SAN ANTONIO — The Utah Jazz’s five-game road trip came to an end on Monday night with a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, giving the Jazz a 1-4 record for the out-of-state sojourn.
Across those games, the Jazz had a nearly full squad, competitive win against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then the roster shifted for the remainder of the excursion.
Lauri Markkanen was sent back to Utah after the team’s loss in Chicago (in which he did not play due to illness). That game also marked the first of three in which Svi Mykhailiuk, Jusuf Nurkić and Kevin Love would get healthy DNPs. Brice Sensabaugh also got sick and missed the game in against the Spurs on Monday.
This pre-trade deadline stretch and the halfway point of the season should serve as representative of what to expect for the rest of the Jazz season. There are going to be games in which the Jazz rest their best players or most impactful lineups in favor of giving the younger players on the roster the lion’s share of of minutes.
That approach will, more often than not, lead to losses, which is what the Jazz decision makers want. Whether you’re a proponent of the tank or an opponent of it, that is the way this is going to play out.
The discerning eyes of the Jazz brass will be looking closely at Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier and Walter Clayton Jr., while also giving a ton of runway to Ace Bailey, keeping in mind that they want to start winning games in the very near future.
That’s all expected and understood. The part that is not so easy to determine is what happens with the veterans mentioned above — Mykhailiuk, Nurkić and Love.
“I’m a Jazz for life, baby,” Nurkić said with a sideways smirk. “I don’t know. I mean, I obviously love being here. It’s been a great experience so far, and hopefully we continue the journey for a long time. But you can’t really control a lot of things...if it’s up to me, I’m not leaving.”
Nurkić shared those sentiments when I asked what he thought about his name being tossed around as a potential trade target and where he wanted to be. Love has shared similar thoughts, believing that he has something to legitimately offer in the way of a steadying, veteran presence for the young Jazz core.
And the Jazz really value all three players. Mykhailiuk has been one of the Jazz’s more consistent players, Nurkić has been better than expected and has done a great job filling in during Walker Kessler’s absence and Love has, according to everyone around the Jazz, been invaluable as a leader and mentor.
When the Jazz actually are trying to win games rather than tank, they are going to want to do it with a combination of veterans and young players, if for no other reason than to help the more youthful players establish a confident and sustainable style of play. And make no mistake, the Jazz have been better when there has been a mix on the floor (hence the healthy scratches from games the Jazz would rather lose).
But, especially in the case of Nurkić and Mykhailiuk, there are bound to be calls that are made to the Jazz, inquiring about a mid-season price. The Jazz are going to have to weigh how much they actually value what those players have given to the team and what they could potentially give to the team down the road.
They like being in Utah, they like playing for Will Hardy, they like the way they have been treated and they are open to being a part of helping to build the Jazz up from where they are now.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 5, right around the corner and it will fall in the middle of the Jazz’s next long road trip. The most likely scenario is that nothing happens and the Jazz finish out the season as is.
But as one Jazz source said to me recently, “In this league, Luka Doncić can get traded mid-season, so you can’t rule anything out.”