After four years, the end date of the Utah Jazz’s rebuild has finally been scheduled: Oct. 20, 2026.
That’s the day the 2026-27 NBA season begins. And on that day, the Jazz will likely start a lineup featuring two All-Stars in Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., two terrific young players in Keyonte George and Walker Kessler, and one of two scintillating prospects — either Ace Bailey or their top-8 pick in the upcoming draft.
The Jazz’s dial of competitiveness will be set to All Systems Go.
It’s all thanks to the blockbuster trade for Jackson that occurred Tuesday, the largest for the Jazz since Donovan Mitchell was sent out in 2022.
“It gives us a little sign of direction of what we’re trying to do,” Markkanen said. “That should be exciting for everybody.”
Here’s more of the context around the deal, and what it might mean for the Jazz moving forward.
The trade itself
The Jazz did give up significant assets in this trade. The veterans were the easiest to include: Georges Niang hadn’t played yet this season, and isn’t expected to be back in action for quite some time — he’s still wearing a boot. Kyle Anderson has been in and out of the rotation this year.
Beyond that, though:
• Walter Clayton Jr. was a highly regarded rookie — remember, the Jazz traded all of the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, the No. 43 pick in this year’s draft, a 2031 second-round pick, and a 2032 second-round pick to move up and draft him at No. 18. The reporting after that trade indicated that other teams were also looking to move up to draft Clayton then, hence the high asking price.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Jazz Bench congratulates guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) after a couple of big plays against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 30.
• Taylor Hendricks was a former No. 9 pick in the 2023 draft. While the broken leg and struggles since then had taken the shine off his prospect status, the Jazz made significant sacrifices in order to get him. Remember, the Jazz tanked hard in the 2022-23 season after a great start to get themselves back in the lottery for that pick, irking both Kessler and Markkanen.
• The Lakers’ top-4 protected 2027 pick was the shining asset received in that 2023 tank trade that sent Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and most critically, Nickeil Alexander-Walker out; everything else was salary ballast.
• The high-end potential of the most favorable 2027 pick from Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah. All three of those teams project to be at least decent in 2026-27, so that’s good. However, things can go south surprisingly quickly with an injury. Just ask the Indiana Pacers.
• The unprotected 2031 Phoenix Suns pick also could be excellent; it also could be terrible. We have truly no way of knowing that far out in the NBA. What is certain is that the Jazz traded three first-round picks for this one.
That’s a lot of assets to give up. If everything plays out as expected, there’s not a blue-chip prospect or pick in that bunch, which is great. But there is significant risk in losing all of these bets at once.
However … what the Jazz got back is pretty awesome.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, left, guards Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Earlier this season, I was having a conversation with some Jazz personnel about the future of this team. With the development of Keyonte George and the addition of Ace Bailey this season, the core all of a sudden looked much closer to competitiveness than before. You could count on four quality players to begin to build around.
What was the ideal player to fit in that core? Well, the Jazz’s statistical profile pointed to it clearly: They need more defense, badly.
But it’s not just any defensive player that the Jazz needed to add. A great one-on-one defender could help lock down the opponent’s best player, but would still leave the Jazz vulnerable when other poor defenders in the rotation were attacked. They needed defensive playmakers, ones who can not only shut their own guy down, but help rescue the rest of the defense too.
Enter Jaren Jackson Jr.: two-time NBA block leader, three-time All-Defensive player, one-time Defensive Player of the Year.
That’s not only just a defensive playmaker, but when he’s playing well, he’s the best defensive playmaker.
It’s like when the Timberwolves realized they needed rim protection, they didn’t go out and sign a decent shotblocker for the mid-level. They went out and got Rudy Gobert — and that’s made all the difference for them.
Besides the defensive end, JJJ is known as a capable shooter and slasher. He’s a career 35% 3-point shooter; teams typically close out most of the way but not all of the way to his five 3-point attempts per game. His drive game reminds me of Markkanen’s: He’s athletic and shifty, can get all the way to the rim and even make some nifty finishes, but can struggle in traffic or if there are guards there to swipe at the ball.
Now, unfortunately, there are caveats. Jackson Jr. racks up frequent fouler miles — he leads the league in personal fouls this season, just as he did last season. His rebounding, especially his offensive rebounding, is pretty atrocious. He has all the feel in the world for where a ball will be before it hits the rim so he can block the shot, and nearly none of it for where a ball will be after the rim to gather a rebound.
Furthermore, Jackson Jr. has not played at his usual level this season. His scoring is significantly down, thanks to taking fewer shots and getting to the free-throw line significantly less. His block totals have gone from “first in the league” to about half of that (though that is still 90th-percentile). And as a result, the Grizzlies weren’t winning his minutes on the floor.
