Because the Utah Jazz have low expectations as a team, period, that, by extension, means that players on the Jazz also don't have high expectations. However, that may not be a bad thing.
It's always fun to watch players who aren't expected to do much actually outperform expectations, even if their expectations weren't that high to begin with and/ or it may not lead to much for the Jazz .
However, there are some individual players on the Jazz who, because of low expectations, might actually do better than what is expected of them. Again, they may not necessarily take a massive step forward, but in a season that's not expected to go all too great for the Jazz, they'll take whatever small wins they can get as long as it doesn't interfere with their tanking plans.
John Collins
This just in: John Collins is considered to be on one of the worst contracts in the NBA. This also just in: that's a point that's been driven to the ground for several months now, so there's no need to rehash why.
Because the Jazz are expected to put more time and effort into their youth movement, Collins might not factor as much into their rotation as he did in his first season in Utah. However, since he is seen as an albatross and has a history of performing well, there is the possibility he could somewhat bounce back with the Jazz.
While they will likely invest more time in Walker Kessler, Collins could find his niche in a bench role. Even if he's overpaid, Collins has shown how much he can thrive in the right role.
Patty Mills
Mills is not the player he was during his heyday with the Spurs. However, there's a reason why the Jazz signed him over still-available free agents, such as Dennis Smith Jr. and Markelle Fultz.
The Athletic's Tony Jones explained why the Jazz added him to the roster.
A little on the Patty Mills signing. I wouldn’t expect it to be official for a few weeks. Think the Jazz want to continue to keep financial options open. The vision here is for Patty to mentor on and off the floor. The Jazz want to develop youth this season
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) August 15, 2024
While Mills is 36 years old, remember that the Heat were playing him actual minutes during the playoffs. They were undermanned, but they played him hoping that he would provide shooting against the Celtics. They were overmatched against the Celtics, but it means something that he got the nod.
With the Jazz, Mills won't be expected to provide what he used to, but he has clearly shown teams that still has something left in the tank. If he still has some juice left, that could be a welcome surprise for the Jazz.
Svi Mykhailiuk
Mykhailiuk was one of the under-the-radar additions of the NBA Offseason. He won a title with the Celtics, and to be fair, he didn't play much for them. That wasn't really on him, though, as the Celtics had a loaded team, which most title teams have.
However, when the Celtics asked him to fill in for them, he didn't look too out of place when he was on the court.
Svi won't make an All-Star team anytime soon, but the Jazz will likely give him a bigger role than the Celtics did. He brings shooting and size to a team that, even if they're not looking to win now, they are trying to build the foundation of a winner.
Mykhailiuk comes with championship experience, even if he had little to do with said championship, and he could be somewhat a diamond in the rough for a Jazz team that's actually had some luck finding diamonds in the rough in recent years,