The season is one fourth of the way done, and the Utah Jazz are at 7-13. It's a step up from the atrocity that was last season, but it's also just outside of the play-in. Their play so far has put them at a crossroads, and no matter which path they choose from here, the fans won't unanimously agree with it.
With their current record, the Jazz would be in a prime position to not only give the historically dominant Oklahoma City Thunder a lottery pick, but also have it work out as best as possible for the Thunder, as the ninth overall pick is the best they could do.
Utah could either reverse course and embrace the tank again, or they could add to this core and try to make the playoffs. Neither direction is exactly foolproof.
Why tanking would be a problem
Tanking may carry a bad stigma, but it is typically an effective technique for rebuilding teams. Even if the Jazz had the worst-case scenario happen back in May, they still wound up with Ace Bailey, their most exciting prospect in years.
However, doing it again would not exactly sit well with everyone because, by the end of the season, it will have been four years since they blew themselves up, and they still will have made no progress during a time when many expect a team to show just that. Fans may lose patience with them because, at this point, they want to see the Jazz look better than they have.
The Jazz have certainly flirted with making a playoff run over the last four years, but have never followed through. Missing the playoffs for four straight years would make many wonder when exactly the team plans to win again.
Not to mention, tanking doesn't always work out. The teams that tank can either not get as high a pick as they would have preferred and/or the player they pick doesn't pan out.
Why not tanking would be a problem
The Jazz have the potential to get even better this season despite the problems they've already had. However, if they continue to build on this, fans may not be too happy not just about losing a pick to the Thunder, but also losing a high pick from what is hyped as a loaded draft class.
Utah could further ensure a glorious future if it added one of the top prospects from this class to its youth movement. Especially after some of their young players haven't blossomed like the team would have liked. Not tanking puts them out of that conversation, which could be a problem long-term if it's clear they don't have enough.
Fans would like to see progress, but there's no telling how high the team's ceiling is with how it's currently constructed. If it's limited, not only would the Jazz waste an opportunity at acquiring a franchise player they can develop, but doing so only to improve slightly may rub the fans the wrong way.
This season has been exciting for the Jazz in a few ways, but it will be very telling what they really want with what direction they choose.