The J-Notes
Fansided

Projecting the Utah Jazz Championship Window Part I

By Caleb Manser

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 14: Rudy Gobert #27, and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz in a game against the Sacramento Kings on October 14, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 14: Rudy Gobert #27, and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz in a game against the Sacramento Kings on October 14, 2019 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Utah Jazz Championship
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz talks to Joe Ingles #2 and Dante Exum #11 of the Utah Jazz during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at EnergySolutions Arena on February 25, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

After years of being in the rebuilding phase, the Utah Jazz are poised to be contenders for this year’s NBA championship. But how long will they last as a contending and playoff team?

In case you haven’t heard, the Utah Jazz are in win-now mode. Gone are the days of playing the young guys in hopes of developing star potential. In hindsight, Utah only kept two of the players they drafted from the rebuilding and “not skipping steps” phase.

There is no more waiting for Enes Kanter to develop good defensive habits. There is no more need to grimace every time Trey Burke takes a bad shot. No more cautious optimism with the streaky Rodney Hood, and no more wondering if Gordon Hayward can ever be the alpha dog on a championship team. The Jazz have retained none of those guys from the rebuild except Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and Dante Exum.

As a natural consequence of finishing the rebuild, they field a much older roster than in years past. Mike Conley just turned 32 years old and is joined in the 30-and-over club by his teammates Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, Jeff Green and Ed Davis.

In addition to this, the Jazz’s draft picks in the next few years will likely be lower. Instead of picking in the middle of the first and second round, Jazz Nation will have to get accustomed to picking late if their team goes where they want to go. While this is definitely the best team the Jazz have had on paper this decade, it has sacrificed some young talent in order to get there.

What is the greater value they hope to get from this sacrifice? A championship. The Utah Jazz now have a small window of contention where they hope to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at least once, if not multiple times.

We will analyze components that affect how long (or short) the championship window will be open for the Utah Jazz. Let’s start with the most obvious one being how long the current players can perform at a championship level:

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