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First 10 games: Predict the Jazz's Record

What will the Jazz's record be after 10 games?

  • Total voters
    83
  • Poll closed .
Even if the Jazz don't want to tank, I'm not even sure they can make the play in. The West is tough. There are no clear teams that the Jazz can overtake in the top 10 from last year, and that doesn't included DAL. I feel like Ainge is more than happy to ride out this honeymoon phase with no expectations, and then he'll get to business once some pressure gets put on the franchise to win.
 
KqWIN said:
Even if the Jazz don't want to tank, I'm not even sure they can make the play in. The West is tough. There are no clear teams that the Jazz can overtake in the top 10 from last year, and that doesn't included DAL. I feel like Ainge is more than happy to ride out this honeymoon phase with no expectations, and then he'll get to business once some pressure gets put on the franchise to win.
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If we got off to a slow start and then had Lauri or Walker have to miss 6-8 weeks I could see some tank moves. We want the pick to convey this year but if we are fighting to get to the 7th or 8th best record I can see letting the foot off the gas being the easier more appealing option.

I think it’s a straight 50/50 toss up that we will be a play in team.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
When you have a chance to grab a high-end talent in the draft, normally you should do it. The team is the same next year without additional young talent if they don't. Right now, the Jazz aren't contending. They're a 7 - 11 seed in the West. To become a contender, they need their young talent to hit, and they need to swing a big trade to net an All Star-level player.
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All those things are true in a vacuum. However, it's almost unheard of for a team to tank when they already have a healthy, in-their-prime NBA All Star on the roster. I mean... that's the situation you hope to get to by tanking (plus enduring several losing years after that).

If the only way you can "improve" your team is to waste the prime years of said All Star in order to bottom out, you're either doing something very wrong or have zero faith in the dude. And hey... maybe that's what we have here. To me it seems more and more likely that DA doesn't see Lauri as a true star, but more of a high-end role player who's destined to become a second or third banana in an ideal situation. That might even be the truth, who knows.

However, as I said in a previous post... going down the true tanking road with Lauri on the roster, possibly forced to sit out long stretches of games with a fake injury to lose enough, would be insane. Doing that just before you're supposed to renegotiate & extend the guy would be even crazier.

If the Jazz decide to tank, it has to be done without Lauri IMO. This is the major dilemma that already raised its head last season. Markkanen is just too good for a tanking team. He put a brave face on it when he was essentially made to watch his career season go down the drain in the hands of tank commander THT, but I don't think he'll go through that again and still want to resign here.
 
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Ferguson_Mellochill said:
See if that holds up this year. The Warriors love Klay, but there's a reason that they're far off on a contract extension. Point is, that's not really our timeline, and it's a big bet budgetwise.
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Yeah its cuz every dollar cost a **** ton for them so any amount they can get lower is a huge savings.

The Jazz will have to overpay for someone who isnt the perfect age and perfect player. I love how hesitant Jazz fans get about this every time.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
All those things are true in a vacuum. However, it's almost unheard of for a team to tank when they already have a healthy, in-their-prime NBA All Star on the roster. I mean... that's the situation you hope to get to by tanking (plus enduring several losing years after that).

If the only way you can "improve" your team is to waste the prime years of said All Star in order to bottom out, you're either doing something very wrong or have zero faith in the dude. And hey... maybe that's what we have here. To me it seems more and more likely that DA doesn't see Lauri as a true star, but more of a high-end role player who's destined to become a second or third banana in an ideal situation. That might even be the truth, who knows.

However, as I said in a previous post... going down the true tanking road with Lauri on the roster, possibly forced to sit out long stretches of games with a fake injury to lose enough, would be insane. Doing that just before you're supposed to renegotiate & extend the guy would be even crazier.

If the Jazz decide to tank, it has to be done without Lauri IMO. This is the major dilemma that already raised its head last season. Markkanen is just too good for a tanking team. He put a brave face on it when he was essentially made to watch his career season go down the drain in the hands of tank commander THT, but I don't think he'll go through that again and still want to resign here.
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You understand that the Jazz could play their *** off this year and still end up the 11th seed though, right? See where things are shaking out mid-season. Lots of teams have an All Star, but still need to add talent to contend.
 
HermanG said:
The last years grit, tenacity and locker room spirit was just pointless. Lets toss it away, be apathetic and have the proper loser mentality and I'm sure the 7th or so pick from the supposedly weak 2024 draft will provide us with our saviour.
/sarcasm
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If your choices are a) compete hard and end up outside the playoffs, or b) compete hard, make a trade or two, end up outside the playoffs, but add a top 8-10 pick, your better option is b).

If the Jazz are genuinely in the playoff picture at mid-season, they'll probably push ahead and try to make the post-season. If they're not though...
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
You understand that the Jazz could play their *** off this year and still end up the 11th seed though, right? See where things are shaking out mid-season. Lots of teams have an All Star, but still need to add talent to contend.
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Exactly, you always want to add talent if you're a middling team like the current Jazz. However... Ainge didn't seem to think it was a high priority in the offseason. (Hint: John Collins will not take us into the promised land). Wonder why? He had a ton of valuable assets at his disposal and decided to sit on them.

My guess is that we're heading for a stealth tanking season, and it's all in accordance with Danny's master plan. And that's certainly a path you can take. But as I said... why try to tank with Lauri? He's just complicating things. You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to bottom out, then bottom out. Trade the guy for a king's ransom of young blue chip talent who shares the timeline of our rooks and sophomores.

(To clarify: I'm a fanatical anti-tanker. Hate the idea. But this stuff just doesn't make any sense.)
 
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