Utah Jazz's Biggest Lesson Learned Revealed by ESPN

The Utah Jazz have gathered some significant takeaways through the first part of this NBA season.

Nov 30, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots over Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) in the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Through the first quarter of the 2024-25 NBA season, the Utah Jazz have seen their fair share of ups and downs as they've collected a lowly record that places them in the bottom three of the league standings, right alongside the likes of a Washington Wizards team who went winless in the month of November.

However, during those trials and tribulations suffered over the initial month and then some, the Jazz have also endured some valuable learning experiences-- a topic ESPN dove into during their latest batch of NBA power rankings.

As ESPN shuffled through their newest collection of power rankings, the Jazz found themselves bringing up the rear once again-- placing 29th out of 30 teams ahead of only the Wizards, which drops them from their previous rank of 27th.

While given a bleak outlook, analyst Tim MacMahon got real when discussing the biggest lesson learned for Utah, noting that the team is in a clear "full rebuild," and minutes in this rotation must be earned.

"The early stages of a full rebuild are here," MacMahon said. "Unlike the past two seasons, when they were competitive until unloading veterans at the trade deadline, coach Will Hardy will have to deliver a lot of lessons this season. One is that minutes must be earned, even for a franchise likely (and hopefully) headed for a high lottery pick. Rookie Cody Williams, the No. 10 pick, has struggled with this."

It's been a bumpy season for most of the Jazz roster, but especially so for the mentioned Cody Williams, who's the most recent assignment to Utah's G League affiliate in the Salt Lake City Stars after averaging 3.1 points on 26.9% shooting through his initial 16 contests.

Seeing Williams' slow start, along with a few other key pieces of the puzzle struggling like Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, showcases that while Utah is deep within its youth movement, it'll be far from an overnight shift to progress this roster to the state it needs to be. Building a consistent and sustainable winning culture is a slow, methodical process, and the Jazz are still working through creating an identity on both sides of the ball.

In the meantime, this year has proven it'll largely be a stepping stone in the big picture to let this young talent grow through their inconsistencies, and also bring a big boost to their lottery odds come next summer. For a 2025 draft class that is expected to be one of the best in recent memory, this could ultimately be viewed as a short-term loss for a long-term gain.

Buckle in Jazz fans. A long season lies ahead in Salt Lake City.

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