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Following Potential 2026 Draftees

Saint Cy of JFC said:
No, it's whining and bitching if you are whining and bitching. Crying about the Mavs out-tanking us is peak bitching because nothing suggest they will out tank the Jazz if you view things objectively.
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They have the 3rd hardest remaining strength of schedule. They have lost games to NOP, Wash, Memphis, Clips... these are all facts. If Cooper takes a big in season leap they may win more than us. They are a legit threat to the tank. Its not whining lol.
 
You're not deciding to tank now or later because of how you think you stack up against one specific team. You tank now because on May 12th you're inevitably going to wish you had more L's. If we're in the 8 spot we're going to wish we were 6. And if we're 6 we're going to wish we were 4. Its not a binary result and if you should stop looking at it that way. No such thing as fine or not fine.

As far as the development/winning culture stuff....you can't prove it one way or another. But you can prove that you actually believe what you're saying by staying consistent. I will stop complaining when the changes I hope for happen. I didn't give a ****, for example, when Svi didn't play last year. Why would I now?

But if you're on the other side of this, I'm going to need to see your discontent and acknowledgement that we're ruining player development if things change.
 
KqWIN said:
You're not deciding to tank now or later because of how you think you stack up against one specific team. You tank now because on May 12th you're inevitably going to wish you had more L's. If we're in the 8 spot we're going to wish we were 6. And if we're 6 we're going to wish we were 4. Its not a binary result and if you should stop looking at it that way. No such thing as fine or not fine.

As far as the development/winning culture stuff....you can't prove it one way or another. But you can prove that you actually believe what you're saying by staying consistent. I will stop complaining when the changes I hope for happen. I didn't give a ****, for example, when Svi didn't play last year. Why would I now?

But if you're on the other side of this, I'm going to need to see your discontent and acknowledgement that we're ruining player development if things change.
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Imagine winning one extra game for the culture last year and then ending up with Tre Johnson instead of Ace.
 
Just to know what I would hope... and you can bookmark this if you think I'm whining later... I would hope we finish 4th or 5th in lotto standings to ensure we have no shot at losing the pick. If the young guys were just too damn good... and you cut out all the Love/Svi/Anderson/Niang minutes possible and you experimented with Kyle and Taylor at the 5 and endured 20-25 minutes a night from Cody and you ended up 6th then fine... the future being brighter had some collateral damage.

Bottom 3 ship has sailed unless Lauri goes down for the year (which would suck) and I don't ever think it was fully reasonable. Obviously it would be ideal to maximize the odds.
 
Here’s a little info to inform this debate:
So far in the 2025-26 season, the Jazz have a more efficient offense, while Dallas has a significantly better defense. Dallas also boasts a better Net Rating than the Jazz. As of today, here is a comparison of their advanced statistics:
Statistic Dallas MavericksUtah Jazz
Offensive Rating111.4113.9
Defensive Rating111.1121.3
Net Rating+0.3-7.4
Pace102.5 possessions/game102.8 possessions/game
Effective Field Goal %50.8%52.7%
To Summarize (assuming the above is correct)
Offense: The Jazz hold the edge in offensive efficiency (Offensive Rating) and Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%), indicating they score more points per 100 possessions and shoot the ball better overall. The Jazz also lead the league in Assist Percentage.
Defense: Dallas has a much stronger defense, with a Defensive Rating among the league's best. In contrast, the Jazz rank near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency, allowing a high number of points per game (125.4). With the addition of Davis (and assuming he plays a reasonable number of games from here on), we might expect both their defensive and offensive efficiency to improve.
Net Rating and Overall Efficiency: The Mavericks have a slightly positive Net Rating (outscoring opponents per 100 possessions), whereas the Jazz have a significant negative Net Rating. This indicates the Mavericks are the more balanced and generally better team overall, despite their current similar win-loss records.
Dallas has 8 proven NBA rotation players: Anthony Davis (soon to return from injury), Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall, Derek Lively, Dwight Powell, and Caleb Martin (not saying they’re great players, e.g., Powell, but they are established rotation players.) If we count Cooper Flagg, the total is 9.
Utah has 4 proven NBA rotation players: Lauri, Nurkic, Anderson, and Love. Anderson and Love are substantially past their primes and are not expected to play much of a role this season. If we add Keyonte, the total is 5. If we stretch and add Ace, the total is 6.
Not only does Dallas have a significantly better net rating, but they also have more established rotation players than the Jazz. With Davis coming off the IR, they are poised to get significantly better soon (one might assume).
From where I sit, the Mavericks are a better team and are more likely to finish with a better record than the Jazz, unless they decide to go full tank, which cannot be ruled out.
I could be wrong, but I’m far more worried about Indiana, New Orleans, Sacramento, and Charlotte (I assume that Brooklyn and Washington will be worse than the Jazz) than I am about Dallas.
I also can’t help wondering what this tanking dynamic is doing to the minds of Utah’s young players. On one hand, they’re fighting for roster spots and under real pressure to improve; playing winning basketball is the surest way to stand out. On the other hand, they know the Jazz need to lose to keep that 2026 pick. So they’re asked to contribute to the team’s long-term goal of losing while simultaneously expected to play well enough to win.
I’m no sports psychologist, but that kind of built-in contradiction has to create a level of cognitive dissonance that isn’t exactly conducive to a young player’s development.
 
