What to expect from the Utah Jazz’s position groups this season

With training camp just days away, what should the Utah Jazz be expecting from their players and positions this year?

The Utah Jazz, along with the rest of the NBA, are getting ready for a new season. Training Camp opens next week, and the first preseason game is October 8th against the L.A. Clippers in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Last year, the expectations were low, by most accounts. After a summer where 4 of 5 starters were dealt, the Jazz had a host of newcomers and some returnees, with what appeared to be a roster without a clear star.

It seemed Danny Ainge’s master plan would proceed with a lottery-bound team in 2022-23 and that we would see Conley and other players moved by midseason, bringing more draft capital for the rebuild.

We all know how things turned out – the Utah Jazz outperformed those expectations early, and though they did struggle late after moving Conley, Vanderbilt, and Beasley, the team’s performance changed the timeline of the rebuild. Lauri Markkanen, along with Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson, simply refused to let the team sink into the depths. The Utah Jazz just missed out on the play-in tournament and their approach in the 2023 offseason was very different – they kept most of the rotation players and added John Collins in free agency to bolster the frontcourt.

Now with a new season on the horizon, what should we expect out of the Utah Jazz this year? Some think they will still miss the playoffs in the West, while other predictions have them rising into the playoff picture. While the roster is better than a year ago, there are still things to work on at each position as the Jazz move into the 2023-24 season. We’ll break it down by the team’s position groups – starting with the guards, then forwards, and then the centers.