ALERT: Utah Jazz TRADE Rumors | Markkanen’s Future? Ainge’s Moves Graded

ALERT: Utah Jazz TRADE Rumors | Markkanen’s Future? Ainge’s Moves Graded

Is Lowry a lock to stay in Utah throughout the season? And what are the packages that could pry him away? Find out next on Locked on Jazz. You are Locked on Jazz, your daily podcast on the Utah Jazz, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome into Locked on Jazz. My name is Leaf Tulene. I’m excited and honored to have the opportunity to fill in for David Lock again with you on Locked on Jazz. As most of you guys know by now, I’m a lifelong Jazz fan, credentialed NBA draft analyst, attendee of the 23 and 24 NBA combines, jazz broadcast assistant and statistician each of the past four seasons and lover of college hoops. So, I’ll make sure you know what you need to know about your beloved Utah Jazz. Thanks for making Locked on Jazz your first listen each and every day. And remember, Locked on Jazz is available and free on all platforms, including YouTube at Locked onJazz, where the best way to help us grow is to comment anything below. Today’s question is, what do you think the best package for Lowry is? And is there anything that would lure you to deal him? Or are any of the packages I come up with good enough? So, today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel. Football season’s just around the corner. Visit the FanDuel app today. Start planning your future bets right now. So today on the show, I’ll answer some fan questions, including how likely is it for Lowry to be dealt and what packages seem the most likely? I’ll grade each of Austin Ang’s moves that’s happened since he became the head man on June second for the Utah Jazz. And lastly, what’s the best way to get the defense out of the seller? And that was a really good question. So these are fan questions, kind of a mailbag edition, but let’s dive right in on locked on Jazz. I’ll start by saying this. I doubt Lowry is dealt. like I’ll just I’ll clear the air at the very beginning. I doubt he is dealt. However, I’ve come up with a couple ideas on how to do so. And for those of you who know me, I’ve been pro trade Lowry. I I have been a trade Lowry guy at different uh areas of when the Jazz have been throughout this rebuild. I’m a guy who believes, you know what, if the price is right, make that deal and you’re going to improve the team. Like though he likes Utah and and I think that’s wonderful, I do not think that means it’s a prerequisite. He must stay because he likes Utah. I think they got to be more holistically viewed and say, “Okay, well, if we can improve the team, then do it.” I think it becomes harder though now to deal because of the new CBA. Frankly, that is a ton to pay a second option, which is what I see Lowry marketing on most teams as. And for a true championship contender, it’s far too much to pay a third option because those teams that allow be a third option can win a championship. That speaks to his talent, but it also speaks to the talent of championship contenders. That said, the teams with talent to win a championship have to pay the talent. And thus, with the new CBA, I do see a a lot fewer trade partners. I think Lowry will have a better season than he had in the past past year and maybe year and a half honestly because that boost uh that boost of his stock that could happen if he has another season that’s reminiscent of his all-star season or somewhere in between the All-Star season and the year after that I think boosts the stock into where the Jazz no longer getting pennies on the dollar on deals proposed about Lowry Martin and thus they didn’t pull the trigger because they weren’t getting good or fair market value. I think the Jazz then can end up with a better package and one that could lure Lowry Markin out. With that said, here are some Lowry trades that intrigue me that I found that I did not come up with. I’m not creative enough to do so, but I’ll tell you if I would do any of them and why or why not. So, the first one, the Pistons received Lowry. The Jazz received Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, a 2026 and 2027 first round pick. And there’s a note behind it. Per the step Ted Steppian rule, the Pistons can’t trade consecutive first round picks. And so that one doesn’t quite work. But let’s just work with that framework. Cade needs Lowry because he needs help. And Lowry is the perfect fit as someone who can knock down threes, have positional size, and play off the ball and really help raise the ceiling of a team that’s up and coming and certainly is in the right direction. The logic would be considering Lowry’s got a huge deal, $43 million, Utah’s probably moving towards a future without marketing is what is what this writes. Um I I can read the quote for you. Actually, let me pull my notes. It says, “Considering market’s massive $43 million deal, if Utah is definitely moving towards a future without Markin, this trade could be the best way for them to ease the salary burden.” Nadelovich wrote, “At the same time, they would receive solid players and valuable draft picks in return.” So, my analysis is the Hall isn’t bad. It’s It’s not my favorite, but Tobias Harris is older and the Jazz need something back that makes sense to abandon the long-term plan. And the long-term plan is of three years being really bad to get dudes that can be the one and two and Lowry can then be the three and the tail in his prime. Well, those guys go into their prime. And that could be with Ace