roster, here’s kind of what I project from their starting five and what I think about their second unit. In the starting five, I think you’re gonna have Isaiah Cullier, Keonte George, Ace Bailey, Larry Markin, and Walker Kesler. Now, I do think that there is an opportunity maybe later on in the season, depending on how Walter Clayton Jr. plays, that he could end up being the starting two guard. And while I do think Keonte George’s role in the NBA is perfect as a six-man, an absolute bucket getter with a green light, especially with his defensive inefficiencies, I do think that as of right now, going into the season, Keonte George is still one of your best players. He needs to be starting in that starting five alongside Isaiah Cullier. Then off the bench, you’re going to have Bryce Sensible, Walter Clayton Jr., Cody Williams, Taylor Hendris, and Kyle Filipowski. I’m not sure where it leaves guys like Yousef Nerkage, Kevin Love, or Kyle Anderson. Honestly, and truthfully, I’d like to see those guys moved because I don’t really think that they serve a purpose on this team unless you just want veterans here. But Kyle Anderson, Yousef Nerkage, and Kevin Love could all go be legitimate rotational pieces on a championship contender if you can find a way to get off of them. Now, I just want to briefly hit on all of these players very quickly. Lari Markin, we all know there’s been a ton of chatter over the last two seasons after he got the contract extension. If the Utah Jazz are going to trade him, obviously he loves being in Utah. I am opposed to trading Lari market and I still think he’s a cornerstone piece. I don’t think he’s a number one on a championship team, but if Ace Bailey can turn into your number one in a couple of years, or if the Jazz with all of their draft capital, talking about nine future first round picks and five future second round picks, can go out there and make a big-time trade for a number one in the near future. I think Larry Markin would still serve as a very nice cornerstone piece for this Utah Jazz organization. Walker Kesler needs to continue to develop his offensive game, but he’s a terrific screen and roller. And of course, he provides that defensive, you know, anchor down low in the middle. Keonte George needs to become a slightly better defender. I don’t expect him to be an AllNBA defender, but I do believe he’s better than a 33 34% shooter from behind the ark like we’ve seen through his first two seasons in the league, but I do think that Keonte could eventually end up being a 20 point per game score. And I do think he’s capable of taking that leap this season. Isaiah Cullier really had an up and down summer league. I thought at times he didn’t look like himself. I don’t know why he pressed so much, but having said that, Isaiah Cullier still was a very good rookie and was snubbed from the AllNBA rookie teams, both first and second team. The NBA hates Utah. Now, moving to the bench, I already talked about Walter Clayton Jr., so I won’t address him. But with Bryce Sensible, I feel like he’s a guy that tends to get overlooked far too often. He’s a pure bucket getter and I think once he continues to refine his skills, he’s still going to find himself in a solidified role. Then you talk about Cody Williams who did have a terrible rookie season. Let’s just call it what it is. But man oh man, did he look like a different player in the summer league, albeit the summer league, but Cody Williams, I have not given up on him. My stock is still invested in him and I would love to see him take a step. Taylor Hendris last season before going down with that gruesome leg injury looked like he was coming into his own, but unfortunately it got cut extremely short last year. And I hope that he continues to keep recovering the way that we’ve seen him in these workout videos. And I think he’s going to be a very nice 3D wing for this Utah team moving forward. And lastly, how can I not talk about the summer league MVP and Kyle Filipowski? This man balled out in the summer league. Once again in the summer league, Philipsowski still needs to find a way to fix his defense. He often times gets, you know, too hesitant, doesn’t move his feet laterally quick enough or just isn’t the best at, you know, timing blocks or sometimes leaving his feet when he’s going to go to go to contest a jumper. But otherwise, Kyle Filiposky, if he can just become a legitimate knockdown stretch five and provide some form of defense, he’s going to find himself a very nice role in Utah for the foreseeable future. But overall, I’ve talked about the young assets, the way that this team has continued to gel and mesh together. Will Hardy, I still believe, is the right man for this job. He’s continued to overachieve and exceed all expectations. Danny A and Justin Xanic have all of the draft capital in the world if they want to go out there and make a big-time trade in the future. They have plenty of assets to, you know, get off of some guys and acquire big-time talent. if they want to go big game hunting. Whatever the case is, this Utah team is doing it fundamentally and organically from the ground up. I have a ton of respect for Ryan Smith and the way that this direction of the organization is trending and I truly believe that Keonte George, Lari Markin, Walker Kesler, Ace Bailey, this entire team is going to grow and develop together. And I’m excited to see how they’re going to perform this season. I’m not saying that they’re world beaters. I’m not saying that they’re going to make the play in tournament, but you can’t tell me that is not a 9 10man rotation right there that cannot at least put points up on the board and at least be highly competitive night in and night out if they play to their strengths and if they continue to trust the process. But thank you guys so much for watching today’s video. If you guys appreciate all of the work and content that I do, not just here on YouTube, you guys can find more exclusive content from me on my social medias. The links to all of them will be in the description down below, so you guys can go ahead and check that out, as well as tons of my written work that I do digitally for Fansighted. But once again, thank you guys again for sticking around throughout today’s video and all of your guys’ continuous support. It doesn’t go unnoticed. And as always, I’ll catch y’all on the next one. [Music]

The Utah Jazz have been stockpiling draft capital and young talent for years now, and I believe in this organization’s direction. #utahjazz #acebailey

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