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The Utah Jazz, one of the most pleasantly surprising teams in the NBA this season, have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Utah’s loss to the OKC Thunder on Thursday night dropped their record to 36-44, putting them 2.5 games behind the 10th-place Thunder (39-42).
The Jazz, who can no longer catch the Thunder, have two more games remaining on their schedule. They will take on the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and end their season against the LA Lakers on Sunday.
Despite the elimination, the Utah Jazz couldn’t be in a better position to succeed in the future.
“Trader Dan” nailed the first year of the Utah's hard reset
Danny Ainge, the team’s CEO and alternate governor, made sweeping changes once he took over the reins of basketball power in the franchise. He hired Will Hardy, a rookie head coach, to replace the long-tenured Quin Snyder as the team’s coach.
The biggest and perhaps the most daring move from Ainge was to ship out NBA All-Stars and franchise cornerstones Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Utah was about to start a full-blown rebuild with a ton of draft capital from two blockbuster trades.
Everyone thought the Jazz were going to be run off the league with a rookie coach and an unproven roster. Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Jordan Clarkson were the most accomplished players under Will Hardy’s debut as head bench tactician.
The Utah Jazz, however, roared off to a great start, holding a 10-3 record on November 9. Twitter trolled them, thinking they’d fall off the top. They did drop in the standings but competed to the point that they were still in the running for one of the play-in spots last night.
The Utah Jazz got a plug-in replacement for Rudy Gobert along with multiple future first-round picks
On July 1, 2022, the Utah Jazz shook the NBA when they traded three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Danny Ainge received Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler and Jarred Vanderbilt.
The ton of draft picks was the icing on the cake. Utah unprotected first-round picks in 2023 and 2025, a 2026 first-round pick swap, a 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), 2029 first-round pick (top-five protected).
Ainge traded Beverley and his expiring contract even before the season started. Beasley and Vanderbilt were shipped before the trade deadline for more picks. The Utah Jazz may have also found their future center in Kessler.
Rudy Gobert is considered the NBA’s most fearsome rim protector. Walker Kessler just outdid him in far fewer minutes. Utah’s big man is 11th in opponent field goal percentage allowed with 45.3%. Gobert is 24th with 46.2%.
Per 36 minutes, the 30-year-old Gobert is averaging 15.8 PPG, 13.6 RPG and 1.6 BPG. The Minnesota Timberwolves are paying the three-time All-Star $38.1 million this season, $41 million next season and $43 million in 2024-25.
Kessler, under the same category, is putting up 14.4 PPG, 13.1 RPG and a ridiculous 3.7 BPG. The Utah Jazz center is only 21 years old. He is in the books for $2.6 million this season and $2.8 million during 2023-24.
The Utah Jazz executed one of the boldest trades in recent NBA history
Donovan Mitchell is one of the NBA’s most electrifying scorers, a legitimate franchise player and still entering his prime years. Danny Ainge is known for some of the boldest trades in league history and showed it by shipping Mitchell to Cleveland.
In return, the Jazz received Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji. The deal also included a mouthwatering draft capital, giving Utah three unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029. Pick swaps in 2026 and 2028 were also part of the deal.
Sexton averaged 14.3 PPG, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 48 games, hitting a career-best 50.6% of his shots. He is on a team-friendly deal of $70.9 million in four years, making him a valuable trade asset if Danny Ainge goes that route.
The NBA and even the Utah Jazz were stunned by Markkanen’s development. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.3 APG in his five previous seasons with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
In his first season in Utah, he put up career-high numbers in scoring (25.6 PPG), rebounding (8.6 RPG) and assists (1.9 APG). “The Finnisher” deservedly earned his first All-Star team selection.
Despite this season’s elimination from playoff contention, things are looking bright for the Utah Jazz.
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