The Olympics are in the rearview mirror and NBA teams are beginning to prepare for the season tip-off. Our Western Conference previews wrap up with the Utah Jazz as they look to take the next step on their rebuild. In these previews, we will take a look at each team’s key acquisitions, fantasy stars, and predicted finish.
Key Acquisitions
The Jazz looked to the draft to bolster their rotation with a trio of highly touted rookies joining the team in the form of Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski.
The Jazz took Colorado’s Williams – the younger brother of OKC stud Jalen – with the 10th pick.
Williams is raw but caught the attention of the Jazz thanks to his size and finishing ability even if his stock was hindered by his less-than-impressive athleticism and shooting numbers.
They took USC’s Collier – the consensus No.1 ranked high school recruit heading into the season – at No.29.
Collier had a down year at USC but his strong frame and ability to get to the rim are the skills the Jazz will hope to bank on even if his recklessness with the ball and lack of perimeter game hurt him this past season.
Duke’s Filipowski fell to the 32nd pick but is a strong passer with the ability to stretch the floor which should serve Utah well as they look to improve their three-point shooting numbers.
Fantasy Stars
Lauri Markkanen remains the big fish in Utah having put together a season in which he averaged 23.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg shooting a tick under 40% on eight threes per night.
Collin Sexton meanwhile put up 18.7 ppg and 4.9 apg in 78 outings with those numbers jumping to 21.1 ppg and 5.6 apg in the 51 games in which he started.
Projected Finish
A mix of Markkanen’s star power, the contributions from veterans playing for contracts, and good coaching has prevented the Jazz from properly bottoming out over the past two seasons.
They won just 31 games a year ago after 37 wins the previous years and likely continue their regression towards the bottom of the conference.
Several Jazz veterans will find themselves in trade discussions over the coming months as they continue tilting towards a concerted youth movement.