Bailey and that could be the AJ Debonsa, it could be Darren Peterson, whomever that is. I don’t think you abandon the course for this package. The picks are intriguing, but like I said, the the the format doesn’t quite work. And the picks are intriguing, but Detroit doesn’t seem likely to have highlevel picks because they’re going to be good. So, that said, I don’t make that deal. Let’s move to the next one. The proposed trade details have the Jazz receiving Jaylen Green and Pat Coneton. The Phoenix Suns receive Lowry Markin. The Charlotte Hornets received Royce O’Neal, the 2029 second round pick from Utah, and the 2031 second round pick from Phoenix. So, let’s just talk about the Jazz part. I don’t understand really the logic behind Charlotte and this one. Uh, but we’ll we’ll skip on to that. I think it’s an interesting deal for the Jazz that I saw on Yahoo. I’ll give you guys the forewarning. I’ve never been a Jaylen Green guy. I didn’t like him that much in the draft. I’ve never liked watching him play for the Rockets, but he is young and the money works and that’s rare to find someone monetarily in the same conversation as Lowry Markham that’s younger and therefore has some promise. Green was a leading scoreer on a two seat in the West. Like that does mean something and he has a lot of talent, but my dislike for Jaylen Green kind of push us with one down the road and it makes me a little hesitant to see a guy that wasn’t wanted in Houston. They I mean he they were eager to get rid of him for a 37 year old. Grant gr granted that 37 year old Kevin Durant. Uh I don’t see based on what I’ve watched him play and I’ve seen him a lot of times in person, plenty of times watching on TV as well. I don’t see him being a star that’s capable of leading a team deep in the playoffs. I think he’d have to take a secondary, probably a tertiary role. And I think there’s some mental aspect of like his growth. He’s gotten better. He’s made strides, but I don’t necessarily like the way he plays. and I think he could stunt the growth of Ace Bailey. And to me, that’s the main priority for the Jazz right now. So, I wouldn’t do that trade, though, I would listen to someone who believes in a really good developmental plan for Jaylen Green. So, here’s the final trade. This is the one that I think is the most interesting, and I’m very curious to see what you guys think. This is a three-team deal. The Hawks would receive Jared Vanderbilt from the Lakers. The Jazz would receive Austin Reeves, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Cleba, Daltton Connect, an unprotected 2031 firstrounder from the Lakers, an unprotected 2032 first rounder from the Lakers. Lakers would receive Lowry and SI. This one is interesting and I I made all these notes last night and I’ve thought about it more since and I’m more bullish to this opportunity than I was when I made when I wrote the notes. Reeves a good player. I don’t see this trade moving the needle for the Jazz necessarily because Luca’s on the roster and the 2031 pick looks less appetizing than prior, but the two picks make an interesting deal as Reeves could maybe play the point guard for the Jazz and solve some of the woes that the Jazz have had at the point guard position. He’s a fringe all-star guy, one I will never say is a a guy that I feel comfortable being the best player on my team or even the second best, but if he’s the third best, you got a chance. I can talk myself into this and this is the best one. My inclination would still be to stay the course like that’s what I wrote last night. My my one thing I will say that’s swayed me a little bit is if you get Reeves Ace Bailey and you have the time to build with younger guys. This develops Philip House. This develops Hrix. You have more first round picks, more ammunition to make win now moves once you get next year’s first rounder. Assuming the Jazz are drafting in the top five like I believe they will. And I I think that there’s a world that Austin Reeves is a similar level player to Lowry Markin in a few years as to what Lowry is right now as to what Lowry will be in a few years. I just don’t think he’s as valuable because Lowry Markin is seven feet tall and shoots the heck out of the ball. And when you’re like that, you can fit on any roster. And when the Jazz improve, Lowry’s skill set ages very well. And Reeves, I think there’s still questions about. But at least this one like I had to truly mle mullle over and marinate and let it simmer and think about it. So I’m I’m not sure I’d do that trade still because I think Lowry is a very rare player and if you can keep him on a team control deal like he’s with the Jazz for a while then the Jazz shouldn’t be eager to get rid of him is the way I’d put it. Uh I do think there are the right prices. I’ve told you guys a thousand times that I wanted Jaylen Williams Jaylen Williams as rookie year and I would have done it straight up. Gordy Chiaza, love him very much. We disagreed about this many times and he came up to me very politely a couple days later. He goes that Jaylen Williams is a fantastic player. I believe in him. So that’s my Gordy impression. I love Gordy. Uh I think he’s the a guru of basketball and he is polite enough to share basketball talks with me for four years when I worked for the Jazz. So I am not that is not a slight whatsoever in him. I will sing his praises every single day. But we had a disagreement about that years later. He said that was a good trade to make and it made me feel very good. Anyway, I think