The Jazz are heading into a season that feels different from the ones that came before it. After years of sliding through the league’s tanking lane, Utah finally has a roster that looks built to win more often than it loses.
That shift starts with the talent on hand. Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. anchor the frontcourt as All-Stars, while Keyonte George returns after last season’s breakout and his $155 million extension this summer.
In the backcourt, he’ll be paired with No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson, and Ace Bailey enters the year looking to build on a strong rookie season. Will Hardy, meanwhile, remains the coach everyone around the league seems to respect for squeezing value out of what he’s given, even if the results have not shown up much in the standings.
Still, Utah has spent the stretch since trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert doing one thing over and over: losing. So the question is obvious - is this finally the year the Jazz start stacking real wins?
“They're improved, certainly. I mean, it can't be worse, but I would think they're improved,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated.
That blunt read fits the record. Utah has finished with at least 60 losses in each of the last two seasons and leaned into defeat in a very deliberate way to improve draft position. The optimism is real, but so is the burden of proof.
“I like Will Hardy as a guy, interested to see what Will as a coach is now able to show,” the scout told SI. “He’s perceived as this great coach who has been dealt a bad hand.
Maybe he is. Now we get to find out.
Darryn Peterson's going to be really interesting to me to see how he does with all the controversy around him last year, but clearly has a skill set. I'm not a Keyonte George believer, so we'll see what that looks like.”
Peterson gives Utah another major piece to build around. The Jazz took him with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, and he arrives with a reputation as a serious scoring talent who might have gone No. 1 if not for the cramping problems that derailed his lone season at Kansas. For a team that has spent years hunting elite upside, he looks like the final big swing of the rebuild.
But the offseason also took something away. Utah traded restricted free agent Walker Kessler after drafting and developing him into one of the league’s better young centers, and the Lakers signed him to a hefty new deal. That leaves Hardy trying to piece together a frontcourt built mostly around Markkanen and Jackson Jr., neither of whom is a natural center in the mold of Kessler.
“They will miss Walker Kessler,” the anonymous scout said to SI. “I don't like the idea of Lauri Markkanen and Jackson Jr. being the only two frontcourt guys, one being the center and one being the four the whole time.
I don’t like the idea of Markkanen being a three, but I do think that can be a lineup you can close with that could be pretty good. I just don't know how it is all game, every game.
“They both have a skill set where they can both be on the perimeter. They both have elite size, so you would think that would help you in your rebounding at minimum.
And Markkanen has played well with other big guys, although they didn't have the same skill set as Jackson, but the [Evan] Mobley, Markkanen, [Jarrett] Allen trio was pretty effective for Cleveland in 2021-22. I would think it would work out pretty good.”
Utah also made smaller moves around the edges, including moving on from Williams. The Jazz used the 10th pick in the ‘24 draft on the younger brother of Thunder star Jalen Williams, but his development never moved fast enough for the organization. He was eventually sent to the Timberwolves in a deal for Josh Green.
Even with that turnover, the Jazz are drawing real optimism from people inside the sport. The roster has size, shooting, defense and enough young talent to matter.
Markkanen gives them a high-end scorer, Peterson has the look of a potential immediate impact player, and Jackson Jr. raises the defensive floor. If George and Bailey take another step, Utah could finally start looking like a team that’s moving forward instead of just waiting out the calendar.
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Walker Kessler Just Sparked A Jazz Debate Fans Wont Ignore
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Will Hardy Framed Keyonte George's New Deal As A Jazz Milestone
Keyonte Georges extension did more than secure a young guard for the long haul. It gave the Jazz something they have not had before: a drafted player they were willing to keep in house, a notable step for an organization still shaping the next core of its rebuild. The five-year deal, worth $157.5 million, keeps George in Utah for the next six years and underscores how much belief the team has placed in his development.
Will Hardy framed the move as a milestone for both sides, pointing to the shared commitment between George and the franchise. For a Jazz team trying to establish continuity and identity, the timing matters as much as the contract itself. The bigger question now is how far George can grow into the role Utah clearly believes he can handle, and what this kind of deal says about the direction the rest of the roster might soon take. [Read more 🡒]