The Utah Jazz were nearly a playoff team last season. They almost found their way into the play-in tournament and had they not traded Mike Conley and sat Lauri Markkanen in the backstretch of the season, they probably would have. They then just got better by getting three young studs in the 2023 NBA Draft and landing John Collins via a trade.
And they only had to give up Rudy Gay to do so. The Jazz are better and are good enough to warrant playoff considerations. Just don’t tell the folks at ESPN that. Now no one is suggesting that the Jazz should be in the Top 5 or Top 10, but 20th?