ESPN Slams Utah Jazz With Rock-Bottom Ranking

The Utah Jazz have made a few notable shifts to their roster through their offseason so far that make the landscape for this team look a bit different heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

The Jazz not only had a productive draft to add Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. in the first round, but decided to make deals to send out veterans Collin Sexton to the Charlotte Hornets and John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers, while also buying out longtime franchise fixture Jordan Clarkson for him to take his talents to the New York Knicks.

Simply, it's a brand new era in Utah come next season, and this front office had no reservations in making that known through their initial moves this summer.

However, as it pertains to next season, the stage could be set for another season in which the Jazz reside at the bottom of the Western Conference, eyeing some high odds come draft lottery time in 2026.

ESPN analyst Zach Kram recently outlined a fresh Western Conference tier list after a few weeks of offseason moves in the books, where he placed the Jazz dead-last within a group named: "What's the plan?"

"On the one hand, Lauri Markkanen is still in Utah. The team wanted to add Jusuf Nurkic. And new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said in his introductory news conference, when asked about tanking, 'You won't see that this year," Kram wrote. "Yet on the other hand, Utah shed John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton this summer for minimal return; drafted an 18-year-old project in Ace Bailey; and is projected to play the youngest backcourt in the league. The Jazz could try not to tank and still lose 60-plus games this season, given their own deficiencies and the broad strength across the rest of the West."

Jan 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) reacts after a technical is called against him following a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Jazz had a league-worst 17 wins on the year last season with their previous veteran talent on the roster, albeit while many like Clarkson, Collins, and Markkanen had sat out a considerable amount down the second half of the season.

Now, for the season next up on the horizon, though, Utah is younger, has less experience on the roster, and still sits in a brutal, competitive Western Conference.

So, even with names like Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler still in the fold, likely helping put wins on the board, it's a gauntlet in the West, and one where the Jazz may have trouble surviving in year one fully leaning into their youth movement and the ups and downs that come alongside it. A tough reality for a team that's already spent the last three seasons stuffed inside the lottery.

Nov 23, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) and center Walker Kessler (24) battle for position against New York Knicks center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during a free-throw during the first half at the Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images | Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

With youth at the forefront and development set to take priority next season, there could certainly be some growing pains throughout Utah's next 82-game stretch. But, those steps might be exactly what this young Jazz core needs to reach the next level of their rebuild process.

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