Despite the frustration of the past three years for the Utah Jazz, they at least now have a plan: they are tanking. While this coming season, they will try harder, they are still in a position to try to land another high lottery pick. However, this strategy isn't foolproof, and it could keep them in limbo for years to come.
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes gave his "overreactions" piece to everyone's offseason. When discussing the Jazz, his overreaction is that their tank will work this time. Hughes also pointed out that tanking isn't as foolproof a strategy as it once was.
"The Utah Jazz are going to lose a ton of games this season, and it'll be by design," Hughes wrote. "...Utah has sufficiently sabotaged its roster. That's pretty much the way things went last year when the Jazz won a league-low 17 games. All they got out of it was the No. 5 pick and a risky, high-ceilinged prospect in Bailey. Never forget that failure doesn't bring any guarantees in the flattened-lottery-odds era."
It seems like a distant memory now because it worked out for them in the end, but Utah's tank backfired on them back in May when they were awarded the No. 5 pick in the draft, which was the worst possible scenario. When they try to tank again this season, the same possibility is right there.
Based on Utah's track record of playing the lottery odds, having a repeat of this past year would definitely be on the table.
The Jazz don't really have better options though
So, if tanking isn't exactly the perfect strategy, is there a better alternative for the Jazz at the moment? The answer is no. They are competing in a Western Conference where nearly every team is competing for a playoff spot, so trying to actually win won't accomplish much for them.
As much as it will suck to see Utah lose a boatload of games this season like they did during this past one, they will still put an entertaining product on the court with a resurgent Lauri Markkanen and an exciting youth movement. Not only that, but the prospect of adding another exciting youngster will make it easier to stomach.
There isn't really a strong case for them to change course because, even if their current one has plenty of warts, it's still the best option for them at this point. It's the one that will be immediately hard to watch in the current, but will provide hope for the future.