Jazz appear ready to move beyond rebuild, focus on winning

The Jazz spent the past several years focused on the future. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, that approach is about to change.

As Jones writes, there is a growing belief within the organization that Utah is finally ready to move beyond its rebuilding phase and begin pushing toward meaningful contention in the Western Conference.

Part of that confidence stems from the roster.

The Jazz are expected to feature one of the NBA’s more intriguing frontcourts with Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler. They also believe they have a rising star in guard Keyonte George, who averaged 23.6 points this past season, and another potential building block in Ace Bailey.

Add the No. 2 overall pick in this month’s draft, and Utah suddenly has one of the league’s more promising young cores.

The organization is also eager to see what coach Will Hardy can do with a roster built to compete rather than one focused on draft position.

According to Jones, the Jazz feel Hardy has been somewhat restricted by the realities of rebuilding and tanking over the past few seasons. Now, they want to see him fully unleash his system.

Of course, success brings new challenges.

Several members of Utah’s core are already on significant contracts, while Kessler is expected to command a sizable new deal and George could eventually become extension-eligible as well.

That’s a problem the Jazz would gladly welcome.

For the first time in a while, the focus in Utah appears to be shifting away from lottery odds and toward wins.

And after years of rebuilding, that’s exactly where the franchise hoped to be.