Utah Jazz Have Little to Fear From Potential NBA Tanking Changes

As a result of the NBA's growing tanking crisis that's been spreading like wildfire the deeper into the season teams get, it's now sparked a discussion amongst the executives at the top of the league to make drastic rule changes to stop those trends from persisting moving forward.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke down the latest regarding the potential proposals to prevent teams from tanking heading into this offseason, listing several ideas that have come up in recent league discussions.

Those ideas include, but aren't limited to, eliminating certain pick protections, frozen lottery odds at a certain date in the regular season calendar like the trade deadline, or even flattening odds across the lottery altogether.

Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday's GM meeting as well as a late January Competition Committee meeting told ESPN that the following concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:

•First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+
•Lottery odds freeze at the… https://t.co/Vk2n1cSzde
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2026

It's chatter that a fan of any rebuilding team, including the Utah Jazz, should be paying close attention to as the offseason draws closer. Any big swing that the league decides to take on changing the lottery drawing or the odds that come with it is bound to have major implications on how teams construct their rosters moving forward.

But when it comes to the Jazz specifically, is there really reason to worry about what changes may lie ahead to prevent tanking? It might not be as impactful as it seems on the surface.

Why Jazz Need Not to Worry About Tanking Rule Changes

The real important piece regarding the new rule change discussions that relates to the Jazz is the timeline those adjustments will occur. Rather than taking place in-season, the NBA will work out any and all decisions in the offseason––and that's great for Utah.

The Jazz have a clear window of when they expect to turn things up a notch to compete more than what's been seen the past four seasons. Without control of their first round pick next season due to their deadline deal for Jaren Jackson Jr. with the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah has made their intentions clear that they're pushing for the playoffs in 2027. Not another lottery draw.

Therefore, any lottery or anti-tanking changes that may be enacted in time for the 2027 NBA Draft likely wouldn't have much effect on the Jazz's plans anyways. For teams that are trending towards taking a step back, whatever Adam Silver and Co. might have in store ahead is worth paying attention to a bit more. Playoff teams? There's more important things to worry about.

Feb 11, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) plans his next move around Sacramento Kings guard/forward DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

As for this season, though, the extent to which Utah might be penalized for their tactics in trying to boost their lottery odds and tank might just be a slap on the wrist in the form of a fine like they saw for $500K before the All-Star break for resting Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen in the fourth quarter.

For now, there's no defined rules or drastic penalties in place for the strategies the Jazz have invested in, like coaching and rotational decisions late in games, allowing them to press forward to do what they must to retain their top-eight protected pick with the OKC Thunder––something that multiple sources have stated will be the number-one priority for Utah ending the season out.

After this season ends, all bets are off for how the NBA could approach their new biggest talking point and the penalties that could come with it. But if all holds to form for the Jazz heading into next year, they'll be onto bigger and better things than to be worried about tanking.