Are preseason power rankings fair to the Utah Jazz?
NBA insider Marc Stein has released his official NBA power rankings for the upcoming season, settling the Jazz all the way down to 29th. The Utah Jazz haven’t been this low in any power rankings since the 2013-14 season when they traded up in the draft to take Trey Burke with the 9th overall pick.
Being this low in the power rankings shows that the front office has done its job of committing to a rebuild, and with the upcoming draft, it looks like the results have the potential to be much better than what happened in 2013.
The Utah Jazz could be contenders sooner than you think
No matter how low the Jazz rank, this is still going to be a great season. After all the trades and draft assets acquired, this should be a fun and exciting team to watch that (hopefully) loses enough games to claim a coveted lottery pick. Even if it’s hard for fans to watch their favorite team suddenly become the worst in the league, chances are this rebuild might not last as long as people think.
The last time the Jazz went into a full rebuild, they traded star Deron Williams for the 3rd overall pick: rookie Derrick Favors, back in 2011. They began to center the team around Gordon Hayward, developing young players over time. Six years later, they finally made the playoffs and were swept by the eventual champions Golden State Warriors.
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This is the perfect time to reset and rebuild. They have draft picks and plenty of stacked young talent suddenly on the roster. They might be at the bottom of the standings, but there’s no pressure to win now. The only direction they can go is up. 29th is a fair ranking, but expect them to rapidly move up.