Talent needs to be more important to the Utah Jazz than versatility

Sports trends are a funny thing. Experts, who make millions of dollars a year, seem to fall into the same mental trappings that have had toy execs foaming at the mouth for years. Things like the Furby, Kabage Patch Kids, Squishmallows, Razer Scooters, and so many other toy fads crop up every year to entice children to beg their parents for the toys. The same methodology for toy manufacturers seems to affect pro sports GMs the same way.

If one person finds success doing something one way, all of a sudden that's the goal of the league. It went from finding the next Bill Russell to finding a versatility playmaker like Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. After that it was to find the next Michael Jordan, then the next Shaquille O'Neal. Then the next LeBron James. Then the next Steph Curry. Now everyone wants the next Victom Wembanyama.

Usually, that logic fails. Following trends doesn't work, it never has and it never will yet so many people continue to bank their entire careers on them. Right now the trend in the NBA has followed the Wembanyama of it all and that's dynamic versatility.

Speaking to Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, Utah Jazz broadcaster Craig Bolerjack asked him what he thought the Jazz needed, but Ainge asked Bolerjack if he knew what the team needed, to which the broadcaster said (via the Desert News);

"...youth is one, athleticism would be another, length would be one, defending."

Ainge co-signed that, by the way. Now, everyone wants the 6'10, 7'1 small forward, who can play defense and shoot threes and be dominant. That's not realistic. It's just not. You need to prioritize talent, not potential. Year after year we see the "potential" take precedence over the talent but it's the talent that rises to the top.

Everyone wants the next James or Wembanyama, everyone wants guys who fit the prototypical mode of what the modern NBA player "should" be, but the guys who look past the height and length of a player and just focus on their shooting, passing, dribbling, among other skill, those are the teams that find the most success in the NBA.

So hopefully while they're looking for the prototypical NBA player, they don't overlook the pure talent, even if they don't have the right size or length.