Were the Utah Jazz included on Bleacher Report’s six most improved teams?
The Utah Jazz undoubtedly improved their roster this offseason. They drafted three rookies, with Summer League standout Keyonte George leading the way of all the youngsters. Then the team made a shocking splash this offseason when they acquired John Collins in a trade, where the only asset they lost was an aging Rudy Gay.
The Jazz may not have a roster as good as the one that featured Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Bojan Bogdanovic, but they have one that’s at least better (in theory) than the one they closed the 2023 season with.
With that in mind, it’d stand to reason that the Jazz should make anyone’s most improved list. You’d think that’d be the case, right? But not for Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale. Favale named his six most improved teams from the NBA offseason and shockingly, the Jazz weren’t included.
Instead, he listed the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and the San Antonio Spurs.
And frankly, most of those wouldn’t make our Most Improved list. The Cavaliers over-paid for Max Strus and acquired a high-volume, low-efficiency rookie in the second round. The Lakers and Suns added less-than-optimal pieces due to financial restrictions, but in the Lakers’ case, they did retain Austin Reaves. Aside from Reaves, they and the Suns went and got budget additions to their team.
As for the Pistons, Rockets, and Spurs, there’s no one who really thinks any of them will compete for the play-in this season, let alone the playoffs.
So for the Jazz, who landed a potential All-Star in John Collins, and had a great draft from what we know so far, to not be included is a bit suspect. The Jazz’s offseason has set itself up for long and sustained success.