Utah Jazz: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

1. This team is in great shape moving forward

The Western Conference is filled with talent, and the fight just to make the postseason this year
was brutal. Ten deserving playoff teams fought for eight spots, and that excludes a Los Angeles Lakers team that may have made the playoffs in the East.

Utah lost two of its three best players from last year’s team, and added a handful of journeyman in their place. Having made the postseason, their draft pick was in the back-third of the first round. The path ahead was going to involve more treading water than swimming the English Channel.

Yet that’s exactly where this team stands as they bow out of the playoffs. Utah has the league’s best defensive player in Rudy Gobert, and the impact he made for the last three months was incredible. Donovan Mitchell is a star already, and a future superstar; he will be inexpensive and continually improving for years to come. Joe Ingles was a solid starter on the wing, the league’s most talent-starved position. He would start for almost any team in the league.

This team has plenty on the margins as well, with the smaller pieces that propel a team into the playoffs. Ricky Rubio had a career year for the Jazz, and is under contract for one more season. Royce O’Neal was an undrafted find, and has the chops to stay in the rotation. Jae Crowder has lost a step from his Boston best, but is still a capable wing defender on a great contract.

Dante Exum is still just 22, and has depressed value as a restricted free agent. If Utah can retain him, he still has upside to become a starter-level player. Either playing alongside Mitchell or backing him up, Exum has plenty to offer and could be the next player to make a leap in the Utah culture.

Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft

This roster is well-built, the coaching staff (although sans Igor Kokoskov now) is built around one of the best at the top, and the front office has proved its worth for multiple seasons. While their year ended in a playoff loss, nothing but optimism should be filling the Jazz. Their future is brighter than the sun setting over the desert.