Ranking Jazz's young talents from least to most likely to build around
By Tyler Watts
The Utah Jazz embarked on a rebuild in the 2022 offseason. They traded Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert after six consecutive playoff appearances. They never advanced beyond the second round and felt locked in as a fringe contender. Danny Ainge took over as their top decision-maker and wanted to rebuild, but acquiring Lauri Markkanen has prevented Utah from bottoming out. Should they trade their star and full-on tank?
The Jazz are in danger of being stuck in mediocrity. They have won 31 and 37 games and are picking in the late lottery for the second straight year. Hitting on those selections is tougher, and the Jazz may be trapped. There has been some chatter about adding talent. Utah could go that route, but selling off is more likely. If they decide to reset, who does the team build around?
After two years, it is not like the Jazz are loaded with young talent. They have nine players under 25, but Darius Bazley, Johnny Juzang, Kira Lewis Jr., and Kenneth Lofton Jr. are not exactly building blocks. They barely played for the Jazz and were not considered for this piece. These are the young talents under consideration for building block status ranked from least to most likely.
5. Talen Horton-Tucker
The Lakers declined trading Horton-Tucker for a first-round draft pick in 2022 before sending him and Stanley Johnson to Utah for Patrick Beverley. Pat Bev’s time with the Lakers did not go as planned, and THT has failed to blossom in Utah.
Horton-Tucker is an unrestricted free agent this summer and is unlikely to return to Utah (subscription required), according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones. It should be no surprise after his minutes dipped in year two with the Jazz as THT shot under 40 percent from the field.
Talen Horton-Tucker is only 23 years old, but struggles on defense and fails to space the floor. Finding a role for the 6’4 wing is not easy. It will be interesting to see how his market develops, but THT is certainly not a building block for the Jazz.