3 Utah Jazz Players Whose Roles Could Change Most This Season

The Utah Jazz are looking to make a statement transition this coming NBA season by turning around from being one of the league's more frequent lottery participants in recent years to now gunning for a spot to play in the postseason for the first time since 2022.

It's a much-needed shift that Jazz fans have been patiently waiting for since their rebuild first started. Utah will be due to win more than 20 to 25 games this year, remain competitive throughout the season, and have a better roster to accomplish it.

But with that improved roster from last season also comes a few changes that will be in store for this Jazz rotation. Not every player remaining onboard is bound to have the same roles and opportunities they did last season, which could change their trajectory for this upcoming season for better or for worse.

Let's take a look at three players in the Jazz's rotation who could see their roles change the most heading into the 2026-27 campaign:

Svi Mykhailiuk

Over the course of last season, Svi Mykhailiuk saw his role shift drastically from the start of the year to the end. In the top half of the calendar, he was a frequent starter in the Jazz's first five, and suddenly phased out of the rotation once reaching the end of the season, and Utah had a laser focus on the draft lottery.

The Jazz clearly like Mykhailiuk and see him as a winning player on the offensive end. He's going to find a role similar to what he had at the start of last season to kick off the 2026-27 campaign. But now with both Josh Okogie and Josh Green battling him for minutes on the wing as that plug-and-play veteran, Mykhailiuk's opportunities could decrease because of them.

Really, Mykhailiuk's connectivity and skillset on the offensive side of the ball will be what keeps him as a staple of this rotation, if he can stick. If he slips out of favor, then it might be the defensive upside that Okogie and Green bring that leave him limited.

Ace Bailey

There's a world where, if Ace Bailey takes a considerable jump from his rookie season, his role could shift in the right direction as opposed to him taking more of a backseat. He's already put on some noticeable muscle throughout the summer, and at only 20 years old, has tons of room to grow into this season.

But there's also a chance that Bailey, depending on how the Jazz's rotation decisions go, might just be the most favorable bet to be Utah's sixth man. Second-overall pick Darryn Peterson has a great case to start in the backcourt next to Keyonte George, which would then leave Bailey as the commander of the second unit.

And while sure, it's not a starting spot, it's a role that Bailey could mesh into quite perfectly. He'll be able to expand his game more offensively as a primary creator more than he would next to guys like George and Peterson, and spread his wings as the future franchise cornerstone Utah drafted him to be.

Brice Sensabaugh

Along with what could be a noteworthy change in the Jazz's second unit if Bailey shifts down as the sixth man, that move impacting Bailey would also tend to affect fourth-year wing Brice Sensabaugh.

Sensabaugh comes off a career season in Utah where he saw his most minutes per game since entering the league, averaging his best-ever mark in points and field goal percentage, really establishing himself as a premier bench scorer in the rotation.

But there's no doubt that the Jazz's rotation is getting increasingly crowded with scorers. Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Lauri Markkanen will all be getting more scoring looks and minutes their way, leaving Sensabaugh due to take advantage of more limited opportunities in a contract year compared to what he saw last season.

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