After claiming that they would no longer strategically rest players to throw games, the Jazz have begun strategically resting players to throw games.
That will still be the case next season, as the Thunder will get Utah’s first-round pick if it lands between No. 9 and No. 30. However, according to new Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge, Utah will not take active steps to protect that pick next season. When asked in his introductory press conference on Monday if the Jazz would engage in the sort of minutes manipulation that lost them so many games last season, Ainge responded simply “you won’t see that this year.” That message has been taken to mean, broadly, that the Jazz do not plan to tank next season.
However, Austin lies as easily as his daddy as the Jazz have started strategically resting players to throw games again. Lauri Markkanen has missed 6 games recently, all against tank opponents. The Jazz only have one center on their roster, Jusuf Nurkic, and they intentionally did not play him despite him being healthy to force the incredibly undersized Kyle Filipowski, Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Anderson, Ace Bailey, etc to play center for 48 minutes instead. The result? The Jazz gave up 144 points and then 138 points to the Mavericks without Flagg, AD, Kyrie, Lively, and Gafford.
While the Jazz’s roster is set up very nicely if they manage to get a top 3 pick this year, it’s very strange to me that Austin Ainge’s literal first statement as an important figure in the NBA was just such an extreme lie.