Donovan Mitchell has been traded, Rudy Gobert has been traded, training camp begins at the end of the month and the 2022-23 NBA preseason is less than a month away. So I’ve opened up the mailbag for a final time before the rest of the Jazz roster is finalized.
Koster, that’s not crazy at all. I know that the Jazz have had teams inquire about their veteran players and the Jazz are certainly looking to make a good deal and a good decision, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a version of the future that includes Mike Conley.
First we have to remember that the Jazz are not going to be looking to win many games, and having Conley on the roster does put that in some jeopardy. Maybe that means that they would have to get Conley to agree to come off the bench, and also hold him out to make sure that he doesn’t get injured and also allow more of the young players to flourish.
Getting Conley to agree to all that is already going to be a tough row to hoe, but this is all under the assumption that Conley even wants to potentially end his career on a team that won’t be winning. He might not even want to be here. He might rather be traded to a contending team and try to push for what has eluded him thus far — a title.
But let’s say that Conley wants to be here and is OK seeing out the rest of his contract in Utah. He would be an incredible guy to have in the locker room to mentor the young players on the Jazz roster. There’s not many people who would be better suited and more valuable in that role.
But if the Jazz get an enticing offer for Conley, they’d probably go for it.
Brandon, believe me, I hear you.
Listen, as of writing this, on Sept. 6, I do not have anything I can report about the future whereabouts of Conley or Bojan Bogdanovic. But, I just don’t see a world where the Jazz keep Bogdanovic on the roster and the only scenario I see Conley on the roster is in the one I detailed above.
I completely agree with you that if the Jazz want to make the most out of this rebuild, they have to lose a lot of games and try to get the best odds in the draft lottery. The goal is to get top prospects, and I think that the Jazz are more aware of this than anyone else.
I, like Spencer, am extremely excited about the upcoming season and the upcoming Jazz era. I know that a rebuild is not the most exciting as far as wins and success are concerned. But I love basketball and I love watching young players develop and love thinking about the potential of what could come out of this rebuild. I can’t wait for training camp to start.
I’m not sure how long this rebuild is going to take, but if I had to make an educated guess, I’d say that 2025 is not unrealistic.
If the Jazz hit big on a 2023 draft pick, develop some of their young players and have a core that can complement star players, they could spend a couple of years flipping assets for players, wheeling and dealing and getting back into the conversation.
I think part of this is going to depend on the longevity of some of the other teams in the Western Conference. When the time is right and there is room for movement in the standings, it will be obvious and hopefully that lines up with the Jazz’s timeline.
Competition between Walker Kessler and Udoka Azubuike will be very fun this year and so will watching the development of both players. With opportunity to play heavy minutes, I’d expect that both guys are going to show different strengths and weaknesses through the first couple months of the season and we’ll learn a lot.
I’m not going anywhere. Period.
For those that don’t know, Collin Sexton, who the Jazz just acquired in the trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, had surgery last year to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and in late June it was reported that he’d made a full recovery and was cleared for basketball activities.
Then, last month he was playing seemingly without pain or any hinderances when he showed off his skills at the Miami Pro League.
Sexton is set to arrive in Utah this week to go through his physical with the Jazz. Once that is done the trade will be finalized and officially announced by the team. We’ll probably get official word on Sexton closer to training camp, but it doesn’t seem like there have been any setbacks with his recovery and progress.