trading Lowry is a possibility. I don’t think it’ll happen this year. I could talk myself into that prior one. But up next, we’ll talk about trades, draft picks, and all the things we’ve done so far in Austin Ang’s tenure and his moves. And I’ll give you grades for the individual as well as the entire tenure. All that and more coming straight ahead on Locked on Jazz. August 26 is officially FanDuel’s futures day. A brand new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and preseason hunches. For just 24 hours, FanDuel is giving you deals on NFL season prediction. So whether you’re calling your MVP, eyeing a long shot division winner, or ready to crown your Super Bowl champ before week one even kicks off, this is your moment. So if you want to take a fly on the MVP race, how do you feel about Joe Burrow? He was in the chase last year on a team that wasn’t very good. If they improve and he puts up those prolific numbers, not a bad call. If you want to crown your champion in August, my pick would be the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is the best player in football and I think that this team’s going to be hungry after, you know, they were trying to chase history this time. They’re the hunter, not the hunted. Or if you want to parlay your division winner, dark horses. So if you want to do that, two I prefer would be the Eagles in the NFC East and the Texans in the AFC South. I think those guys are the front runners in their respective divisions. So visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your future bets now because Futures Day is one day and one day only. FanDuel, play your game. Welcome back to Locked on Jazz. Leaf Teen with you here. And it’s it’s been about two and a half months since Austin A became the decision maker for the Jazz. It’s been June 2nd was his first day. And the Jazz have done the following. I’ll read you every inter uh acquisition that the Jazz have made and every transaction that the Jazz have done. June 29th, they acquired Ysef Nerkich for Colin Saxon and a second rounder. June 30th, the Jazz waved Johnny Juang. July 1st, the Jazz waved Jordan Clarkson. July 2nd, the Jazz signed the pair, Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. July 7th, the Jazz acquired Kevin Anderson and Kevin Love from Miami and a future second round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers. That was the John Collins deal. July 24th, the Jazz waved Jaden Springer. And August 6th, R.J. Lewis was acquired by the Celtics from the Jazz in exchange for George Niang. A favorable 2027 second rounder, which has turned out to be between the Celtics and Magic. And then the next one, a favorable 2031 second rounder between the Celtics and the Clippers. Or maybe I inverted those. I that’s what the transaction log says. So, let’s start with the draft picks. Ace to me was an A and maybe an A+ because the Jazz are getting the guy who made many people believe he was the number one contender to go number one prior to the season. He might go number two or number three according to very every player I mean every evaluator for 11 months and then it gets to May and June and everyone’s like oh he’s not going there. his these workouts, his uh handler, Omar Cooper, all like throw that all away. Who cares? That’s a bunch of garbage to me because the player and the talent is superb. They slander the character and all these different things about Ace Bailey and the Jazz got a guy who has top two, top three talent in a class at number five. Superb. And especially if the the narrative of the Jazz want Coniple and so therefore the Hornets can’t train down like they wanted to because the Wizards knew what they wanted. They wanted Ace Bailey. They wanted to trade up and the Jazz stayed put because they knew the Hornets wanted Khan. If that’s true, I think the the angling the the devious nature of how he handled the draft and got exactly what he wanted. Speaking of Austin Ah, makes this an even better pick because he handled it in his first Harrah excellently. So that’s an A or an A+. And you know another reason I’m just going to elaborate more and this is a little bit of a shameless plug. I did the episode that the everydayers watched or listened to on Ace and his comparison statistically to Brandon Ingram, Brandon Miller, Paul George, Michael Porter Jr. and even Kevin Durant and how he compares in college to those guys and the expectations for his rookie year compared to their actual rookie years. And if those hold strong, the stats would say that the Jazz are in great hands. I highly recommend you guys check that out. But the more I dug into that and the advanced numbers that I ran for that, I’m even more optimistic, more bullish about Ace Bailey. So A+ in every facet there for the first move of the A tenure. The second pick, Walter Clayton Jr., I voiced my feelings for at the time at the pick. I I didn’t love it. I thought it’s a fine pick. Saw great as a B minus or a C. I just thought the Jazz should go for a wing or the guy I had marked as the best player available, Casper Yakonis. That said, Walter Clayton Jr. tremendous shotmaker. The vision is that he’s the Jazz version of the Payton Pritchard that Austin was an influence on selecting in Boston. And if that’s the case, that’ll work out well. But for the time being, we’ll say B minus or C. Now, let’s go to the trades. The Jazz on June 29th acquired Ysef Nerkage for Sexton and a second rounder. And that’s a bad trade on paper, and I won’t deny it. I will not even bother