Jazz urged to make a lineup change that would steer them in a clearer direction
By Matt John
Among all the questions surrounding the Utah Jazz both in the short-term and long-term, one that hasn't been brought up much is, "Who's in their starting five to begin the season?"
Some of the choices are obvious like Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, but others, not so much. There could be a lot of lineup changes over the course of the 2024-25 season.
The Jazz's proposed lineup change
For that reason, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale proposed that the Jazz make some lineup changes. While predicting that Markkanen, George, Collin Sexton, John Collins, and Taylor Hendricks as their starting five, he suggested they make the following change:
"Let's go full rebuild with Walker Kessler and/or Cody Williams."
Favale went into further detail explaining why the Jazz's better option is turning to their youth than playing their veterans.
"The Jazz are better off giving more time and space to the youth right out of the gate—and not just because it (likely) helps evade a too-hot start that warps their draft-lottery position.
"Utah has tons of players entering their rookie and sophomore campaigns, and Kessler is only heading into Year 3. Playing a bunch of them, together, may not result in the prettiest product. But it'll yield plenty of information."
He added even if their young guys aren't ready yet, the Jazz can still turn to their veterans if the youth aren't ready yet.
"Besides, the Jazz can still have the best of both worlds. Markkanen and Sexton can stick in the new iteration, Kessler isn't exactly inexperienced, and George spent plenty of time in core lineups as a rookie. Starting those four with Hendricks or Williams (an actual wing!) does a nice job juggling the future with the present and balancing offensive and defensive skill sets."
The Jazz are likely to do this
The Athletic's Tony Jones confirmed the Jazz will rely on their youth come opening night while talking about why they haven't traded Collins or Jordan Clarkson.
"The thing that people are not understanding is that the Jazz are really going to prioritize the young guys from Day 1," Jones said. "And if they had their druthers, they would have traded Jordan Clarkson. If they had their druthers, they would have traded John Collins. I think we all know that's not possible at this point, and very likely begin the season on the roster."
Jones confirmed that Kessler will get the starting nod over Collins. Collins might not be the only veteran who comes off the bench. At the same time, these veterans may not last the season in Utah.
Whatever the case may be, the Jazz's logic is sound if they want to throw their youth to the wolves. That way, the youth may not be wasted on the young.