Metaphorically speaking, the season is already over for the Utah Jazz. There's only two games until their season will be over in a literal sense. Unlike the last two seasons, the Jazz have firmly picked a direction.
They are now all-in on a rebuild and for good reason. Cooper Flagg is the next basketball phenom to enter the NBA, and the Jazz would have been fools to pass on the chance to get him. However, going younger means the Jazz will have to get rid of some of their veterans.
They don't necessarily have to get rid of all of them, but it'd be in their best interest to trade away those who will hinder the rebuild.
Lauri Markkanen
Many have questioned why the Jazz kept Markkanen. The answer is actually pretty simple: they wanted to build a better team around him, and they couldn't do it. Not because of what talent they put around him but because the talent they failed to put around him.
Utah tried to acquire multiple stars, but didn't get anyone. Now that they've exhausted all their options and want to build through the draft, Markkanen doesn't have a place on the team. They might not be able to get the best return package for him, but Markkanen has shown he's good enough that a good team could give up a lottery pick just for him.
It's not just the Jazz should try to capitalize on his value, but Markkanen has shown enough to deserve to not have his talents be wasted.
John Collins
To think that one, Collins was considered an untradable contract this time last year, and two, he redeemed his value so much that the Jazz actually had a deal to send him to the Kings before De'Aaron Fox's trade request forced them to switch gears.
Now this offseason, Collins has enough value that the Jazz don't have to attach picks to him if he's on the market. However, with the Jazz embracing their youth, particularly in their young big men, Collins doesn't have much of a place on the team long-term.
Collin Sexton
Sexton is kind of in the same place as Markkanen. He has been a good soldier, and has become a better overall player since coming to the Jazz. However, since they are emphasizing the development of Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George, what's the point of keeping Sexton?
With the embracing of the youth movement, Sexton is better off on a team that could use him. On an expiring deal, he could have a long list of suitors.
Jordan Clarkson
There isn't really much to say about Clarkson because as the Jazz have gotten progressively worse, it's become clear that he is very much out of place. In his early-30s on a team with young guards that deserve more minutes, Clarkson's expendability is obvious.
The window for the Jazz to get something of value out of Clarkson has closed (and it's not clear if that was ever open to begin with). At this point, the Jazz get more value out of using his expiring contract than what he can still do on the court.
KJ Martin
Martin hasn't been terrible for the Jazz. He's a perfectly solid rotation big who did a solid job filling in for the injured Taylor Hendricks. The problem is, with Hendricks coming back, Martin might get squeezed out of the frontcourt rotation.
Where the Jazz could use this to their benefit is that Martin's nonguaranteed contract can be used for teams trying to shed salary to gain an additional asset out of it.
Jaden Springer
Like Martin, Springer was a fun experiment. He's young, but he was also a flyer they took when they knew they didn't have much to play for this season. Springer has improved his shooting efficiency, shooting nearly 48% from the field, but it's not really enough.
Springer has shown his value defensively, but it might be better served on teams trying to win. Utah does need better defenders, but they also want those defender to compromise their offense in the process.