Jazz brass admit the title window had closed; the offseason is about opening a

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge was pretty forthright.

“This season wasn’t very much fun,” he said Saturday before Utah’s first Las Vegas Summer League game.

No one’s arguing there; Utah’s season was massively disappointing in 2021-22. The Jazz went from a team that had the best record in the league to a squad that was coming apart at the seams. It was a slog to watch — and Ainge admitted it wasn’t any better to manage.

“The draft wasn’t very much fun. Free agency wasn’t very much fun. You’re over the tax, no draft picks, and our team loses in the first round. It wasn’t fun for us,” Ainge said. “We want it to be fun for our fans and for our players, but we just haven’t had much flexibility to do anything over the last little while.”

Flexibility was one of the main reasons the team moved Rudy Gobert for mostly future assets. With that move, suddenly Ainge and Co. have a treasure chest of draft assets and are now in a position to easily shed salary to pursue free agents in the future. Are the Jazz better after the Gobert trade? Not currently. But at least there’s a path to hopefully have some fun again.

That path, though, is still very much to be determined. Will the Jazz now focus on building around Donovan Mitchell? Could they continue to tear it all down? Here’s what Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik said about the present and future of the Jazz on Saturday.

Are more trades imminent?

Zanik: “We’re still in free agency and the offseason, so we’re going to look at every opportunity. We still have a couple roster spots open and, obviously, the evaluation of Summer League and any other opportunities that come up to continue to do what we can to balance and improve the roster. But we’re happy with a lot of the guys that are coming in from Minnesota, and I think they all can contribute in some way. So we’ll see how it goes, but it’s kind of we’re in the middle of it right now.”

Why did the Jazz trade Gobert?

Zanik: “Look, some of these opportunities that come up are hard, but given the amount of return and how motivated Minnesota was, it was just something that we all had to get together as a group and decide, ‘Hey, this is something that we need to do for the organization.’

Do you agree the championship window had closed with this group? Can the Jazz be competitive this season?

Ainge: “I agree with that. … We talked about those things a lot. But we’ll be able to talk more when we have our team together and our final roster’s put together and be able to answer the second part of your question more. I honestly don’t know.”

Zanik: “The team fell short, we fell short, so we need to recalibrate and try to go and open up the next window. And hopefully it’s a long window.”

What does the trade mean for Donovan Mitchell?

Zanik: “I think it’s a great opportunity for him. Obviously, he’s a high character, highly motivated player who wants to be great. We’re gonna continue to give them resources to do that and accomplish it. He’s a driven young man.”

Is Mitchell untouchable?

Zanik: “I’m not trying to be cryptic or anything else, but Donovan is on our roster, and he’s a very, very important part of what we’re trying to do. Things evolve in the NBA. So I couldn’t sit here and say anybody is (untouchable). We’re trying to build a championship team, but there’s no intent (to trade him) at all.”

What’s the contact been like with Mitchell this offseason?

Zanik: “Donovan has been very supportive of all of the things that we’re doing. He has a previous relationship with coach (Will) Hardy as well from Team USA. So we’ve been in contact with both him and his representatives, kind of keeping them up to date, and we’ll continue to do so.”

Do you plan on using the mid-level exception this year?

Ainge: “I mean, we would for sure. If that player we thought was going to make a difference, we will use it.”

What does more flexibility allow you to do?

Zanik: “What it does is allows you to have a lot of very interesting conversations with teams calling because of just the flexibility that you have. So you have a chance to talk about different concepts or deals — both now and really for the next five or six years. And our goal is to continue to add primary players and build a base that has a chance to be competitive and win a title down the road. So those assets allow you different pathways to accomplish that; whether you’re selecting or you’re moving those picks on for other players.”

×

Most recent Utah Jazz stories