The Utah Jazz have pulled out every stop they can to tank this season. For what it's worth, it's been a little different from last season, as their main priority has been keeping their pick away from OKC. However, the NBA has tried to send a message to the Jazz by punishing the measures they've taken, but the Jazz themselves have made one thing clear: they don't care.
Many rolled their eyes after Lauri Markkanen's most recent injury, believing it might just be another excuse for him to sit on the bench, but it seems his injury is very much real. Even so, it wouldn't surprise anyone if Markkanen is out for longer than the recovery time for injuries like his.
It would fit with what they have been doing. Jusuf Nurkic was recently deemed out for the season after his nose surgery, but it seems fishy that he elected to do that to cut what is a contract year short with two months to go.
It all points to what the Jazz are willing to do to ensure they have a high lottery pick. The NBA has tried to come down on them, but Utah has brushed it off every time. As long as their pick won't be stripped, they'll keep doing it.
Don't worry NBA! It's almost over! (For Utah, that is)
The league has not been happy with how the Jazz have handled themselves over the past two seasons. Last year, they fined the Jazz for fining a perfectly healthy Markkanen, which they were definitely within their rights to do, but this year, they fined Utah based on the accusation that they were benching their guys in the fourth quarter for multiple games.
Technically, the Jazz didn't do anything against league rules then, and they didn't bother to ask why Utah had benched Markkanen, Nurkic, or Jaren Jackson Jr. before coming down on them.
Even with the Jazz's shady tactics, the league can be happy that Utah won't do this again for some time, as the wheels are very much in motion to make the playoffs in 2027. It won't pay off for another year, but at least the worst of this rebuild will finally be over, and the NBA no longer has to worry about what Utah is doing.
Bad news: teams will only continue tanking
While the Jazz will no longer be a problem, the NBA should realize that teams like the Jazz won't care about the punishments handed down to them when they intentionally throw their season(s) away for a chance at a higher pick.
The league has tried to combat this for years, but teams still do it because they don't have better options out there. They can try to change it up to dissuade tanking entirely, but then they risk losing money from fan disinterest.
The NBA is totally justified to try to fight tanking because a team losing by design is not great to watch. However, there truly isn't a foolproof way to get rid of it because rebuilding teams don't put any stock in what the league does to stop them.
If the Jazz win a title within the next decade, tanking absolutely had something to do with it, but Utah won't care how they got there, much like anyone else wouldn't.