The J-Notes

Question: if the Utah Jazz Jazz have just about everything ready to go on their most successful run in what feels like ages, why would they mess with the formula before they even have the chance to trot it out? There has been absolutely no concrete intel suggesting the Jazz would trade Lauri Markkanen, and yet we're seeing him pop up in trade proposals. They're not bad trade proposals, necessarily, but they're ones Utah has no reason to consider right now.

Donovan Mitchell left the Utah Jazz on relatively good terms, but it doesn't change the fact that the two parted ways because it had become abundantly clear they weren't going anywhere with him as their guy. The Cleveland Cavaliers have had Mitchell for the last four years, having learned pretty much the same lesson, and yet, rumor has it, they might run it back with their core.

The Utah Jazz will assemble the best team they can next season. They already have the main ingredients for a playoff contender. This summer, in addition to making sure Walker Kessler is back, they will likely turn to bargain-bin additions. Every contender has a guy being paid pennies on the dollar for his services. The New York Knicks have two of them, basically: old friend Jordan Clarkson and Landry Shamet.

Unless something completely unexpected happens, Walker Kessler will return to the Utah Jazz this coming season. It would also seem like a foregone conclusion that he would be their starting center, but due to circumstances, it actually might not be that simple.

The Utah Jazz aren't in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, even if there's a solid case that it would make sense for both sides. Even so, they know that if the Bucks trade him, it would be to start a rebuild. Utah could help the in that endeavor, even if they wouldn't get Antetokounmpo. That could be the beauty of it, though. They wouldn't have to pay a whole lot for who they could target in a Giannis blockbuster trade: Tyler Herro.

The Walker Kessler extension saga is about to begin for the Utah Jazz. They already had the leverage with him being a restricted free agent, but as more time has passed, more of his potential suitors have dropped out of the running, which helps them more than him. It's going to get worse for him, too, because teams will likely chase unrestricted free agents first, like Mitchell Robinson.

Narratively, it would make all the sense in the world if AJ Dybantsa winds up on the Utah Jazz. Because of his well-documented ties to the state of Utah (not *city*, Mr. Arenas...), it would make sense for him to start his career in the same state where he played high school and college ball. There have been rumblings that it could happen, and said rumblings have only gotten stronger.

It's hard to think of another Utah Jazz player whose image did a complete 180 the same way Keyonte George did. After a disheartening sophomore campaign, the results from George since Year 3 have been nothing but positive. It's somehow gotten better ever since the season ended over a month ago. George not only represented the Jazz at the draft lottery - sidenote: what a good luck charm! - but after Utah was awarded the No. 2 pick, apparently, George traveled to Chicago to watch the combine.

It's not blatantly obvious who will be right there for the Utah Jazz with the No. 2 pick, and that's kind of the beauty of it. This is a supremely talented class of draft prospects, meaning the Jazz may simply take the best player available. In fact, Austin Ainge confirmed what everyone's thinking: there is no consensus on the No. 2 pick. KSL Sports' Chandler Holt revealed what Ainge told reporters when discussing who they might take with the second overall pick.

Everyone already knows the Utah Jazz will turn things around next season after four turbulent seasons. That wasn't just because they were bad but because they didn't really know where they were going. Even with all the talent on the roster, because there's nowhere to go but up, there's no way this could go wrong, because all Utah needs to see is progress.