The Utah Jazz Nation may still be recovering from the shock that fan favorite Rudy Gobert will be playing in a different uniform next year, but that doesn’t mean executive Danny Ainge is done with this offseason.
Even after Friday’s big move, it’s not clear where jazz’s journey is headed. Let’s take a look at three different ways Ainge could lead jazz into the 2022-23 season.
Path 1: full tank mode
With this option we are talking about a full-fledged distress sale. Preseason trading in Donovon Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic would all but guarantee a team in the bottom five going into the 2023 draft lottery.
This would put the Jazz in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, giving them a 10% to 14% chance of landing perhaps the most talked about NBA prospect since Lebron James. Now the chances of finishing No. 1 overall pick would still be stacked against the Jazz, but it would be a 100% game changer if the ping pong balls bounced their way.
Also, it’s hard to predict what Mitchell and his friends might bring back from trading design capital, but it would be significant.
Way 2: One in hand worth two in the bush
With this option, the Jazz would make no more trades this off-season. They would hold on to all three of their first-round picks from 2023 and rebuild brick by brick.
Ainge would keep Mitchell, knowing he had at least three more years of team control over a Superstar, because refueling doesn’t guarantee anything.
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Going into the 2023 draft with two more years of Mitchell under team control, three first-round draft picks, and plenty of cap room to build around their superstar would be the end game for Utah in this scenario.
Way 3: Put everything on 2022-23
The Jazz can still take the assets they received in the Gobert trade and invest them in another All-Star to play with Mitchell. Former GC No. 1 Deandre Ayton will most likely play for a new team next year.
Could this be what Ainge has been looking for since day one? Following an Ayton acquisition, the 2022-23 Jazz starting lineup could look something like this:
- Dono von Mitchell
- Malik Beasley
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Jared Vanderbilt
- Deandre Ayton
It looks like a team that could make some noise, but in my opinion that would be the most unlikely route Ainge would take. At least the Jazz is heading towards either a mini rebuild or a full blown tank mode, but I’m not taking gaming off the table for this year.
Jazz Nation’s opinions are split across all three paths, so we’ll have to wait and see where Ainge Utah takes the new season.
Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.