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The Utah Jazz finished as the 5th seed in the Western Conference last season, but decided it was time to blow things up. Two huge trades involving Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have turned the Jazz from a playoff contender into an instant rebuilder. With the season right around the corner, we decided to roll out our Jazz bold predictions for the 2022-23 season.
Without their two biggest stars from last season on the court, the Jazz are going to see a big drop in the win column after winning 49 games last season. Utah flamed out in the 2022 NBA playoffs yet again, this time at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, which seems to have convinced the front office it was time to make some sizable changes.
Now the Jazz are rebuilding, and their expectations this season are low to say the least. They still have some veterans laying around that could ultimately end up getting traded, but for now, the Jazz aren't going to be in any rush to win games this season. With that in mind, let's take a look at our bold predictions for the Jazz and see what could end up happening this season.
3. Jazz PG Jordan Clarkson will get traded a month into the season
One of the final veterans the Jazz have hanging around from last season is guard Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson has become a solid secondary scorer during his time with Utah, but his fit has never been the most natural playing behind Mitchell and Mike Conley off the bench. Even with Mitchell gone, Clarkson still has a spot on the bench reserved for himself now that Collin Sexton is in town.
Clarkson and Mitchell never really meshed on the court because both are scorers first. Conley is a bit more of a playmaker, but the problem is that Sexton will be looking for his shot first this season as well. It creates another situation where Clarkson will earn a lot of playing time, but his fit along Sexton, and Conley at times too, just isn't organic.
Utah will have no reservations when it comes to trading any of their players this season, and after a slow start to the season, the Jazz will decide to flip Clarkson while they can. Clarkson saw his efficiency dip last season, and considering he adds little as a rebounder or passer, when he's not scoring, he's unplayable. The Jazz are rolling with Sexton and Conley as their starting backcourt, leaving Clarkson as the odd man out, and he will find a new home early in the season.
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2. Jazz SG Collin Sexton will score 25 PPG this season
Not only did the Jazz pick up some draft capital in return for Mitchell, they also added a solid young guard in Sexton to take over for him. Sexton only played in 11 games last season after tearing his meniscus, and after the Cleveland Cavaliers decided they couldn't reach an extension with him as a restricted free agent, they dealt him to Utah as part of the deal for Mitchell.
Sexton's upside is hard to miss, as he averaged 24.3 points per game during the 2020-21 season, and is still only 23 years old. He has some durability concerns, and he needs to improve as a playmaker, but playing alongside a veteran guard in Conley should only help him. Sexton is going to be Utah's primary scorer, and he should excel with his new team.
Sexton may not take the 18.4 shots per game he took during the 2020-21 season with the Cavs, but chances are he will be the guy Utah goes to when they need points. Aside from last season, he's been an efficient scorer throughout his career, and that should continue with a nice bounce-back campaign. If everything goes right for Sexton, he should easily be able to score 25 points per game this season.
1. The Jazz will finish as the number 10 seed in the Western Conference
Yes, the Jazz are rebuilding this season, and they did a great job of accruing a ton of draft picks to help them in their quest to build a winner in the future. But in the present, Utah doesn't exactly have a horrible rotation heading into the season. That's because they also managed to pick up some solid rotation players in their big deals this offseason, and the result is a fairly formidable starting five.
The backcourt trio of Conley, Sexton, and Clarkson is solid, even if Clarkson doesn't end up getting traded. The frontcourt features a new cast of players, with Malik Beasley, Lauri Markkanen, and Kelly Olynyk penciled in as starters right now. That's obviously not as good as their lineup from last season, but it's not half bad considering how much Utah lost this offseason.
Even behind these starters, there are solid bench players lurking. We already mentioned Clarkson, but Talen Horton-Tucker, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Walker Kessler, are all solid players who will be coming off the bench too. Put that together, and the Jazz will sneak into the Play-In tournament as the 10th seed, and while they don't advance into the playoffs, this season will prove that their rebuild is already way ahead of schedule.
