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SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA draft lottery odds played out how the Jazz expected, corresponding exactly with the team's finish in the standings.
But in giving the nod to pure speculation, there's one nagging question that could haunt the franchise for years: Did the Jazz blow it by not blowing — or losing in this case — more games to get a better chance in the lottery?
Coming off a 37-45 record during the regular season, the Jazz will have several options available as it drafts No. 9 in the first round. The focus leading up to the June 22 draft turns to selecting a player capable of breaking into the rotation next season.
With plenty of holes to fill, the Jazz likely will zero in on a point guard or a wing with decent length. Knowing that the draft is far from an exact science, given the dozens of examples over the years, the selection is nothing more than an educated guess as to the result.
Typical of the lottery system, some of the 14 participating teams got lucky when the pingpong balls bounced their way. The San Antonio Spurs were the most fortunate and won the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes by getting the first pick.
In a real sense, the Spurs paid the price the Jazz weren't interested in paying for the right to draft the most hyped prospect since LeBron James came out of high school in 2003. The 7-foot-4 center out of France will be the third franchise big man the Spurs will get by virtue of drafting first, following David Robinson (1989) and Tim Duncan (1997).
The Spurs joined the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons — the three worst teams in the standings — with a 14% chance of winning the lottery. The odds apparently were low enough for the Jazz to veer away from going into full tank mode like the others decided to do well before the season started.
The decision frustrated plenty of Jazz fans, who embraced the idea of losing after the team traded away four starters during the offseason. Their thinking was to go all in on tanking rather than being one of the better teams still not good enough to make the playoffs.
For those faithful, the lottery results were a predictable end to a frustrating season. The feeling isn't hard to fathom, even with no guarantee of luck in the lottery.
Obviously, with the lineups the coaching staff played to close the season, the Jazz weren't interested in making the playoffs or even the four-team play-in tournament. This much was evident by trading starting point guard Mike Conley midway through the season, along with sitting Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen down the stretch.
But all was not lost, even if they didn't lose enough. Depending upon the objectives, the Jazz can make a serious push at the playoffs next season and then build from there.
As good as Wembanyama might be, his presence alone likely won't turn the Spurs into a championship contender for several years. The same can be said for any player selected by the other eight teams picking ahead of the Jazz.
At least the Jazz already have an All-Star to build around in Markkanen, who only turned 26 on Monday and figures to improve upon his outstanding performance in his first season with the team. Foundation pieces also include second-year center Walker Kessler and forward Ochai Agbaji, along with the development of other role players.
Now it's up to the management team led by Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik to supplement the nucleus. The Jazz also are scheduled to draft No. 16 and No. 28.
"It's not always about where you draft, but how you draft," Jazz owner Ryan Smith told the Deseret News. "That's a Danny line, and he's right. There are a lot of good players available and we're happy with No. 9."
