NBA Power Rankings: Preview the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest

Dearly Departed: Emmanuel Mudiay, Ed Davis, Tony Bradley

New Additions: Derrick Favors, Shaq Harrison, Udoka Azubuike

Win Projection/Prediction: 42/Under

Something has to give in the Western Conference. As a few teams that struggled last season look to be on the right track this year, others will have to slide down the standings. The Utah Jazz simply did nothing to improve upon a roster that blew a 3-1 lead in the first round.

It needs to be acknowledged that Bojan Bogdanovic missed the bubble and would have been an essential offensive piece for this team. His presence will rejuvenate this team on that side of the ball. It just does not feel like enough.

A trade of Rudy Gobert should be seriously considered. It is hard to justify giving him the supermax contract he will likely be demanding but he is expiring and losing him for nothing is also unpalatable. The prediction here is that a move comes at some point during the season (perhaps to the Brooklyn Nets?) and this turns into something of a transition year for Utah.

Donovan Mitchell got his extension after a spectacular postseason series. He averaged 36.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game and boasted blistering splits of .529/.516/.948. He is the clear bastion of the future in Utah but the team needs remodeling around him to truly legitimize their title hopes.