you with a homer take to say it’s a good trade, but the Jazz didn’t hold leverage in this deal. The runway had to be open for the youth and Ston had good seasons, but doesn’t have proof of winning while having those seasons at the same level to say he earns, you know, he earns more in a trade. Like everyone knew the Jazz needed to clear the path for for youngsters to play. And he was going out, Jordan Clarkson was going out. And remember, the Jazz tried to deal Jordan Clarkson and they got no first or any deal worth their salt during the season, even like two years in a row. And even a bit back further, the the Jazz fetched a 2027 first for Connley and Nquil Alexander Walker. Both have been very useful players on teams that have made backtoback Western Conference Finals. The market was brutally difficult for Colin Ston. Brutally difficult. And the Jazz tried. They they knew that Jordan Clarkson and Colin Saxon weren’t going to go anywhere and they they did not factor in the oh you know what this is a good player because they knew that they could win the deal because the Jazz had to get rid of them. So the Jazz lost this deal plain and simple. But I commend Austin for getting it done and adhering to his vision without waffling and impairing what the Jazz’s future holds. So I’m going to give this a B even though the Jazz on paper lost the deal. The Jazz then waved Jordan Clarkson and I give this an A because it’s hard to do based on fanfare for JC longevity, whatever loyalty reasons that you’re going to hold, but the Jazz had to fully commit to their rebuild and he was a hindrance to to the youngsters taking those minutes. And though his mentorship is valuable, this playing time is more valuable. So that’s an A to me. The Jazz wave Johnny Juang. I this one I’m a fan of because he’s good enough to stop Cody from getting some chances if Cody is in his head and and not very confident. He shoots it well enough to take away some time by virtue of he’s too good to sit always and Ace needs some of those minutes to have the ball in his hands and not have other offensively oriented players take his time. I’m worried about that with with Sensible even because he’s such a good shooter. So Jazz got rid of one of those guys. I’m going to give this a B+. I think Juang will stick because he’s a good shooter, but he’s not a good enough defender to be a full-time rostered player on on good teams. Then on July 7th, the Jazz acquired Kevin Anderson and Kevin Love from Miami and a future second round pick from the Clippers. I thought the Jazz did really well here because John Collins was also the same thing. The Jazz needed to clear space for Philipowski and Hendrickx and they got valuable veterans. Uh that said, I’d hope the Jazz would get a little bit more for him in terms of players that would have more use in the short term, but I do like the flexibility of either of those two being good mentors or players that the team can move on from and and they won’t have, you know, a a conipion fit about being moved on. They understand the business of it and the second rounder is good to add and replenish the store. But I do think John Collins based on his season last year which was unbelievable uh drew a little bit less value inherently. But once again the vision was adhered to and that’s that was my goal. That was my complaint for years past. So I’ll go B minus just because Collins had a fantastic year. July 24th the Jazz wave Jaden Springer. It’s a relatively easy move. There is a lot of guards. There’s new players. There’s rookies. We haven’t even talked about John Ton. And so you know there’s more and more players. And Springier has proven at every step he cannot shoot the ball. and he’d be competing for a crowded position and was it was between he or Harkness and he just does not shoot it well. Elijah Harkness does not uh shoot it well himself, but I think they’re the same player with a little bit more upside on the ball for Harkas. And then August 6, this is the last deal the Jazz have made in the age tenure. RJ Lewis was acquired by the Celtics. The Jazz got Nang and and two second rounders 2027 and 2031. And I can’t complain about this at all. The Jazz got picks to replenish the Jazz’s stock, which they had given up many of them to make some of the prior deals. And George Ning is a amazing teammate. We talked about that in a prior episode, the Every Darers. Heard all the anecdotes about how the big the biggest thing the Jazz lacked between the year they made uh big strides in the playoffs versus the year they fizzled out against the Mavericks was George Nyang wasn’t on the team because they didn’t like each other anymore. Like that was the answer I got from someone at Jazz games that said, “Yeah, Niang’s gone.” And that that means a lot because everyone liked each other when Nang’s there and now it’s just George Engles uh Joe Engles and without George Niang that the team is not able to function as well. So I can’t complain about this whatsoever. That’s an A from me. Overall these trades are going to be minute details and it and the draft and how he drafts who he drafts will determine how Danny A, excuse me, Austin is seen. So, I’m I’m far I’m far more impressed with the determination to adhere to the plan by all means necessary than I anticipated I would be because I didn’t think the Jazz would be able to clear house that easily. And the Jazz did get stuff back and especially in that Nang deal. That was a good move. So, last coming up next, I I think it’s been a good