The Utah Jazz came into the 2023-2024 season with the hopes of being a mover and shaker during the postseason. At least that's what the front office and company told fans. Yet, that didn't end up happening, as the team opted to blow things up after the trade deadline, sending the Jazz into a stretch where they've gone 3-18 and are now officially eliminated from postseason contention.
It's a sad way to close things out, when just a few weeks before the trade deadline, the Jazz were flirting with a playoff spot, but with few losses, and eventually the wholesale set of trades that the Jazz dove into, the team collapsed and quickly became the worst team in the NBA.
The team's loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday wasn't completely unexpected, as the Jazz are the worst defensive team in the NBA currently due to a lack of talent and poor coaching. The squad has fallen in on themselves and no reprieve appears to be coming from the disaster this season has been.
After the team decided to focus on a quick tear-down, fans knew wins wouldn't' be the priority but no one thought they'd be searching for win No. 30 still. They're 3-18 over the last 21 games and should've achieved their 30th win a long time ago. It hasn't happened yet, and with the remaining nine games on the calendar all against top-tier teams looking for positoning, it's unlikely they'll get that 30th win.
The Jazz's season wasn't supposed to be this bad. There was so much hope and promise when the year started, that the playoffs seemed possible. The playoffs were possible. They could've gotten there and not had to trade for anyone in return. They could've just run the team they had as far as it could've gone and seen where things ended up.
Instead, they got torn apart, the team fell into a disastrous losing streak and the culture took a significant hit. A team not making the playoffs isn't always a bad thing but it is when you're a team that was firmly in the driver's seat of such a possibility. Yet, due to management who isn't sure which way they want to go, the Jazz are now looking at a postseason that they won't be a part of.