The Utah Jazz aren't involved in the Trae Young drama, and they likely never will be. There's no reason for the Jazz to get involved in such a tough situation, but they have reason to pay close attention. Utah is executing a somewhat similar strategy with Lauri Markkanen that the Hawks did with Young, so because this strategy has blown up in Atlanta's face, Utah should keep a close eye.
It's been made pretty clear that the Jazz intend to build the right team around Markkanen long-term. All indications are that they will go all in after this season, which is all well and good, as it's been long past time for them to capitalize on Markkanen's talent. However, the Hawks tried to do the same thing with Young, and their problem is that they tried for so long and never found the right formula.
To be fair, Young is a tough player to build around. He's one of the NBA's best offensive engines, but his individual defense is an obvious anchor that has weighed down the Hawks. In all the years they've had Young, Atlanta has only had one substantial playoff run, which was five years ago, that they haven't come close to replicating, let alone surpassing.
Atlanta tried changing up the formula, and nothing stuck. Not only that, but from the sounds of things, it will be difficult to move him because he makes a ton of money ($46 million) and is a flight risk (has a player option next season). In short, the Hawks tried this for too long that they may have to trade Young in a salary dump.
What the Jazz can learn from this
Anyone with eyes can see that Markkanen is different from Young. He's a lot easier to build around because, even if he too isn't exactly All-Defense material, he isn't someone who can be easily exploited on that end of the floor like Young is. However, much like Young, Markkanen has undeniable All-Star talent that, unfortunately, hasn't translated into anything substantial. At least, not yet.
With that in mind, the Jazz should know that they will only have so much time to build around Markkanen as the Hawks did with Young. Their window to nail the right formula before facing a similar predicament won't last forever. Granted, the problem before was that Markkanen proved too good for the Jazz to fully tank in his first two seasons, but once they reverse course, they'll see what they look like with Markkanen as they start trying.
Now, no one's talking as though this experiment is bound to fail as Young's has with the Hawks. Utah has the infrastructure to build something special with Markkanen, but that remains abstract. We're nowhere near the point where the Jazz should give up on an experiment they haven't even started yet. Still, Young's situation in Atlanta should be a warning to fans that failure, even if unlikely, is a possibility.
It's easy to overlook this, but technically speaking, regardless of how things play out from here, the Hawks have accomplished more with Young than the Jazz have with Markkanen.
Just sayin'.