After trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell for a haul of young players and picks, the Utah Jazz gave off the impression that they would be a rebuilding team for years to come.
Yet, somehow, the Jazz are still relevant a quarter of the way through the season. Thanks to a collective effort from guys like Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, and Malik Beasley, they have held a respectable record all season and currently sit at 7th in the Western Conference standings.
But is their level of play really sustainable for the whole season? According to NBA legend Kevin McHale, it just might be…
“I told him you’re doing a terrible job at tanking, you have to teach your guys how to lose,” McHale said on what he told Utah President Danny Ainge. “You’re doing a horrific job there winning all these games. I was killing him cause I just talked to him a while back. They’ve had an unbelievable start, those guys are playing fresh and playing free. I’m not sure they have a superstar on their team but they have a couple of guys playing like superstars. It just goes to show that if you play hard and start and you start up, I don’t think the rest of the league was willing to play as hard as they were. The rest of the league wasn’t in shape to play as hard as they were. Those guys came in with something to prove, they’re all kind of grinders. Danny doesn’t really wanna tank…”
"Those guys came in with something to prove"
Kevin McHale isn’t surprised Danny Ainge has led the Jazz organization to a great start @RickKamlaSports | @adaniels33 | #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/YJWNql4IAk
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 4, 2022
Should The Utah Jazz Make A Run For Victor Wembanyama?
It’s tough to win in the NBA without a superstar, and the Jazz don’t have one on this roster. As good as they are looking right now, the playoffs could really expose their lack of star power.
Still, this core has shown they might be worth investing in.
“I’ve been asking what kind of sample size we need for these guys to prove they are for real, and I think 10-11 games is a pretty good sample size,” said former NBA big man Thurl Bailey earlier in the season. “20 might be better. The road is tough anyway… but I think it’s sustainable. There are certain things you can’t control. You can’t control the health part. And you can’t control the schedule. So, I believe it is sustainable. You’ve got a well-balanced enough team. Coach Hardy’s thrown a lot of different lineups out there.”
Only time will tell how far this Jazz team can go, but Danny Ainge will have some big decisions to make over the next few months. If he acts now, he could get a really sweet return on some of the team’s core members. He could set the Jazz up to have a stockpile of assets.
Or, he could decide to double down on what he’s got and build around some of the core players he already has in place.
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