After some uncertainty, it appears Kevin Durant will return against the Utah Jazz tomorrow night. That's good news for both the Suns and Jazz, as they both want to go in different directions this season.
As long as Durant is healthy, a Jazz loss seems like the most likely outcome. However, if he is not 100% or, God forbid, he gets hurt again, that could certainly change the outcome. It's not much of a problem if the Jazz beat the Suns without Durant, but there's more concern.
It's been well-established that the Suns have been excellent with Durant and terrible without him. The discrepancy is actually insane, which is why, following two extended absences from Durant, they have tried to keep their head above mediocrity in recent weeks.
The Jazz must pay attention to this because it is literally Durant alone that makes the Suns go from playoff contender to lottery team. This is important to the Jazz because if and when they get their next face of the franchise, their playoff chances should not be dependent on one player.
The Jazz need to avoid a similar fate
Because the Jazz are rebuilding, they can keep their options regarding their next franchise player. However, while choosing the right franchise player is important, building a core that can survive when the franchise player cannot play is also imperative.
A true contender can weather the storm when its best player can't play because of the strong support from the rest of the roster. This indicates a team with a strong enough foundation that even when the worst-case scenario proves to be a reality, not all hope is lost.
The Suns, with Durant, absolutely have a shot at returning to the NBA Finals. However, at 36, Durant, despite being impressively still one of the best NBA players, is more culpable of suffering injuries, much like anyone would at his age. The Suns are banking on a clean bill of health from him to have any shot.
Granted, so would any team with the same intentions, but when your team's best player is 36, you're walking a very thin tightrope.
This is currently Phoenix's problem, and not Utah's. However, the Jazz need to take note of this that getting the right talent also means getting the right players who cannot support their best player but can also step up when their best player is out.
The Jazz already know from Luka Doncic how important it is to have their next star be a force on both ends of the floor. With Kevin Durant, they need to know that it takes more than just one star to make a team a title contender.