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The Utah Jazz saw another failed postseason bid after bowing to the Dallas Mavericks on a 4-1 series defeat in their opening-round matchup in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. This loss should be frustrating for the team as they had a golden chance to edge out a Mavericks team that was without an injured Luka Doncic in the first three games of the series. However, they couldn't capitalize on the opportunity as the Jazz still failed to advance to the next round.
Though the team is consistently near the top of the West by the end of the regular season for the past years, their consecutive playoff losses have been quite alarming already. Yes, the Jazz has some talented players but the group just can't get it done come playoff time.
In the NBA, all teams are aiming to get a title and not just to participate in the playoffs only to go home empty-handed at the end of the day — which has been the story for Utah in recent memory.
With that said, let's take a look at three reasons why the Jazz must blow this team up and start all over again next season.
3 reasons Jazz must blow it all up
3. The team has consistently failed in the postseason.
Since the 2016-17 season, Quin Snyder's has been exceptionally good in the regular season, having finished at least in the top six in the West for six straight seasons. Despite being a consistent contender, the Jazz just couldn't get its act together in the playoffs.
They've had three first-round eliminations and three Western Conference Semifinals finishes for the past six years. Perhaps their most disappointing series was against the Denver Nuggets in the Orlando bubble where they held a 3-1 series lead only to fall short in Game 7. In the following year, they were already up 2-0 against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals. Just when Kawhi Leonard suffered a season-ending injury, the Jazz went on to lose four straight games to get eliminated in heartbreaking fashion anew.
Call it a curse or not, Utah just seems to get unlucky every time they a window presents itself for them to make a good run in the playoffs and eventually vie for the title. Their failure to capitalize on these opportunities says a lot about the team's ability to realize its potential as a legitimate title contender in the West.
2. Utah's future isn't looking bright at the moment.
Unknown to many, the Jazz is actually the second-oldest team in the league with an average age of 29.3 years old, per Basketball Reference. This means that they have a handful of veterans who have already gained valuable playing experience in the league through the years. Unfortunately, it failed to translate to success on the hardcourt, especially with their sorry playoff losses.
On another note, it also means that the Jazz doesn't have a future that they can look forward to when their main guys are already past their primes in a few years' time. Not to mention that they are also lacking in draft capital as they are about to ship their first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the deal made to acquire Mike Conley. Additionally, the Jazz also owes a protected first-round asset to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024.
If the front office decides to have a fire sale in the near future then they can finally stockpile much-needed assets and young talent moving forward. Doing so will not only inject youthful energy to the team but will also ensure that they have a backup plan for the future in case their current main guys won't
1. Expensive contracts of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
In 2020, the Jazz made three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert the highest-paid center in league history after giving a five-year, $205 million contract for his services. A few months later, the team handed a five-year, $163 million rookie extension to Donovan Mitchell as one of the team's franchise cornerstones for the future.
There is no doubt that the two players have the level of talent that teams would want to have on their squad as they compete for a title. However, their string of playoff losses just makes it harder to think if their lucrative contracts are still worth it for the Jazz, given that they haven't won anything at all since this group has been formed.
Surely enough, giving a bulk of the team's finances to just two players won't be sustainable for them in the long run. At this point, it would be viable for the Jazz to trade either Mitchell or Gobert and see if the team would perform better afterward. Regardless, they would get a huge haul in return as many squads will surely make a bid to acquire their services once made available. The tricky part here for Utah is deciding who to retain between the two but it would still be a huge gamble to do nonetheless.
This group's performances in the playoffs have shown that their potential has already been maxed out. Now, the front office will surely have to make moves in order for them to get out of their current situation and aim to achieve greater results moving forward.
