The Utah Jazz losing their regular season finale to the Minnesota Timberwolves would not have surprised anyone. The Timberwolves are several tiers above the Jazz after all, and there were stakes for them heading into the game regarding their playoff seeding, so it was imperative to come away with the win.
It was also imperative for the Jazz to lose, as losing would have ensured they tied with the Washington Wizards for the worst record in the NBA. However, that was before the Wizards beat the Miami Heat on a buzzer-beater before the Jazz game.
Doing so gave the Jazz the chance to snare the NBA's worst record before the curtains fell. The Jazz couldn't take any chances with their tank before today, and that was amplified when the opportunity to secure the best lottery odds possible presented itself again.
TLDR: They lost, and everyone involved is happier about it. The Jazz will finish with the highest odds out of every NBA team, which means the worst-case scenario for them is getting the No. 5 pick. Sure, it comes at the cost of getting another lottery pick from the Timberwolves, but the Jazz want the best odds at a franchise changer, and that's what they did.
Plus, it'd be pretty bold to bet on the Timberwolves missing the playoffs even if they are forced to play in the play-in.
This doesn't affect the Jazz's chances of winning the lottery
Utah had already gotten the highest possible odds for the No. 1 pick when they finished with a bottom-three record in the NBA. At 14%, it couldn't get any higher.
What many were worried about was having their odds a little spread out had the Jazz finished with the second-worst record in the league. During a season like this, it can be very painful to do all that tanking only to wind up with the No. 6 pick in the draft.
That would have been in play had the Jazz won and the Wizards lost, but because it was the other way around, Utah doesn't have to worry about the possibility of getting the sixth overall pick. That doesn't mean lady luck will necessarily shine their way.
Even though tanking is the easiest way for a rebuilding team to build its next playoff team, it's not foolproof. Cooper Flagg is a very exciting prospect who could wind up being the best player in Jazz franchise history if they get the No. 1 pick.
However, he's only one player and only one teams gets to draft him. It's not the end of the world if the Jazz don't get him, but if they don't, it shows that playing the NBA lottery is well, a lot like playing a normal lottery.
Now, all the Jazz can do is wait until May to see if their tanking efforts pay off. Whether it does or doesn't, the Jazz can sleep at night knowing they did all they could.