The Utah Jazz are expected to be one of the worst NBA teams this coming season. We all knew that when the season ended, and nothing has changed that notion, with the offseason about to come to a close. However, after everything that went down this summer, Utah had several exciting developments.
Here are the five best storylines of the offseason for the Jazz. It may not count for too much at the beginning, but they count enough for fans to be optimistic for what's ahead.
5. The team got rid of the players they had to
Okay, so this wasn't exactly the most intriguing development. In fact, because the Jazz sold so low on their three most expendable veterans this offseason - John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson - fans weren't exactly excited to see the little Utah got for them.
However, the glass half-full take here is that the Jazz have nothing holding back their young talent this season. With those three gone, Utah will now get to see just how good some of their young players like Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier are.
Plus, for a while, everyone was wondering when Utah was going to get rid of them, as it felt like a foregone conclusion. Now that that's taken care of, the Jazz have one less thing to worry about.
4. Kyle Filipowski looked like a franchise pillar
Filipowski had a pretty promising rookie season, though it took the Jazz a while to increase his role. That made many excited to see if he could build on that in the Summer League. To make a long story short, he did.
Filipowski dominated from start to finish in the Summer League to the point where he won MVP. Now, obviously, Summer League dominance should be taken with a massive grain of salt, but after Filipowski's exciting rookie season, he looked like a man among boys, demonstrating that the Jazz just might have someone fantastic on their hands.
3. One Jazz asset got much better
It was swept under the rug because it didn't directly involve the Jazz, but when the Suns traded Kevin Durant for significantly less than his worth, it was a huge win for Utah because the team owns Phoenix's first-round pick six years from now.
The Suns were not good last season, and after getting rid of Durant and Bradley Beal, they are projected to be even worse. With their ambiguous future looming, the Jazz have to feel confident about their chances of getting a golden asset in 2031.
2. Utah got Ace Bailey despite worst-case scenario in the lottery
Drafting Bailey has been a very exciting development for the Jazz, despite all the noise about him wanting to go elsewhere. However, drafting him also minimized the potential disaster of being awarded the No. 5 pick.
After the Jazz had their worst season in franchise history, getting the fifth pick felt like a kick in the teeth, as that was the worst-case scenario for the team. However, getting Bailey, who has a superstar ceiling, put all those problems to bed.
Now it's on Bailey to prove the Jazz were right to pick him, but his availability in the draft gave Utah the long-term hope they need and haven't had in years.
1. Lauri Markkanen looked like his old self in EuroBasket
After wildly underperforming in his third season as a Jazzman, there was some speculation that Markkanen's All-Star days might be behind him and furthermore, that Utah might have to swallow his contract whole.
Well, those matters were put to bed when Markkanen flat-out dominated the EuroBasket tournament for Finland. His home country had its best tourney run this year, and he had a lot to do with it. Doing so signifies that last season was an exception to the norm for him, and that he should be back to his old self this season.
Whether that means he'll be on the Jazz's next playoff team in no time or he'll net them more assets, it's a very exciting development for Utah.