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SALT LAKE CITY — You can't fault Jordan Clarkson for being honest.
When asked what he's learned about his new teammates, Clarkson, who is now the longest-tenured Jazz player, began strong.
"I really like Kelly Olynyk, Cody (Zeller)'s been doing a great job, as well. Malik (Beasley) has been shooting the ball," Clarkson said.
That's when the reality of his new situation hit him.
"I'm still kind of learning everyone's names," he said.
We're sure he's not the only one. After all, of the 20 players on the Jazz training camp roster, only six were with the Jazz last season.
So here's a guide to help navigate the new-look Jazz as they begin preseason play in Edmonton against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday (4 p.m. MDT, AT&T SportsNet, NBA TV).
So who are these guys?
First off, here are the players that are now on team — at least as of now.
Ochai Agbaji
Experience: Rookie
How did he get to the Jazz? Agbaji was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 14 pick of the 2022 NBA draft out of Kansas, and was traded to Utah as part of the Donovan Mitchell deal. Agbaji spent four years with the Jayhawks, developing into one of the best wings in college basketball.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Experience: Entering fourth season
About: Alexander-Walker was traded to Utah in the middle of last season. He played 15 minutes in an extremely limited role for the Jazz.
Udoka Azubuike
Experience: Entering third season
About: Azubuike has dealt with season-ending injuries in both of his first two seasons. He'll start the season recovering from an ankle injury.
Malik Beasley
Experience: Entering seventh season
How did he get to Utah? Beasley was traded to Utah from Minnesota in the Rudy Gobert deal. He's a career 39% 3-point shooter.
Leandro Bolmaro
Experience: Entering second season
How did he get to Utah? The Argentinian wing came from Minnesota in the Gobert trade. The all-around player appeared in 35 games his rookie year.
Jared Butler
Experience: Entering second season
About: Butler was taken in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft by the Jazz. He played in 42 games and averaged 3.8 points last season.
Jordan Clarkson
Experience: Entering ninth season
About: The former Sixth Man of the Year is one of two returning players who played a significant role for last year's team.
Mike Conley
Experience: Entering 16th season
About: Conley is the only starter returning from last year's team. Conley averaged 13.7 points on 40% 3-point shooting last season.
Simone Fontecchio
Experience: Rookie
How did he get to Utah? Fontecchio, a 26-year-old rookie from Italy, signed with the Jazz as a free agent this summer. He averaged 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 41% from 3-point range last season with Baskonia in Spain
Rudy Gay
Experience: Entering 17th season
About: Gay signed with the Jazz ahead of the 2021-22 season but fell out of the rotation midway through the year. He averaged just 8.1 points last season — the first time in his 16-year career he averaged under 10.0 points.
Talen Horton-Tucker
Experience: Entering fourth season
How did he get to Utah? He was traded to Utah from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Patrick Beverley. He averaged 10.0 points in over 25 minutes last season.
Stanley Johnson
Experience: Entering eighth season
How did he get to Utah? The former top 10 pick was traded to Utah from the Lakers. He revitalized his career last season with a strong showing off the bench for Lakers.
Johnny Juzang
Experience: Rookie
How did he get to Utah? Juzang signed a two-way contract with the Jazz following the draft
Walker Kessler
Experience: Rookie
How did he get to Utah? Kessler was drafted with the No 22 pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being sent to the Jazz as part of the Gobert trade.
Saben Lee
Experience: Entering third season
How did he get to Utah? Lee was traded to Utah from the Detroit Pistons as part of the deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic to Detroit.
Lauri Markkanen
Experience: Entering sixth season
How did he get to Utah? Markkanen was traded to Utah from Cleveland as part of the Mitchell deal. Markkanen enters his first season with the Jazz with raised expectations after being one of the best players at Eurobasket last month.
Kelly Olynyk
Experience: Entering 10th season
How did he get to Utah? Olynyk was traded from Detroit as part of the Bogdanovic deal. The veteran center averaged 9.1 points last season with the Pistons.
Collin Sexton
Experience: Entering fifth season
How did he get to Utah? Sexton was traded to Utah from Cleveland in the deal that sent Mitchell to the Cavs. He missed most of last season due to a torn left meniscus, but he averaged 24.3 points in his last full healthy season.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Experience: Entering fifth season
How did he get to Utah? Vanderbilt came to Utah via the deal that sent Gobert to Minnesota. Vanderbilt, a lengthy forward, projects to be Utah's best defender.
Cody Zeller
Experience: Entering 10th season
How did he get to Utah? The veteran center signed a training camp deal with the Jazz shortly before camp began.
Do we know who will play?
When asked about his rotation after the first day of training camp, Jazz coach Will Hardy said he hadn't yet put that together.
And, honestly, that was more than fair, especially since the case can be made for most to get significant playing time.
Conley, Clarkson, Sexton, Markkanen, Vanderbilt, Olynyk, Beasley, Gay, and even Johnson and Zeller are all proven players in the league.
This season is likely less about wins and more about development. So do the Jazz give more time to Kessler, Agbaji, Fontecchio and Bolmaro? And what about Alexander-Walker, Butler or Azubuike — will they get a chance to see if they are NBA players?
That's a lot of options for Hardy. Sunday in Edmonton will be the first glimpse of what his regular rotation could look like.
Our guess for an initial rotation? Conley, Sexton, Markkanen, Vanderbilt and Olynyk as starters. Beasley, Clarkson, Gay, and a mixture of Alexander-Walker, Fontecchio, Agbaji, and Kessler, depending on matchups, coming off the bench. Feel free to ridicule us when we are very wrong.
What style will the Jazz play?
The last few seasons, the Jazz were a predictable bunch. They used a lot of pick and rolls to generate a lot of 3s, and used a drop-big scheme to funnel everything to Gobert. That was pretty much it.
With Quin Snyder, Gobert and nearly everyone else gone, what style will the Jazz play?
"I'd like to play a little bit of tempo, for sure, with this group," Hardy said of the offense. "And I would like for us to play a style where everybody's involved. I don't think that it would be productive for us to have one player dominate the ball with this group."
To that point, the Jazz have plenty of guys who can score. Sexton and Beasley both have averaged over 20 points per game during a season. Markkanen is coming off a Eurobasket where he finished second in scoring behind only some guy named Giannis. And Jazz fans already know what Clarkson and Conley can do.
"I think we're a skilled offensive team," Hardy said. "I think we have a lot of guys who can dribble, pass and shoot, which gives us a lot of versatility on that end. We don't have a lot of guys who are pigeon-holed in one position. I think we have a lot of guys who can play in a couple different spots."
So what about on the defensive end?
"I view our team, again, having some versatility," Hardy said. "Because of that youth and some of that athleticism, I think we know we need to try to do a couple of different things. I'm not sure that we can be a team that does just one thing on that end of the floor."
Without a dominant defensive center on the roster — assuming, of course, Kessler takes some time to adapt to the NBA — it's likely the Jazz will follow the recent trend and go to a heavy-switching scheme to take advantage of that athleticism.
The battle for a roster spot
One of the more intriguing things about this preseason will be the fight for the final roster spots. The Jazz have 18 players on guaranteed deals entering Sunday's game and will need to trim that down to at least 15 by the start of the regular season.
That is likely why Azubuike said it was hard to put into words how important this preseason was for him. He isn't alone: Barring a trade, Azubuike, Lee, Butler, Alexander-Walker and potentially many more could be playing for their jobs.
