What players should make the Utah Jazz’s bench rotation?

The Utah Jazz’s bench rotation is up in the air but who do we think should be a part of it?

The Utah Jazz are heading into the 2023 season with a lot of questions and even more expectations. The biggest question revolves around the team’s expectations. Some teams, like the Denver Nuggets, are expected to compete. Other teams like the Washington Wizards are expected to be very bad. The Jazz, according to who you ask, are expected to somehow do both. They’re both a playoff team and a team that needs to be in the NBA Draft Lottery.

So which one is it? Well, we’re not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough. One of the things that will help us decide if this team can compete or if they’re going to fail is their lineups and how deep this team truly is. The lineup isn’t set in stone yet, so the rotation isn’t figured out yet either, but for the sake of the article, let’s assume the starting lineup is Kris Dunn, Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Walker Kessler.

Dunn makes the lineup due to his defense and passing, as he’s the only point guard on the team that specializes in that. Everyone else is starting because they’re the best players at their positions on the team.

So what does the rotation look like? Well, if you look at the first game of the 2022-2023 season, the last game before the All-Star break, and the last game of the season, you see that the Jazz usually run 10 players deep, that means we’re looking for minutes for five rotational guys off the bench.

So the first guy that needs to come off the bench is Kelly Olynyk. He showed at the FIBA World Cup that he’s very versatile on offense and therefore could be a huge passing threat for the second unit, while also being able to spell Collins or Kessler if they get in foul trouble.

The next guy is Collin Sexton, who should be back to his old form, after missing about a year due to a knee injury. Sexton would become the primary bucket-getter on the second unit and would be used, ideally, like a younger Clarkson.

This is where it gets tricky, as Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, and Keyonte George all should get minutes, but then you have guys like Luka Samanic, Ochai Agbaji, Simone Fontecchio, Talen Horton-Tucker and Johnny Juzang who have all something to offer.

Do you go with the rookies, or do you go with the younger but more established players? That’s the toss-up. Going on what we’ve seen in the Summer League and the FIBA World Cup, here are the three men I’d go with.

Firstly, I’d go with Fontecchio. He’s a great offensive threat and can provide immediate scoring if given a shot. Then I’d tap Georgeg, who showed that he can be a viable, all-around impactful guard during the Summer League. Lastly, I’d let it come down to Samanic and Hendricks. If the team is winning, and able to do so without shaking up the entire roster, I’d go with Samanic. Let him prove that he can play with the NBA’s best after a strong summer league.

Hendricks missed all off-season action and so his skills are not yet proven to be what they’re hyped up to be. Sensabaugh may not even be truly ready until the winter, and Agbajia, Horton-Tucker, and Juzang are just going to have to bide their time.

Eventually, the team will make some major moves, either to get picks or better players, and then we’ll relook at the roster.