The Utah Jazz started this season with so much potential. The squad was young, and talented and had a featured All-Star in Lauri Markkanen who was setting the league on fire. Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler were seen as Top 100 caliber players and the squad was expected to take a step forward this year to the playoffs. That didn't end up happening.
Mirroring the trade deadline of 2023, team president Danny Ainge and Jazz GM Justin Zanik sold off valuable assets for little in return, and in turn, plunged the team into another losing season. A move that felt needless and self-destructive at the time. It's a move we've not been fond of here at the J-Notes, and it's one that we're not alone in feeling a certain way about.
Sports Illustrated writer Patrick Byrnes spoke about what he's been seeing from the fandom, and it's not good. In one of his more recent columns, the Jazz writer spoke on the fandom's disconnect from the team, saying;
"Based on what I read in our comment section and on social media, Utah's new management is losing the trust of its fans. Players are losing opportunities to gain experience in playing meaningful late-season basketball, and most importantly, the league loses credibility. In an already watered-down regular season, the NBA needs teams in playoff contention to put their best foot forward. The Jazz have no interest in such a thing."
He's not wrong, at all. Kris Dunn and Markkanen have been missing games they likely would be playing in had the team been more competitive. They're also playing guys who are not ready for the roles they're given, namely Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks. George has been underwhelming, but against his fellow rookies, looks like a stud. Hendricks, a top-ten pick, looks far more like an undrafted free agent than a franchise cornerstone. And we're not in the first week of the season either, we're nearly done and Hendricks still looks like he doesn't belong on an NBA court at times.
Walker Kessler has regressed, which is solely on Will Hardy, while Brice Sensabaugh has just been a body off the bench, with no real direction at the moment.
If you're a fan and you're confident in this regime, great. Good for you. But more fans than not are worried about the direction of the club. Especially since Ainge has a similar track record of underdelivering as the man who once coached under him currently has, and of course we're talking about Doc Rivers.
Ainge has never drafted and developed talent that led him to an NBA title, yet we're still here thinking that Ainge is the man to lead the club. If fails to capitalize on the Markkanen era, and the Finnish superstar demands out of Utah due to Aingge refusing to build a competitive team, then maybe it's time to look for a new direction and new men to lead it.