The Utah Jazz have had their bright moments in this young NBA season, especially the 2 game series with Phoenix a week ago, and the emergence of rookie guard Keyonte George as a much better passer than expected.
However the struggles are outweighing the bright spots, as the team sits at 4-11 on the season, after two deflating losses to the Lakers and Blazers, respectively.
The issues the Jazz have with turnovers, defense, and offensive flow are well-chronicled already, and despite recent changes to the starting lineup and rotation, it seems things aren't improving, yet. Some think that getting Walker Kessler back will help right the ship, but even that may be overly optimistic.
Should Danny Ainge be out shopping the roster already? With the NBA Trade Deadline around 3 months away, it's a bit early for a fire sale. But if the Jazz are going to be bad, and end up in the Top 10 of the lottery this year (which they are trending towards currently), does it make sense to continue playing the veterans now?
Some realities do affect what the Utah Jazz can do in this regard. Jordan Clarkson cannot be moved until early January, due to the extension he signed. Most of the remaining players are trade-eligible at any time, but going another month and then doing a full-on teardown might be more sensible in the long term.
15 games is early, typically for wholesale changes. However, coaching changes have occurred in this window previously, so why not a roster change? With an eye on their 2024 1st round pick (currently owed to Oklahoma City if it falls outside the Top 10 selections), the Jazz might look to lean into the rebuild heavier than they did a year ago and try to keep that selection.
And there's usually no quicker way to drop to the bottom of the standings than a fire sale of veterans, joined with a heavy increase of playing time to the youngsters on the roster. With games approaching against New Orleans (2 in 3 days) and Memphis, if the Jazz go winless and are 4-14 by next week, then the Utah Jazz should proceed to hit the panic button and make wholesale changes.