tenure. I’m very eager to see how the Jazz move on. Will they contemplate the trade for Lowry? Who’s the guy that turns the Jazz franchise around with Ace Bailey? Is it AJ? Is it Darren? Is it Cam? Like those are all going to be answers that really leave inflection points on how good uh Austin is. But the last thing we’re going to discuss is how the Jazz can become a better defensive team this season and beyond. Because when you win, you got to play both sides of the ball. All that and more straight ahead on Locked on Jazz. Murdochs have been in Utah for over 80 years. I want to tell you about my friend’s Murdoch Chevy. The Chevy’s as American as it can get. If I if I see a car coming down a big dirt path in a western, I’m thinking that’s a Chevy truck right there. So, located in Woods Crossing in Logan, Chevy will take great care of you. Murdoch Chevy has the great lineup of Chevy trucks. The Colorado, the Silverado, and you can go to the website and see all the latest deals, what’s in stock, and much, much more. The inventory is kept up to date, and the amazing lineup of SUVs is there as well. The Tahoe, the Suburban, the Blazer, the Equinox, and the Tracks. And they’re all classics, beautifully maintained, up to-date. Uh Bell’s safety features and everything up to up to the date. And the most important part is the people there at Murdoch Chevy take great care of you. And if you can call in and say you listen to Locked on Jazz, check the inventory, say you have interest in a car, they’ll take care of you in every facet. So make sure to tell them you listen to Locked on Jazz. And they’ll treat you fantastically, just like they do everyone. So tune in, listen to Locked on Jazz, go to Murdoch Chevy, and get yourself a new car. All right, welcome back to Locked on Jazz. Leaf Tan with you here and we’re going to talk defense. This is something I haven’t done much of because the Jazz have been bad and I think I’ve made peace with the while the Jazz are not playing well and not necessarily playing to win that our defense is going to be bad, but it was interesting exercise of thought to think of how the Jazz can turn it around. So, I appreciate whoever on Twitter asked me about how the Jazz can become better defensive team and I took some time to think about it and here are my thoughts. Defense is want to and traits. It’s a mixture. You need to want to and traits help. The Jazz right now employ one proven to be good defender that will play real minutes and that’s Walker Kesler. The Jazz also have two promising younger players with defensive chops in their potential and that’s Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks. Those are the only three that I would say have true traits that make them good defenders at their position and in general. The easy answer, the first thing to do is to find more guys that have the requisite traits that make these guys stand out. They’re long, they’re tall, they move fluidly, they’re laterally able to move and can contest at the rim for their position. Of course, Kesler is one of the better rim rim protectors in the entire NBA, and many statistics support that. He runs very well. Cody, I think can be one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA in time as he gets stronger. And Taylor, we’re hoping can be the Jazz’s Jane McDaniels. Now, so that’s the easy answer. Find more of those guys. Find guys who guard more positions. And for that reason, a slight part of me was sad to see R.J. Luis go because he can really, really guard. He’s the defensive player of the year in the Big East or excuse me, he’s all defense. He was a second place finisher in defensive player of the year in the Big East behind Ryan Collbrer who had won four years in a row. So essentially, he was the best player other than a generational defensive talent at Crate. But I digress. My my point being is he had rare traits defensively that could have made him play, but he’s not a good enough shooter to be drafted. And that’s why the Jazz were able to pick him and the Jazz got George Yang for him. So no complaints. But here the way the Jazz can improve on defense that are not, hey, draft different guys. I think they can get bigger at each position. In my preferred lineup that many of you guys listened to a couple weeks ago, if you haven’t, I talked about my my preferred lineup features a slight change from the one I anticipate, but essentially it’ll be Isaiah Collier, Ace Bailey, Lowry Mark, and either Hendricks or Philippowski alongside Walker Kesler. And the Jazz are very big in every spot. The Jazz have good size. Collier is not enormous heightwise, but he’s strong as an aux. He’s quick. Ace is 6’9 playing the two guard. Lowry’s seven foot at the three. Hendricks and Flip are both huge. Obviously, Hendrickx has more defensive chops than Flip, who’s not fleet of foot, but it’s it’s the idea of being bigger. It’s hard to see Ace as a plus as a rookie on defense. So, I want to like people are going to say, “Well, Ace isn’t going to be good on defense.” And you might be right, but I think he has a chance to become a very solid defender in time. And it’s the future that matters for the Jazz defense. Like right now, the Jazz are going to be bottom five in the league defensively this season. I’m pretty sure of that. So, that’s the first point. Get bigger on defense. The second point I think will take longer to see go well, but this is one that start when when you say defense and offense go hand in hand, that’s often a football expression that you need