Utah Jazz News, Press Releases and Analysis From SorenWinslow.com

While a lot of the discussion on the Utah Jazz's development and progression centers around their young talent and recent draftees, that doesn't mean the veteran pieces on this roster won't be eyeing their own set of improvements to make across the off-months of this summer. Lauri Markkanen is no exception, who comes off his third year with the Jazz during his age-27 season, and has proven in past offseason periods of his career that a strong leap for his game in the summer is wildly possible, as shown during his 2023 Most Improved Player campaign after bursting onto the scene after his stint with the Finland national team. Looking ahead to the coming offseason, Markkanen will be looking to make another jump in his game. "Just keep getting better at the end-of-game and isolation stuff," Markkanen said.

The 2024-25 Utah Jazz season will likely be remembered by who the team drafts on June 25th. This comes after losing a franchise record 65 games and securing the top odds in the draft lottery. Next up on our list is Tre Johnson, the sharpshooting guard from Texas. Tre Johnson is your guy if you're looking for an off-guard who can fill up the point column.

The Utah Jazz had far from the most ideal season on the floor. For third-year Jazz center Walker Kessler, even with the ups and downs Utah saw across the year, he still sees some optimism for what's to come, partially thanks to the tough moments faced this season. "Despite a lot of adversity we went through as a team? a lot of different things, obviously, a lot of losses, and different circumstances that we weren't expecting? we handled it well, we grew, and moving forward, it definitely helps us," Kessler said. It was a season filled with development, injuries, and moments of growth for the Jazz, and with it, the team saw the brunt of the struggles to come with it.

The Utah Jazz had a major standout in the backcourt this season with the emergence of rookie Isaiah Collier, who elevated from being in and out of the G League from the beginning of the year to becoming a nightly starter in the rotation by the middle of the 2024-25 campaign. It was an impressive showing all around from Collier, who averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists through 71 games, also breaking John Stockton's franchise rookie assist record for the Jazz in the process. The 20-year-old from USC recently sounded off on what he felt the biggest change he noticed between college and the NBA, where he focused on one major aspect he saw stand out: pace. "I'd say the speed of the game," Collier said during his end-of-season presser.

When it comes to the 1986 Fleer Basketball set, there's no doubt that this is one of, if not, the greatest NBA trading card set of all time. The reason the set is so sought-after among collectors is two-fold. For starters, the set contains the rookie cards of NBA legends such as Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan. Now that we've got the basics out of the way, one of the most sought after graded rookie cards after such names as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, is that of ?The Mailman? Karl Malone.

With the 2024-25 season in the rear-view mirror for the Utah Jazz, the turbulence from this past campaign can finally be put behind this roster, with eyes focused on how things can improve heading into next year. It's a big summer for this Jazz young core leading into next year, as the group will be looking for some strong strides in their development to move the arrow forward for the 2025-26 season from their 17-win results from their most recent output. During his end-of-season presser, George sounded off on what he feels will be expected of him going into year three, with the main aspect centering around one focus: competitiveness. "I think the main thing is going to be the competitiveness; competing every single night, competing 82 times a night," George said.

As the Utah Jazz plummeted to the bottom of the NBA standings this year, it had me thinking a lot about how they would use their three two-way spots, now and in the future. When a team is really good and trying to maximize opportunity for their best players in order to rise up the standings and ultimately win, there's not a ton of minutes to be given to prospective players who have been otherwise overlooked by the basketball world. This year the Jazz had Micah Potter, Oscar Tshiebwe and Elijah Harkless on two-way deals at the end of the 2024-25 season. When evaluating these players it's important to take into consideration how they performed compared to expectations, how they would fit into the NBA and if the Jazz should give them another shot moving forward.

Will KJ Martin, Johnny Juzang, Svi Mykhailiuk and Jaden Springer be back on the Jazz roster when 2025-26 season begins?

The Utah Jazz did have their ups and downs as a unit through the 2024-25 campaign, but it wasn't without a strong showing from a few names around the roster when out on the floor? one of those being John Collins. While Collins did have a bit of a limited campaign, especially past the All-Star break, the Jazz forward made a major statement when looking at how his stats looked from a historical standpoint. For the Jazz franchise, Collins is the fifth player ever to log 19+ points per game on 50% shooting from the field across a single season. In his second year being in Utah, Collins looked much more adjusted and productive during his reps.

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson made some impressive franchise history during the 2024-25 campaign. In Clarkson's 37 games on the floor, he put together 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists a night? some solid numbers as is, but especially so when factoring in the historical implications. Clarkson's 16.2 points a night marked his sixth-straight campaign in doing so for Utah, which trails only former Jazz legend Adrian Dantley as the longest streak of scoring 15+ points a night to begin their career in a team in NBA history. Since arriving in Utah, Clarkson has been a continuous staple on the offensive end, even in the years following his strongest Sixth Man of the Year-level seasons from 2020 to 2022.

The No. 2 seed Houston Rockets disappointed the fan base by losing to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their first-round series in the Western Conference playoffs. After the game, Maxwell made sure to cheer up the city at the expense of the Utah Jazz.

For the Utah Jazz, the 2024-25 regular season had its clear ups and downs en route to their 17-win season. As with any rebuilding team, it's nothing that wasn't too unexpected from the Jazz as they attempt to lean fully into their young talent and development through the year, and with it, try to maximize their place in the draft lottery come summertime. In the short term, there can be some frustration built up, and inevitably, lingering questions wondering how the direction of this team is ultimately panning out. In the eyes of Jazz general manager Justin Zanik, he feels the fans' frustration, yet on the other hand, he realizes the steps to building a sustainable, competitive core takes time.

One of the most fascinating hoopers in this draft class may be available for the Utah Jazz?s late first-rounder.

The Utah Jazz have a long list of needs, and the may have to fill them through development

MINNEAPOLIS (ABC4 Sports) ? The NBA season has mercifully come to an end for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz ended the worst season in franchise history with a 116-105 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were led by Anthony Edwards with 43 points. Former Jazz all-star Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 18 rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points [?]

?I knew he could do all of the things he is doing right now, if he got the opportunity,? Amen Thompson says of Reed Sheppard?s recent surge.

Full injury report for Sunday's Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans matchup.

Minnesota will have its star player for a crucial regular-season finale that will determine its playoff seeding.

The Memphis Grizzlies won't learn of their postseason destination until Sunday, but several potential landing spots remain.

Player grades for the Oklahoma City Thunder's 145-111 win over the Utah Jazz.

That's some bad timing for the Timberwolves, who still have a lot to play for.

Thunder rookie Ajay Mitchell has been sidelined since Jan. 3 after undergoing surgery to repair a right big toe sprain.

The Blazers had a sure win until they unraveled at the end.

With the NCAA tournament behind us, the spotlight is shifting fast toward the NBA draft.