Schrödinger's Gerbil said:
Here’s a little info to inform this debate:
So far in the 2025-26 season, the Jazz have a more efficient offense, while Dallas has a significantly better defense. Dallas also boasts a better Net Rating than the Jazz. As of today, here is a comparison of their advanced statistics:
Statistic Dallas MavericksUtah Jazz
Offensive Rating111.4113.9
Defensive Rating111.1121.3
Net Rating+0.3-7.4
Pace102.5 possessions/game102.8 possessions/game
Effective Field Goal %50.8%52.7%
To Summarize (assuming the above is correct)
Offense: The Jazz hold the edge in offensive efficiency (Offensive Rating) and Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%), indicating they score more points per 100 possessions and shoot the ball better overall. The Jazz also lead the league in Assist Percentage.
Defense: Dallas has a much stronger defense, with a Defensive Rating among the league's best. In contrast, the Jazz rank near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency, allowing a high number of points per game (125.4). With the addition of Davis (and assuming he plays a reasonable number of games from here on), we might expect both their defensive and offensive efficiency to improve.
Net Rating and Overall Efficiency: The Mavericks have a slightly positive Net Rating (outscoring opponents per 100 possessions), whereas the Jazz have a significant negative Net Rating. This indicates the Mavericks are the more balanced and generally better team overall, despite their current similar win-loss records.
Dallas has 8 proven NBA rotation players: Anthony Davis (soon to return from injury), Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall, Derek Lively, Dwight Powell, and Caleb Martin (not saying they’re great players, e.g., Powell, but they are established rotation players.) If we count Cooper Flagg, the total is 9.
Utah has 4 proven NBA rotation players: Lauri, Nurkic, Anderson, and Love. Anderson and Love are substantially past their primes and are not expected to play much of a role this season. If we add Keyonte, the total is 5. If we stretch and add Ace, the total is 6.
Not only does Dallas have a significantly better net rating, but they also have more established rotation players than the Jazz. With Davis coming off the IR, they are poised to get significantly better soon (one might assume).
From where I sit, the Mavericks are a better team and are more likely to finish with a better record than the Jazz, unless they decide to go full tank, which cannot be ruled out.
I could be wrong, but I’m far more worried about Indiana, New Orleans, Sacramento, and Charlotte (I assume that Brooklyn and Washington will be worse than the Jazz) than I am about Dallas.
I also can’t help wondering what this tanking dynamic is doing to the minds of Utah’s young players. On one hand, they’re fighting for roster spots and under real pressure to improve; playing winning basketball is the surest way to stand out. On the other hand, they know the Jazz need to lose to keep that 2026 pick. So they’re asked to contribute to the team’s long-term goal of losing while simultaneously expected to play well enough to win.
I’m no sports psychologist, but that kind of built-in contradiction has to create a level of cognitive dissonance that isn’t exactly conducive to a young player’s development.
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Appreciate the work you put in here... but if we are going to call Martin and Powell proven players then we can go ahead and loop in Svi and Niang. If the roster is ever close to 100% in Dallas then I agree they have a better overall roster... but their hole at PG is still a huge issue. I doubt AD plays more than 10 more games as a Maverick this season one way or another. Lively can't stay on the floor. I think PJ is also dinged up but not sure rn.

For us to benefit (and according to your post properly scar our young players for life) they will need to actually play. More Taylor/Cody/Brice minutes is 100% what I am advocating for and then the losing will come... or they will be too good to lose but if you are relying on your future contributors for that it isn't a bad thing necessarily.

We have played 5 "tank" or horrible teams... Dallas has played 9. Yet they still amassed a worse record. They are absolutely in the conversation with all the teams you named... and us.
 
Schrödinger's Gerbil said:
I also can’t help wondering what this tanking dynamic is doing to the minds of Utah’s young players. On one hand, they’re fighting for roster spots and under real pressure to improve; playing winning basketball is the surest way to stand out. On the other hand, they know the Jazz [/FONT][/COLOR]need to lose to keep that 2026 pick. So they’re asked to contribute to the team’s long-term goal of losing while simultaneously expected to play well enough to win.
I’m no sports psychologist, but that kind of built-in contradiction has to create a level of cognitive dissonance that isn’t exactly conducive to a young player’s development.
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Correct me if you're wrong, but you're implying that there's this dilemma between playing to win and playing to tank? This exists at the FO and to some extent the coaching level. It does not exist at the player level.
 
This DAL tangent is mostly irrelevant IMO. There's going to be teams with more L's than us and we'll want to be in their position instead of ours come lotto night. Does not matter if DAL is in that group or not.
 
KqWIN said:
Correct me if you're wrong, but you're implying that there's this dilemma between playing to win and playing to tank? This exists at the FO and to some extent the coaching level. It does not exist at the player level.
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The young players would have to play to get scarred by this great dilemma. Taylor and Cody should not have one more DNP-CD or G League assignment the rest of the year. One or preferably both should play every night at the expense of Kyle, Kevin, Nurk, and Svi minutes.
 
KqWIN said:
This DAL tangent is mostly irrelevant IMO. There's going to be teams with more L's than us and we'll want to be in their position instead of ours come lotto night. Does not matter if DAL is in that group or not.
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To argue they don't belong in that group is silly to me. They are firmly in the scrum and as motivated as any team to suck.
 
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