the three phase of the game. Special teams of course in there too, but it matters in basketball, too. The Jazz need to turn it over far less frequently on offense because when the Jazz turn it over, we give up transition points. So, I dug up some numbers for you. The Jazz give up 22 points off of turnovers, which is the worst in the NBA. They go up 19 points off of fast breaks and 52 points in the paint, many of which are off of turnovers. So holding on to the basketball could lead to better defense because if you have people behind the ball and in between the man and the hoop that it’s the simple fundamentals when everyone’s in Boys and Girls Club, you’re wearing wristbands to guard someone with the same exact wristband. The Jazz weren’t able to do that and execute a very simple part of basketball because they turn the ball too o too frequently to the other team who would then get advantages and score. The Jazz half court defense is not much better, but that really matters in terms of giving up the most points in the NBA, which the Jazz did. So, these all tie back to holding on to the basketball, and the Jazz need a point guard to help in this area. And the other thing I think helps it is in terms of slowing down transition is offensive rebounding, which the Jazz were good at and allows fewer transition opportunities and also gives the Jazz more possessions. And the Jazz should be good at that as they play the larger lineups, but also have employ a fundamental uh phil philosophical approach in terms of hey we’re going to commit this many players to the glass and we have the belief that this will help us give up fewer offensive give up fewer fast breaks because we’re going to get more possessions offensive rebounding and therefore by playing more offense we play less defense like that is what a lot of teams are doing in the NBA and it’s minute stuff I’ve heard Chris Finch talk about it in interviews and he has a really good interesting answer all the coaches talk about this like this is the stuff that they work on and game plan over for the offseason. It’s not like, hey, we’re going to try a whole different Princeton offense. Like, no one does that anymore. Instead, they’re thinking about how to get more possessions. How to get more possessions? Either ratchet up defensive pressure or, you know, if you don’t have the chops for that, get more offensive rebounds and play less defense. I think the Jazz can do that. Now, the last thing that I think is interesting is the Jazz haven’t had any intention of winning. So, defense, and when I say that, it’s not that they’re purposely losing, it’s that the Jazz just don’t have the team to win. and therefore winning is losing is more lucrative in terms of getting a good draft pick. Granted, the Jazz fell to the five pick. I know. So, defense then has struggled due to the youth and experimentation of playing more youngsters, different lineups. So, you don’t have the same chemistry. The Jazz employed a dimminitive backcourt with with Ston and Kee, Collier, Keonte and Jordan Clarkson. None of those guys are good defenders. Collier has the chance to be, but none of them are at this point. So for the last couple years, the Jazz have played a small backport and changed who’s playing with whom and haven’t tried to necessarily win a ton of games. So I think if there’s a winning roster there in time, there would be more defensive schemes employed and that diversity of defense and would would make the intensity better, but also it makes the team more locked in and also more difficult to game plan against because you have different schemes. And I’ll give you an example. The last time the Jazz were at 500. The Jazz went 26 and 26 through the first 52 games of the season a couple seasons ago, they went five and 25 to finish. And the Jazz threw in a wrinkle of a zone. They played the zone more often than just about any team aside from the Miami Heat and were successful in doing so. The rest of the season, the Jazz went five and 25, and that went out by the wayside. So, the other team other thing to point out about that team is they had vets or guys with role definition. Like Jared Vanderbilt knew what his job was. it was to guard and play with energy. The Jazz haven’t had any of those type of guys. And on losing teams that aren’t meant to contend, you don’t really have many of those type of guys. You have guys that are out there trying to prove to themselves that they belong in the NBA. Prove to Will Hardy like, “Hey, you should play me because I’m going to try really hard.” And it’s it’s kind of a throw the throw some mud at the wall, see what sticks type of thing. I think as continuity raises, the Jazz defense will get better. I understand that doesn’t answer exactly how to get better, but those are the three things I would point to. The Jazz right now are playing basketball without tons of intention. And it it’s a question of who arises to the to the task as, wow, this guy’s good enough that we should play him and how quickly do the Jazz are the pieces to get better and take it a step further. That’s when defense will get better. So, thank you guys for making Locked on Jazz your first listen today and always. And for your second listen, find the Locked On NBA podcast where there’s no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. So find Locked on NBA on YouTube, wherever you listen to your podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Thank you guys, and I look forward to talking to you guys again tomorrow.