Grizzlies fans were concerned. Was this a new level of play for Jackson Jr.? Was this due to a new coaching staff? Because of injuries and absences up and down the Grizzlies’ lineup? Because he signed a new extension in the offseason, locking in money?
We can’t be sure. That being said, the Jazz believe (and I generally believe as well), that Jackson Jr. should bounce back in a stable environment in Utah, with a system that, next year, will be tailored to his strengths. Again, it should work out. If it doesn’t, there is significant downside — because JJJ is slated to make between $49 million and $52 million until 2029, with a player option in 2030.
The other guys
Don’t ignore the potential impact of the three other players the Jazz got back in the deal, though.
Vince Williams Jr. is a 25-year-old guard who probably immediately becomes the Jazz’s best perimeter defender. Mostly a two-guard, Williams has actually been playing point guard for a lot of this season in light of the fact that the Grizzlies have had no healthy/available PGs for much of the year — and has done a surprisingly acceptable job of setting up teammates.
In terms of scoring the ball, though, he’s been very, very inefficient this season, including shooting under 50% when he’s within three feet of the rim. 39% on twos and 30% on threes isn’t going to cut it — perhaps he can bounce that back up in a smaller role more appropriate for his skillset.
Jock Landale first caught my eye in Australia playing in the FIBA World Cup in 2019; back then, I was watching mostly for Joe Ingles and Dante Exum reasons. He moved to the NBA as a 26-year-old and established himself as a decent backup center who even played pretty well for Phoenix in the playoffs in 2023.
With Zach Edey out, he’s been Memphis’ starting center, and while he’s overmatched in that role, it’s easy to imagine him playing backup center for the Jazz for a while. He’s on a one-year minimum contract, though, and it could make some sense to re-route him to another team before the deadline hits on Thursday at 1 p.m.
John Konchar is one of the goofiest players in the league. After going undrafted from Purdue-Fort Wayne (notable: their mascot is the Mastodons) in 2019 despite a bonkers statistical profile in the Summit League, Konchar got picked up by the Grizzlies on a two-way. Since then, he’s been a super fun role player. He has tiny usage (10% career), taking only good shots for him. He fights on defense, and is pretty smart on that end. He’s a super smart passer and, weirdest of all, just an absolutely terrific rebounder despite only standing 6-5. He had 17 rebounds in a game once.
Jazz fans are going to love this guy. He’s under contract for $6 million per year for this year and next.
All in all, I think this raises the level of the Jazz’s depth significantly. The players the Jazz sent out were at the beginning or end of their careers, severely limiting their on-court effectiveness. The players the Jazz got back are all near or in their primes — and I think we’re going to see that impact on the floor. If they’re allowed to play, of course.
Why now?
The timing for this trade is not ideal, though.
The Jazz fully intend on keeping their top-8 protected pick, which requires significant losing for the rest of the year.
In order to feel great about keeping the pick, the Jazz will want to finish as the seventh-worst team or below. If they finish fourth or worse, they have 100% chance of keeping the pick. Fifth? A 99.4% chance. Sixth? A 96.2% chance. Seventh means a 85.8% chance, while finishing eighth makes it a 60/40 shot.
Worse, in doing the deal, they likely helped their competition in the tank race tank harder. Memphis currently stands at 8th, ready to fall even more in the standings.
But when the Jazz’s front office, led by Austin Ainge, looked at the NBA’s landscape — not only for this deadline, but for the upcoming free agency period as well — they felt like this was the right time and the right player to acquire.
The 2026 free agency class is pretty bare, and the Jazz have trouble acquiring free agents anyway. Taking on Jackson’s contract limits their cap space significantly. Trading for a full-blown superstar is difficult as well, given how much control they can have over the process thanks to short contracts and agent interference.
Jackson Jr., to the Jazz’s front office, was the best swing available. Not only that, it’s not their only swing left. Even after giving up all of the above, they clearly have room to go further in for the right player at the right time.
And that’s good, because there clearly are holes. Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier are the only two ball-in-hand creators on the roster; Collier’s level of NBA contribution is still a significant question mark. If the Jazz get to keep the top-8 pick, there are some solutions available. If not, they may have to use some of their remaining assets to acquire that niche.
The wings are a bet, too. Bailey and Markkanen have both played the SG and SF spots, respectively, before. On offense, their height will allow them to shoot over shorter defenders. On defense — well, we’ll see if they’re able to keep opponents in front.
Still, that’s small potatoes at this point. Finally — finally! — the Jazz are in a position where we’re considering fit issues rather than the overall talent on the roster. The Jazz are good enough to play in the playoffs, while still being young enough to grow into something greater.
The Jazz’s dawn is nigh.
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