Bleacher Report Proposes Insane Jazz Lineup With Lauri Markkanen at SG

Could we see the Utah Jazz test out an unorthodox lineup during the 2023-24 NBA season?

A common trend found through the team-building process of this new-look Utah Jazz has been finding the best positional size and versatility at each position. In a modern NBA increasingly becoming positionless, more and more teams have begun shifting towards the concept of seeking out players who can excel with transitioning anywhere from the one through five.

The Jazz have many of these types of players, specifically big men, giving them a collection of lineups to form that can stand taller than what most other teams in the league could afford to put together all at once. This creates unlimited potential for Utah to weld together some of the wackiest combinations of players on the floor together.

In a perfect example, Bleacher Report made an intriguing proposal for the Jazz to put together a lineup with four players taller than 6-9 on the floor: Talen Horton-Tucker, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Kelly Olynyk, and Walker Kessler.

With the odd shift of Markkanen to shooting guard and John Collins to small forward, the Jazz could form a giant lineup that averages out to a height of almost 6-10. Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey provided some more intel as to how the logistics of this five-man group could work:

"The Cleveland Cavaliers laid the groundwork for this in 2021-22 when they successfully played 7'0" Lauri Markkanen at the 3. The Utah Jazz got us a step closer last season when they made him an All-Star while starting him alongside various combinations of Kelly Olynyk, Walker Kessler and Jarred Vanderbilt. Now that we've seen what that looks like, how significant is a move from one wing spot to another? With Markkanen at the 2 and John Collins possibly walking a similar path to occasional minutes at the 3, Utah could stick with starting Olynyk and Kessler to fill out a massive lineup.”

By no means would this become a set of five players the Jazz start with on a nightly basis, but throwing this combination of players out on the court once throughout next season would certainly be an interesting watch. Finding any team in the association that could adequately stack up with this size would be a tall task.

Possessing already a sizeable collection of players with great length and versatility, head coach Will Hardy will already have the unique opportunity to use them to bolster his defensive system and expose opposing ones with a size disadvantage. It’s part of what makes this team a threat to pose some competition fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

With many options and outcomes on the table, this coming season forecasts to be a fun one for Jazz fans.

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