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SALT LAKE CITY — Rarely has an NBA team that finished seven games below .500 and faltered frequently in the final month universally received rave reviews.
Yet, this was the case for the 2022-23 version of the Utah Jazz, which finished 12th in the Western Conference at 37-45. Postmortems on the team focused on player development and plethora of available draft picks over the next several years rather than not making the postseason for the first time since 2016.
The draft picks, most of which were acquired by trading All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last summer, combined with some $60 million in cap space, have created a promising future for a team that lacked both assets after last season's disappointing first-round playoff exit to the Dallas Mavericks. The charge to improve the team during this offseason now is on the leadership led by longtime NBA executives Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik.
Discarding as much talent, which also included trading Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz began the season expecting no more than 30 wins. A 10-3 start quickly altered those expectations, but two trades and holding several out starters fulfilled the obvious desire to finish in the draft lottery.
After trading Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley in February, along with sitting Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen and others, the narrative the last several weeks changed from winning games. It was more about praising the players for trying hard, which is code for putting a positive spin on losing.
But for the first year of a massive rebuilding project, it was easy to accept the storylines combined with the impressive development of Markkanen and rookies Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji, among others.
Presumably, with a full complement of players even after the February trades, the Jazz could have been good enough to at least qualify for the play-in tournament that includes teams that finished 7-10. But the possibilities with the draft were deemed more important than short-term gain.
Basically, the Jazz have a 50% chance to draft ninth but also could move up or down depending how the ping-pong balls bounce. As it stands, they will also have two picks later in the first round acquired through other trades.
Ainge and Zanik have several options to improve the team through the draft, meaning they could package players and picks to move up in the lottery. Whichever path they choose, it's imperative to land at least one significant rotation addition.
There's also the situation with Clarkson, an impending free agent who sat out the last month of the season. Clarkson, who averaged 20.8 points in his first season as a starter with the Jazz, is a fan favorite and seems to have the affection of owner Ryan Smith.
But don't expect any sentimentality from Ainge if it comes at the expense of improving the team. Either way, the Jazz can re-sign Clarkson for the right price or must find a way to add a proven capable talent.
With a roster full of holes, the Jazz can go several directions to get better. High on the list, though, is fortifying the backcourt.
With no shortage of candidates, here's where it gets interesting. At times during the season, Collin Sexton, Kris Dunn and Talen Horton-Tucker each showed enough to deserve a shot to play significant minutes next year.
But do the Jazz go in another direction? Given all the draft picks and cap space, management could elect to use some of the assets to acquire a veteran guard to hasten the rebuild.
Anyone interested in Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal? Neither can be happy playing for seemingly perennial losers in Portland and Washington, respectively.
Whatever happens, the offseason promises to be full of intrigue. This season was warm and fuzzy for several reasons, but more winning mixed in with continued development will top the storylines come October.
