This time last year, it was hard to have any optimism about the Utah Jazz. While they ultimately settled on a direction, they didn’t have players that screamed “franchise cornerstone.” A year later, the Jazz have already turned the long-term narrative on themselves.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor was recently asked who has a bright future in the NBA that will surely pay off in the years to come. While those polled focused more on the Trail Blazers, O’Connor spoke about the Jazz’s long-term future.
“I like what the Jazz are building. I think the Jazz have a lot of really, really attractive young talent on their roster… there’s just so many young guys on this Jazz team and so much other talent that I feel good about them being back in the playoffs at some point in the future,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor delved more into Bailey and how fantastic he looks (he’s not wrong), but Utah has plenty of players who, while they may not have the potential to be a star, can certainly develop into essential pieces of a playoff team.
Walker Kessler is already one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in the league. Brice Sensabaugh looks like he could be a three-point sniper and complementary scorer who could pair well with a potential franchise player. Kyle Filipowski looks like a poor man’s version of Lauri Markkanen. That’s just to name a few.
Of course, there are still some question marks, but there is a lot to like about the long-term vision of this squad. In fact, they are expected to add another franchise talent as the upcoming season comes to a close.
That’s why this season will be fun despite all the losses
While Utah could very well win even less games than last season, it shouldn’t be nearly as depressing to watch as their most recent season. Fans will no longer see the Jazz play veterans who had no future with the team, but instead see their intriguing young talent thrown to the wolves.
They won’t emerge from these games victorious, but the Jazz can plant the seeds for a fantastic future. And since Utah won’t win as many games this season, they could have a center to add next to Bailey, who could very well already be a center in the making, to set them up for an extraordinary future.
Things may not be great for Utah right now, but just a year after making it clear they were rebuilding, their prospects suddenly look so much more promising.
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