Utah Jazz Will Need To Unload Backcourt To Increase Chances On French Giant

The Utah Jazz traded away most of their starting unit, with most left with the understanding that the team would be undergoing a rebuild and tank.

Further and with all the hype surrounding 7-foot-3 NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama, finishing the current NBA season with a bad record would make sense.

And based on the moves of the Jazz, it somehow appears that way. They traded away Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neal and Bojan Bogdanovic as they appear to be cleaning house.

However, there are still two remnants remaining on the Jazz squad in Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson. Surprisingly with the two manning the backcourt, Utah has been performing well with a 4-1 win-loss record in the Western Conference alongside the equally surprising Portland Trail Blazers.

But once other teams settle down, the Jazz may experience a tougher grind ahead. Utah could own a worse record at some point although their standing could factor in on their chances against the French player.

As things stand, a team losing as many games as possible would have better chances at getting a crack at Wembanyama. For the Jazz, this has yet to happen with Clarkson and Conley somehow managing to lead their 2022-23 campaign.

Retaining Clarkson and Conley has left pundits thinking about what Jazz executive Danny Ainge has up his sleeves. But for as long as they are around, it decreases their chances of possibly drafting Wembanyama next year, James Lewis of Sports Illustrated pointed out.

And while most have seen what the 18-year-old can do, it comes as no surprise that multiple teams may lose games intentionally.

In an interview with PTV Sports, sports scribe Roland Lazenby brands this season as the ultimate tanking season.

"There are teams lining up to lose games to be in a position to have a player like that. This may be the ultimate tanking season," the 70-year-old journalist stated.

“It's going to be interesting how many people in the front offices of these teams break into contortions just to find ways to lose so they can get into the lottery, win the pick and get him," Lazenby added.