Looking ahead to 2025-2026

[Handlogten's Heros]

I think Locke already let the cat out of the bag and they are fully prepared to tank for a few seasons.

Maybe all that changes if they land a top 2 pick this year but I would bet against it.

Tony is also pitching a two year process and it makes sense... I just am not sure Ainge is that rigid. So the tone can change along with plans.

 

[KqWIN]

I'm not worried about that really at all. Like you think its a Tobias Harris, Lavine situation? Either way we can endure an underproducing max guy during the rebuild.

I can't decide if we landed Cooper if we are more or less likely to move Lauri. You'd have a chance to likely get some solid returning value on his deal and maybe set the franchise up for 10 years if you somehow landed Cooper and one of Dybansta, Boozer, Peterson... on top of all the other prospects and draft assets we have.

Not sure how much we'd have to peel off to tank next year with Flagg/Lauri/Kessler. Also not sure at that point if we can hit the gas fast enough after peeling off some of that infrastructure.

Personally I don't know what I would want to do but I think Ainge would lean into "eff it we ball" mode if we landed Flagg and still had Lauri and Walker. It might require a good win now opportunity on the cheap to light that fire a bit but I could see them thinking other teams will provide the draft picks we need to hit another home run.

There are like 3-4 mini pivot points that will steer where this goes. We suck but its at least more interesting than some sucky teams... shrug.

There's a lot of room between a Lavine situation and "we deserve 1.5 the godfather Bridges package". But things can also change very quickly and we all know teams are being more careful in this new CBA environment. I don't think Lauri has trended the right direction, at the very least I think we should acknowledge some risk to carrying on Lauri's contract. May not turn into a negative that you need to dump picks to get off of, but you may be losing value over time. I wasn't the "we deserve everything plus more" kind of guy last summer and I have become even more open to a trade since then.

I don't think it's necessarily bad to give Flagg/Lauri a chance, but it's not incorrect to simply build around Flagg and trade Lauri. I'm not attached to Lauri, so I don't have this preference to build around him or anything like that. I just want what's best for the franchise first. I was never one who said we must trade Mitchell/Gobert once we had traded one, but those guys were significantly better players IMO and we had more of a supporting cast. We are incredibly unlikely to get Flagg no matter where we finish, but only Flagg is good enough for me to really think about keeping Lauri. Otherwise, I'm heavily leaning towards trading Lauri.

I am just generally weary about Ainge's desire to build quickly. Some of his reported failed moves would have been better than others, but overall I thin we're really lucky Ainge failed at building quickly. The reported attempted moves that he failed on did not inspire confidence at all.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

There's a lot of room between a Lavine situation and "we deserve 1.5 the godfather Bridges package". But things can also change very quickly and we all know teams are being more careful in this new CBA environment. I don't think Lauri has trended the right direction, at the very least I think we should acknowledge some risk to carrying on Lauri's contract. May not turn into a negative that you need to dump picks to get off of, but you may be losing value over time. I wasn't the "we deserve everything plus more" kind of guy last summer and I have become even more open to a trade since then.

I don't think it's necessarily bad to give Flagg/Lauri a chance, but it's not incorrect to simply build around Flagg and trade Lauri. I'm not attached to Lauri, so I don't have this preference to build around him or anything like that. I just want what's best for the franchise first. I was never one who said we must trade Mitchell/Gobert once we had traded one, but those guys were significantly better players IMO and we had more of a supporting cast. We are incredibly unlikely to get Flagg no matter where we finish, but only Flagg is good enough for me to really think about keeping Lauri. Otherwise, I'm heavily leaning towards trading Lauri.

I am just generally weary about Ainge's desire to build quickly. Some of his reported failed moves would have been better than others, but overall I thin we're really lucky Ainge failed at building quickly. The reported attempted moves that he failed on did not inspire confidence at all.

Gotcha and agree. There is some risk in carrying Lauri but if we landed Cooper and Lauri sucked or got hurt... I think we are well equipped to endure that on Cooper's contention timeline. Also have enough assets we could pay to offload if it became an issue. Not great obviously.

On a human level I'd like to see Lauri see it through. I think he is a unique talent and personality for us to have. That is why I think they would hold out for a monster offer than may not be there.

It is one of those things where I can see it both ways and the execution of the follow up deals would determine the success on either path. Trade for the wrong star or cast your lot on the wrong prospect in the 2026 draft and it really hurts. I would likely err on the side of patience and a slow-ish build.

 

[jom2003]

Depends on whether we score a home run this upcoming draft. If we get a franchise player, we can move some pieces to build around him. Lauri can serve as the perfect 2nd/3rd option. But we need that franchise player

 

[KqWIN]

I think it will be hard for Trader Danny to resist if guys like Ingram, Lavine, Paul George? etc. go on sale or stay on sale for super cheap. There are some things that are coming available that historically have been more expensive than in the past. Even Cam Johnson's price is pretty reasonable. If we don't move Collins or Sexton this deadline it could be they have no good value as some suggest... or it could be the plan is to really hit the gas if the lotto goes our way.

