A fresh start: Lauri Markkanen and the new Utah Jazz / News - Basketnews.com

The Utah Jazz new season began in the best way possible, with 4 wins in the first 5 games and the best version of Lauri Markkanen we've seen in the past few years.

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

There was a feeling that this moment was about to come for the Utah Jazz. The moment to break the team and start all over again. That's how the NBA works, after all. You build a team that you believe has the potential to be a contender, you try to put the right pieces around your stars, and you hope for the best.

But the NBA is a league that doesn't like half-measures. If you're not strong enough to win, it's better to throw it all down and try again. Living in the middle, settling for a first- or second-round playoff exit every season, in the long run, won't really help you get closer to the top.

That's what Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik, respectively, CEO and GM of the team, realized after the Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the last playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell's cooperation had to be interrupted.

The two players had done a good job, considering that the Jazz are a small-market team. They led the franchise to multiple regular season exploits, but they were never able to deliver in the postseason.

So, it was time to hit the reset button. The Jazz decided to trade Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for four first-round picks, one first-round pick swap, and five players, including rookie Walker Kessler.

After Gobert was gone, the Jazz also decided to move on from their other star, Donovan Mitchell, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Lauri Markkanen, Colin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks, and another pick swap.

In addition to the departures of Gobert and Mitchell, the Jazz also traded other important elements of the roster, such as Bojan Bogdanovic (who was traded to the Detroit Pistons) and Royce O'Neale (traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a first-round pick).

In just a few months, the roster was completely revolutionized, and the front office decided to hire also a new head coach: Will Hardy, a former assistant for the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics.

As a rebuilding project, of course, the Jazz focus won't be on winning at first. Due to the nature of their roster, that still counts several players that might be moved on the market between now and next summer (Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Malik Beasley, Kelly Olynyk, and Jarred Vanderbilt) but also several young players that might represent the future of the franchise, and there will be ups and downs.

And in the season that leads to the draft, that might give you the opportunity to select a player like Victor Wembanyama, as a team, you don't want to be too distant from the bottom of the league.

At the beginning of the season, it's not uncommon for 'unexpected' teams to rise to a great start, and that's exactly what's happening to the Utah Jazz. Coach Hardy's side has now won 4 of the first 5 games they played this season, and they're having fun while doing it.

They made their season debut with a big win over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Then they overcame former Jazz star Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Jazz also won against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Houston Rockets.

A huge part of this early success for Jazz has been Lauri Markkanen. The Finnish forward is probably in the best form of his career, and the Jazz want him to have a central role moving forward.

With a sustainable contract, the forward is owed $35.2 million over the next two years (only 6 million of his deal is fully guaranteed in the 2024-25 season). Markkanen looks like the perfect fit for the rebuilding project of the Jazz.

So far, the forward is averaging 22.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Against the New Orleans Pelicans, his best one so far, Markkanen had 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists.

The Finnish forward is building on the amazing summer that he had with Finland at EuroBasket. During the major continental competition, Markkanen was an absolute stud for his team. He led Finland to the quarter-finals of the competition, averaging 28.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40% from 3-point.

In the Round of 16 against Croatia, Markkanen exploded for 43 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He was, hands down, one of the best players in the entire tournament, although he wasn't selected for the All-EuroBasket first team.

The player was traded to the Jazz on the same day that EuroBasket started, and those performances definitely increased the confidence that the team based in Salt Lake City already had in Markkanen.

"Just building on the summer, it was a great representation of Lauri's game as a whole, and he does have more to offer than maybe he has shown in the past," coach Will Hardy said about Markkanen. "We need his versatility, and we're going to ask him every night to do a variety of different things on both ends of the floor."

"I mean, he has done everything from guard wings to guard Nikola Jokic. As a coach, it's a luxury to have a player that has that level of versatility," added Jazz head coach.

Despite a great start to his career in Chicago, Markkanen struggled to maintain that level at times, although he always remained an important player in the league. Several of his teammates, though, didn't anticipate such a great start from the Finnish forward.

"That dude is cold, I had no idea," Malik Beasley said in a recent interview. "Every single game, he does something else, and I tell him, 'You're cold as f**k' he's shooting, getting to the rim, dunking the ball, moving around, he does everything for the team."

Sure, it's still very early in the season, and many things can change. This great start for the Jazz will probably wind down a little bit, but Markkanen might have found the right spot to be fully himself and play at the best level of his career.

"It's a good fit here. I've tried to stay active and aggressive on both ends of the court," Markkanen told Deseret News. "It's a good start, but we've still got to keep learning and keep getting better."

For European basketball fans, the Jazz will be a really interesting team to watch since Simone Fontecchio is also part of the team. In his first season in the NBA, the Italian forward will probably not have a major role in the rotations of coach Hardy.

But in a team that might change even more over the course of the season, Fontecchio will most likely find his niche and provide the elements that the Jazz are looking for: shooting and defense.

If you're looking for that sneaky good team to follow during the season with your League Pass, the Jazz might be a good pick. With 'cold dude' Lauri Markkanen as the main piece of the group, that rebuilding process could become smoother than initially planned.

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