This was always the most likely scenario. Plus it's not just a Cooper Flagg draft like it was for Wemby, there are other potential franchise players in the next draft, down to 7 or 8. Utah might get lucky and finish 5th or 6th and get bumped to #1 in the lottery, but generally Utah are never that lucky. But I'd argue it's not worth trying to be the worst team all season to have at max a 14% chance of #1. Some of these teams like Washington and Detroit have built an awful losing culture that Utah have just never had.
Next season depends on many factors - if Lauri has an all star year and isn’t sat with imaginary injuries for the run-in, if Collin Sexton isn't traded and has another excellent year, if John Collins is traded or Kessler starts and has a bounce back year, if Keyonte takes another big step up as his summer league suggests, what level the rookies and sophomores in general can contribute, whether Clarkson is complete ass again (and not traded).
A few things could happen yet, Jazz might even trade for someone like Ingram as NO are in real difficulty. Nothing would surprise me.
What works against the Jazz is that they have a genuine home advantage with the crowd, and also teams will occasionally sit a star for a road trip to SLC, so we are far too competitive at home to be able to suck as badly as some of these teams.
Ultimately I think Jazz will win more games than fans will like, they'll do a late tank maybe after a weakening trade (this is limited by the salary floor), and finish maybe 5-8 in the lottery. Long term you can't really predict as the base is flipping and building in the draft, but with lots of picks and young talent you are always well-positioned to trade for a big player if an opportunity arises. This is what I think Ainge's ultimate plan is, but nothing has come up so far.
Next season depends on many factors - if Lauri has an all star year and isn’t sat with imaginary injuries for the run-in, if Collin Sexton isn't traded and has another excellent year, if John Collins is traded or Kessler starts and has a bounce back year, if Keyonte takes another big step up as his summer league suggests, what level the rookies and sophomores in general can contribute, whether Clarkson is complete ass again (and not traded).
A few things could happen yet, Jazz might even trade for someone like Ingram as NO are in real difficulty. Nothing would surprise me.
What works against the Jazz is that they have a genuine home advantage with the crowd, and also teams will occasionally sit a star for a road trip to SLC, so we are far too competitive at home to be able to suck as badly as some of these teams.
Ultimately I think Jazz will win more games than fans will like, they'll do a late tank maybe after a weakening trade (this is limited by the salary floor), and finish maybe 5-8 in the lottery. Long term you can't really predict as the base is flipping and building in the draft, but with lots of picks and young talent you are always well-positioned to trade for a big player if an opportunity arises. This is what I think Ainge's ultimate plan is, but nothing has come up so far.
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