Utah Jazz: Predicting what a rebuild would look like

Models to follow and avoid

The Process, by all definitions, should be considered a total failure. The Sixers wasted four seasons losing on purpose and did a horrible job with their high draft picks. Yes, they rolled the dice on Joel Embiid, but other than that every single pick blew up in their faces. For starters, they drafted Jahil Okafor and traded Jrue Holiday for Nerleans Noel. That’s three centers taken in the lottery in a row. Most teams only play one center at a time, so why you wouldn’t draft for fit at all is behind me.

Second, the Sixers took Micheal Carter-Williams Markelle Fultz, and Ben Simmons. Two of those guys won Rookie of the Year, but none of them can shoot from anywhere, making them nearly obsolete in today’s NBA.

On the opposite end are the Boston Celtics. Their rebuild was far from perfect after trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. They experienced bad luck with Gordan Hayward, traded for Kyrie Irving, and until recently fizzled out in the playoffs. That being said, they traded the first overall pick in 2017, allowing Philly to take Fultz while the Celtics got Jayson Tatum. They also played it safe and got a good all-around player in Jaylen Brown, then spent a lot of time developing his shot.

While the Danny Ainge Celtics were less than perfect, they did lay the groundwork for a successful NBA rebuild. The Thunder are emulating that, trading Westbrook and Paul George for massive hauls of picks, which they have used on rising star Josh Giddey and potential ROTY candidate Chet Holmgren.

The Jazz of the past were not good at drafting, but with a new front office and coaching staff they might be able to redo it well this time. Sitting in the middle of the standings or drafting poorly year after year will result in no progress, so the Jazz need to avoid that.