I don't think is that terrible, let's just say we get Lavine. Key+Lavine+Lauri+Flagg+Kessler is likely a really good offensive team with two elite (or future elite) defenders in the frontcourt. We'd probably maintain a decent bench, have young players, and still have all of our draft assets. I don't hate this....not sure I love it but it is a reasonable plan. I will say, I do kind of hate this if it isn't Flagg. I think Ace/Harper/Kas are great and all would have a case at being a #1 draft prospect in some years....but Flagg is a different level.

OTOH, I also don't hate just resetting around Flagg. Let's just say, for example, we can still get really good value for Lauri. I wouldn't mind just rolling with Flagg+full young team+our current assets+draft assets from a team like the Warriors or Lakers. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would love that. I think this is also the preferred route if our draft pick is not Flagg.

 

[fishonjazz]

Tony is also pitching a two year process and it makes sense... I just am not sure Ainge is that rigid. So the tone can change along with plans.

Ya I mean if we get Flagg and he is looking like rookie lebron and lauri is playing at an all star level and we start off next season 15-5 or something then I doubt he would pull the rug from under the team again.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I don't think is that terrible, let's just say we get Lavine. Key+Lavine+Lauri+Flagg+Kessler is likely a really good offensive team with two elite (or future elite) defenders in the frontcourt. We'd probably maintain a decent bench, have young players, and still have all of our draft assets. I don't hate this....not sure I love it but it is a reasonable plan. I will say, I do kind of hate this if it isn't Flagg. I think Ace/Harper/Kas are great and all would have a case at being a #1 draft prospect in some years....but Flagg is a different level.

OTOH, I also don't hate just resetting around Flagg. Let's just say, for example, we can still get really good value for Lauri. I wouldn't mind just rolling with Flagg+full young team+our current assets+draft assets from a team like the Warriors or Lakers. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would love that. I think this is also the preferred route if our draft pick is not Flagg.

I think the third option scares me as much as the first... which would be have Lauri/Flagg and don't sell off enough and don't buy and send the 12th pick to OKC.

Its truly a guess as to what we may do... I can see the FO seeing the end of those OKC protections and just riding out the tank with or without Lauri. If we didn't land Flagg I do think they look harder at Lauri trades as the timeline would seem to elongate a bit further than they might want.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

People are free to post and discuss whatever they want, but just for clarification the intent was what YOU would do, not prediction what the FO will do, and the scenario is we win the lottery and have the #1 pick.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

I'm pretty sure what the FO will do is try and tank in 2026 again. I really doubt they are going to factor an unproven rookie in to a win now scenario when there is the possibility of giving up a highly valuable pick and adding another real difference maker on the line. I think that's logical and it's hard for me to see us doing anything different.

It's harder for me as a fan who is really tired for cheering for losses to want to do that, which is why I kind of like the idea of maybe sprucing up the roster a little, but mostly going in to next year as is, and then see what you got and then pivot. On the other hand there are a lot of ways that could go wrong and we might not be able to pivot fast enough. So while I voted for that option, I'm not fully on board.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

A rookie Cooper Flagg will be great, but his impact won't be greater than rookie Victor Wembanyama's was, and the Spurs managed to tank for Stephon Castle last year. I would assume the Jazz will tank in '26 in search of a top-5 pick in an exceptionally strong draft. Dybantsa, Boozer, Peterson, Avent, ++ is just too much talent to pass up.

Jazz won't move Lauri unless they get a bananas offer for him.

 

[Strutter]

While I don't think "wait and see" is always the best strategy, in the OP's conditions I think that's what I would do. Basically, I'd want the Jazz to stay out of the 8-14 range (since the pick is protected to 8). So if we start out with a losing record, start making the adjustments needed to keep our pick. But if we start the year really hot and it looks like we could be a low-seed playoff team, keep rolling with that and build some momentum for the future years. Yes, 2026 could be a good draft with a chance for a good player, but we have lots of draft picks moving forward, including the Lakers' pick and Suns' pick that could give us swings at a star even as a middle-of-the-road team.

EDIT: To clarify a bit, I think any success next season would have much more to do with the talent we already have and internal development than adding a top pick like Flagg.

 

[framer]

I get a vet point and go. Playing to win with the pieces that we would have would net us a 10 pick at at the floor. We win a top 4 place in the lottery, cool. I'm not watching another entire year of tankball over a likely 10-12 pick. We have enough young players of that ilk already.

If we have injury issues, I adjust. But it is time to go while we are paying Flagg peanuts.