Lessons Jazz Can Learn From Celtics & Mavericks

The Utah Jazz have a couple different blue prints to follow.

Mar 1, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks are set to square off against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA finals starting June 6th. Boston, who has been to the conference finals in 6 out of the past 8 seasons and will play in their second NBA Finals in three years, was the overwhelming favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference all year. Dallas, who missed the playoffs entirely last year, had a furious close to the season ignited by a perfect mix of role players and superstars to put them on the doorstep of history. Let’s take a look at what these two contenders tell us about how the Utah Jazz should prioritize their roster construction.

The foundation for both of these rosters was built through the draft, though their processes of doing so were entirely different. Seven years after winning the 2011 NBA championship, an aging Dallas team that hadn’t won a playoff series since their championship tanked down the stretch of the season to finish with the third-worst record in the league.

After falling to fifth during the draft lottery, Dallas executed a draft-night trade to move up and get Luka Doncic, a generational talent that Phoenix, Sacramento, and Atlanta all passed on.

Jun 21, 2018; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Luka Doncic greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number three overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Five years after finding their savior in Doncic, the Mavs again found themselves in a precarious situation. Dallas no longer controlled their playoff destiny after losing Jalen Brunson in free agency and trading for Kyrie Irving the following February. With a top-10 protected pick owed to New York, Dallas strategically tanked to retain their lottery pick. Dallas added Derek Lively, who has been an integral piece of their Finals run, with that pick.

Boston did things a different way. Danny Ainge wasted no time breaking up what was left of their previous championship roster, sending Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn to usher in a rebuild. The Celtics built fast, though, missing the playoffs just the following year before rising back up the Eastern Conference standings.

Their current core of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were added thanks to picks from the Brooklyn Nets. Ainge, Brad Stevens, and the Celtics did not tank for multiple years to secure their share of ping-pong balls- instead, they continued to add to their existing core through all available avenues.

Jun 22, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Jayson Tatum (Duke) is introduced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver as the number three overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Boston traded for Isaiah Thomas, who they then parlayed into Kyrie Irving. Boston signed Al Horford and Gordon Hayward. They also held tightly onto the draft picks they’d acquired. Interestingly, a handful of moves didn’t work out for the Celtics as they’d planned, but they gave themselves plenty of bites at the apple. Most importantly, they stayed patient as they methodically built their program up.

On top of hitting big in the draft, both teams took their share of risks to get to this level. Dallas traded many of their remaining assets to get Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington- moves that the general public was not fond of originally. They added Kyrie Irving when his value was at an all-time low and proceeded to give him a new contract despite going just 8-12 with him in the lineup last year.

Boston gave up former DPOY Marcus Smart to get Kristaps Porzingis, a player many had written off after his struggles in Dallas- a move that transformed them into one of the greatest regular seasons ever.

Apr 24, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) makes the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) in the second quarter during game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

So what does this say about the Jazz? I think it’s pretty simple actually- there is no singular way to build a championship team. Just like there is no guaranteed path to a Larry O'Brien trophy- having the best player in the world doesn’t guarantee you one, nor does, as Jazz fans know all too well, having the best regular season record. Fortunately, the Jazz’s lead decision-maker happens to have three championship rings and was the architect behind much of the current Celtics foundation.

The Jazz already have Lauri Markkanen, a 27-year-old who’s transformed into one of the best 30 players in the league. They have three promising youngsters: Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, and Taylor Hendricks. They have Collin Sexton, who graded out as a top 50 player by many metrics last season. The Jazz own 13 first-round picks over the next six drafts, including a top-10 selection this June. The Jazz also projects to have somewhere in the ballpark of $38M in cap space this summer.

Dec 28, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) celebrates with Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

They have given themselves the flexibility to build a roster that hopefully reaches the stage that Dallas and Boston are on. How the Jazz add that talent is unknown, but we do know their end goal. With the inexact science of finding talent and building a great roster, I look forward to seeing the moves the Jazz will make to open their next championship window.

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