Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season

Most Likely Scenario – Winning Record, lower playoff seed

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of either scenario or afraid of either scenario, it isn’t likely to happen. It doesn’t make sense for a team like the Dallas Mavericks or Milwaukee Bucks to trade away their best player mid-season unless the team has absolutely fallen apart. And that just isn’t likely to happen.

Likewise, it’s fair to assume that Danny Ainge isn’t going to try and kill the franchise’s potential to compete this year if they can. They have something like 13 first-round draft picks over the next handful of years, It’s not like they can’t compete for the playoffs year in and year out, while also building for the future.

He did just that with the Boston Celtics. The year before Ainge drafted Jaylen Brown, they won 48 games, the year before they drafted Jayson Tatum, the Celtics won 53 games. Clearly, it’s possible to compete for the playoffs and draft young prospects who can help your club.

So it makes the most sense that that the Jazz will likely do everything they can to make the playoffs, short of making any huge trade involving draft picks. They may swap some contracts or sign some guys, but the goal for the year is to compete for the post-season, while also building up the future of the roster.