Jazz GM Justin Zanik 'Ready' to Make Blockbuster When Time Comes

The Utah Jazz look ready to jump on a big move when the stars align.

Now officially placed outside of postseason contention for this NBA season and two games left to go, the focus for the Utah Jazz is beginning to shift ahead to the coming offseason and how the team can make some roster improvements for the 2024-25 season.

With immense cap space, draft picks, and young talent at their disposal, they are inevitably a squad to keep a keen eye on as a team with rising stock across the coming months. However, with another season record under .500 in the books, the pressure continues to build for the Jazz front office to put together a formidable and competitive unit to push for the postseason.

In a recent interview with Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, Jazz GM Justin Zanik dove into how he and the front office look to approach this offseason where he noted how Utah will have a welcomed advantage against other franchises:

“We’re in a more unique position than some other teams that are faced with the same free agent list that we’re looking at. Not only just the flexibility we have but just the multiple assets we have to deal.”

Thanks to the results from two years ago to ship off Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz are sitting in a stellar spot in terms of their future assets. On top of the three draft selections they'll own this summer, Utah will have at least two firsts at their disposal from now until the 2029 season. Outside of the Oklahoma City Thunder, not many spots in the league have a treasure trove like the Jazz do.

The Jazz could always hold these picks until they solidify as actual selections in the draft, but there remains the possibility of a splash being in-store via trade. Unhappy superstars show up on the radar pretty frequently in the current landscape of the NBA, so it makes Utah an ideal destination for any high-level player who hits the market.

“We’ve talked before about trying to predict the NBA drama that happens," Zanik said in his interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. "You just sit there and wait for it to come, but we’re ready. You always want to get as many No. 1 guys as you can. In the absence of that, you want to get players that help the team function, and hopefully in a longer timeline than just a one- or two-year basis because of age.”

The Jazz have had a few opportunities to strike on recent big names looking for new homes but have remained conservative in their efforts to build a sustainable and long-lasting core to build around. As they wait for the right candidate, in the meantime, Utah has stacked up some established, productive veterans alongside their youth movement to "help the team function" and build an exciting mix of talent on the roster.

This summer presents a golden opportunity for Utah to walk into next season with a much stronger and improved core to make some noise in an already-stacked Western Conference.

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