Jazz Suddenly Young Roster Hints at Full-Scale Rebuild
Last week, the Utah Jazz traded Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson in what continues to hint at an eventual full rebuild. The Jazz now have a slew of young talent to build around.
As the roster stands, Utah currently has eight players under the age of 24.
Age certainly was a concern as the organization looked toward any potential future with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. The roster, which was built around the two All-Stars, was progressively aging in the years leading up to the departure of Gobert.
Last year, the average age of the roster was 27.9, which tied with the Milwaukee Bucks as the third-oldest team in the league (via Real GM). An older roster doesn’t necessarily mean that a team will be unsuccessful. It's actually quite the opposite.
For example, within the top-10 oldest teams, only two of them didn’t make the playoffs last season. Four of those teams made it past the first round, including the NBA-champion Golden State Warriors.
But investing in an aging roster can be high risk, as well. The Lakers were the oldest team in the league and fell extremely short of their high expectations while not even making the playoffs.
Jazz executives invested everything into the rosters the past few years, and while those teams were successful in winning a lot of games, it did leave the future with little flexibility. Age may not have been the main reason the Jazz turned the page, but the lack of athleticism and defensive mobility fits the narrative that it played a huge role. Youth brings uncertainty and sometimes years of development, but it will also help shape a steadier future.
Historically, the Jazz, as an organization, have proven to have a strong developmental program that maximizes its young talent. For the past few years, the Jazz have lacked the draft talent to develop.
Paired with the older roster limiting any opportunities for these players to progress, and youth is of little use to the organization.
The Jazz will now have an opportunity to shape their roster to the likes of head coach, Will Hardy. That means finding the players under 24 that will help lead this new era of Jazz basketball into the future.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @ArembaczNBA.