Could Lauri Markkanen be on the move? Utah Jazz fans, brace yourselves for an in-depth analysis of potential trade scenarios involving the Finnish forward. Leif Thulin, filling in for David Locke, explores intriguing deals with the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Lakers, weighing the pros and cons of each possibility.

Thulin doesn’t stop there. He grades Austin Ainge’s recent moves as the Jazz’s new decision-maker, including the draft selection of Ace Bailey and the acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic. The discussion then shifts to strategies for improving Utah’s league-worst defense, focusing on player acquisitions, size adjustments, and reducing turnovers. Walker Kessler’s role as the team’s defensive anchor is highlighted, along with the potential impact of newcomers like Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks.

Discover why Thulin believes Markkanen could be the third option on a future championship-contending Jazz team alongside rising stars like Bailey. Tune in for expert insights on the Jazz’s rebuilding process and how the new CBA affects their trade possibilities.

0:00 Intro: Is Lauri staying in Utah?

5:07 Analyzing potential Lauri Markkanen trade packages

10:12 Grading Austin Ainge’s moves as Jazz GM

15:48 Evaluating Jazz’s offseason transactions and draft picks

21:58 How the Jazz can improve defensively

27:34 Factors affecting Jazz’s defensive struggles and future

Utah Jazz, Lauri Markkanen, NBA trades, Austin Ainge, Ace Bailey, Walker Kessler, Taylor Hendricks, defensive improvement, NBA draft, John Collins trade, Kevin Love, George Niang, Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Will Hardy, Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Cody Williams, Yusuf Nurkic, Keyonte George, David Locke, Locked On Jazz, Utah Jazz podcast, Utah Jazz news, NBA rebuilding

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