Keith Smith from Spotrac recently had some great intel and insight on the Utah Jazz. You can read the full article here, but here are the points about the Utah Jazz that have the most interest for Jazz fans.

Why the Jazz made veteran trades
From a Jazz front office executive:

“We didn’t want the older players here pushing for minutes to get their next deal, which is what they should be doing. We didn’t want the younger players getting resentful because guys who aren’t a part of our future were playing in front of them. That mindset drove some of our moves this summer.”

This is interesting for two reasons. It shows what they’re trying to do with this upcoming season. Clearly, they want to give the young players a clear chance to play and grow together. It’s a much better opportunity than the young players in the past two seasons were given. Now the Jazz youth will be able to play together and not have players like John Collins, