Utah Jazz Land Tough Grade for Offseason Moves

The Utah Jazz remained busy this offseason through a variety of ways.

Through the draft, they not only took their headline selection of Ace Bailey at pick five, but also moved up the board to pick up their second-round pick in Walt Clayton Jr. for a pair of top-rated rookies this season, giving this group another layer of appealing youth.

On the trade market, the Jazz also made sure to be active, finding deals for both John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers and Collin Sexton to the Charlotte Hornets, parting ways with a large chunk of their veteran talent from the past couple of seasons. You also can't forget Jordan Clarkson's buyout, eventually landing him with the New York Knicks after five and a half seasons in Salt Lake City.

And through it all, this roster now looks a bit different from last year heading into the 2025-26 season–– a positive step in the right direction, but for some, Utah's offseason may have left a bit more to be desired.

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes recently graded each NBA team's offseason with the dust now settled from most of the action and summer league in the rear view mirror, where for the Jazz, they found themselves with a "C" grade.

"Ace Bailey was a risky choice at No. 5 on draft night. It wasn't initially clear he wanted to play for the Utah Jazz, and his uninspiring season at Rutgers suggested his obvious talent might not drive team success," Hughes wrote. "Even acknowledging all that, he was the right pick. Utah has been rebuilding for over three years but still went into the 2025 draft without a young cornerstone. Bailey, for all his inefficiency on the court and curious pre-draft decision-making, still had the highest ceiling of anyone left on the board. The reward could be worth the risk."

Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ace Bailey stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the fifth pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

"The return package for John Collins was only Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a second-round pick, but maybe there's value in opening up more frontcourt playing time for Kyle Filipowski and a post-injury Taylor Hendricks," he continued. "The deal that sent a second-rounder to Charlotte with Collin Sexton for Jusuf Nurkić remains perplexing, though. The Jazz shouldn't have had to sweeten a trade in which they gave up the better player."

In terms of how the draft transpired, it's hard to complain about the Bailey-Clayton combo. Sure, there might be added risk tacked on from his pre-draft situation, but as mentioned by Hughes, it's a gamble that has a reward certainly worthy of the risk. And so far, Clayton Jr. has proven all he's been advertised to be during his four summer league performances.

The trade packages are where opinions start to get dicey, though. After months of speculation on what the Jazz would inevitably get for both Collins and Sexton in a trade, both returns wound up being a bit less than some had initially expected for each–– essentially resulting in Jusuf Nurkic, Kyle Anderson, Kevin Love, and a $25 million trade exception.

Apr 6, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) reacts after a basket with forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It doesn't jump off the page, but it does move the Jazz closer to their big-picture aspirations of growing this young talent and centering this next season around development and progression. Last season, Utah was often rumored to deal both names leading up to the trade deadline to make that happen, and this summer was officially the time that the rubber met the road.

Time will tell if each outlet of the Jazz's offseason pans out in their favor, but after a few weeks of work, it's clear Utah is diving fully into the rebuild and youth movement for this next season.

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