The Utah Jazz have three preseason games in the bag and just two more remaining before the 2023-24 regular season starts.
We've seen quite a bit through training camp and the games, so it's a great time to open up the mailbag and answer some of your questions. The thing is, I got so many questions this time around I have to split this one into two different mailbag articles. Great job, everyone!
I've been pretty public with saying I believe Kris Dunn is the best point guard on the team and deserving of the starting spot. But it's important to think about all the other factors at play here.
Lately I've been wondering if it might be a better idea to put Dunn next to rookie Keyonte George and bring them off the bench, in order to bolster the second unit, but also to bring George along at a bit of a slower pace, rather than throwing him to the wolves at a time when you don't need to speed up the timeline.
There are arguments for both scenarios, but the most important part of it is that no matter what you do with Dunn in the rotation, you do it because he is the most capable and skilled point guard on the team.
With that being said, Jazz coach Will Hardy is focusing more on backcourt pairings and how well they play together, rather than focusing on a singular point guard. We don't know that Dunn won't be the starter; we still have to wait to see what happens.
It's also important to remember that Hardy is not coaching this Jazz team to win a title. This is not a championship team. But he is coaching in the hopes that this team can win a title in the future and there's a big chance that Dunn won't be with the team in the future.
Dunn is in the second year of a nonguaranteed two-year deal. You cannot extend a deal that is originally for fewer than three years. If the Jazz want to sign Dunn to a long-term deal before he becomes a free agent, they would have to waive him and hope that he doesn't get picked up by another team off waivers. But on a minimum deal and with the way he's performed, it would be a very big risk to take.
So, the Jazz are likely to guarantee this season and then Dunn will become a free agent and could leave the Jazz. So they can't currently operate as if he is a part of the long-term plans.
There is absolutely a chance that Dunn re-signs with the Jazz after this season and becomes more a part of the future, but I think all these factors and unknowns are something the Jazz are contending with right now.
It's true that there's been a lot of coverage regarding George, but I think that's because he's been a bit of a surprise considering his performance at Baylor and the role he has a chance to play on this Jazz team.
There's also been some extensive coverage of Collins. I sat down for an interview with Collins to discuss why things went south with the Atlanta Hawks and how that might impact things moving forward and I have written about how acclimating to a new team will be a challenge for Collins.
But, Alex has a point. Less has been said about Collins in regards to performance and expectations in training camp and the preseason because we know that Collins is a starter and we know that he's going to be featured heavily. He's an established NBA player.
What's left to figure out with Collins is how he performs once he has some time to build chemistry with his new teammates. So we're in a little bit of a waiting period with him.
On the other side of things we have Ömer Yurtseven , who unfortunately is farther down on the depth chart. The reason he hasn't been a huge topic of conversation is because he's at best the Jazz's third option at center. I don't know how much we're actually going to be seeing him play in order to have some fully formed opinions of him as it relates to the Jazz.
This question is interesting because better is sort of relative. Do we want to say who will be better between these three teams compared to each other? Or, should we talk about who will be better when compared to their own performance in the previous season?
If I'm being completely honest, on first glance, there's a chance that if matched up against each other, any one of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves or Jazz could win a seven-game series. I might give the edge to the Cavs , but not because of any tangible evidence, just a feeling.
In the case of being better compared to the season before, I think there's a real chance the Jazz are the only team that improves by any good margin. It feels like the Wolves aren't going anywhere until they decide to actually move on from Karl-Anthony Towns , and despite the Cavs going all-in on Donovan Mitchell , they still failed to get past the first round of the playoffs.
I don't expect Minnesota or Cleveland to make it any farther than they did last year, but I think the Jazz should be better than they were because there was a concerted effort to not win as many games as possible. This season, the Jazz have more firepower and they should be at least a play-in team.
Is the four-guard lineup situationally going to be an OK option? Sure. Is it sustainable? Probably not.
It's a good way to get a lot of guys playing time and try something new — even challenge players to take on some deeper and more nuanced responsibilities. But, chances are the Jazz will get murdered on the glass. It puts a ton of pressure on whoever is playing the five ( Walker Kessler , Kelly Olynyk ) and it will almost always put Ochai Agbaji at a strength disadvantage. Offensively, it has a chance to score a lot in bunches, but I don't know how much the Jazz can realistically use it.
Plus, why play without Collins and Lauri Markkanen when you can play with them instead?
The general consensus from players is that they don't know what to think of the in-season tournament yet. They're waiting to find out if the qualifying games (which are just designated regular-season games) are more competitive and more like playoff games and if there's some real investment during the December semifinal and final.
The financial incentive is certainly something that piques the interest of the players, but they will know more when they actually live through it for the first time.
I'm excited about the tournament. It's a pretty simple way to add some fun and excitement to the regular season and I'm pro-fun.
Jake is right. There is likely going to be a guard that is the odd man out. Between Dunn, George, Collin Sexton , Agbaji, Talen Horton-Tucker and Jordan Clarkson , it doesn't make a ton of sense to use them all.
I don't know which way the Jazz are going to go with this. My thoughts are that if it comes down to a trade, it's likely to be Sexton, Horton-Tucker or Clarkson that will be moved. Probably easiest to move Clarkson or Sexton unless you find a team that is more interested in an expiring deal, and then that makes Horton-Tucker look like a good idea.
I'm still waiting for a moment that will make it clear what kind of player and what kind of role Horton-Tucker and Sexton can have on this team.
Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton looks to toss a ball into the stands after Utah defeated Denver at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The Jazz won 108-104. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
