28. Utah Jazz
Key Additions: Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Malik Beasley, Talen Horton-Tucker, Stanley Johnson, Jarren Vanderbilt, Walker Kessler
What an offseason it has been for the Jazz. Another early playoff exit was enough for team CEO Danny Ainge to start shaking things up. After sending Royce O’Neale to Brooklyn, the Jazz broke the internet with the news that Rudy Gobert had been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a treasure trove of first-round picks. While he has his warts as a player, Gobert’s elite rim protection and rebounding had kept an otherwise decrepit Utah defense afloat. His departure signaled that the Jazz were entering a new phase of team building.
Ainge wasn’t done there. In a surprise move to some, the Jazz traded away three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and 2022 first-round pick Ochai Agbaji. Utah’s rebuild has officially commenced as they add their name to the potential teams that could finish with the best lottery odds for ’23.
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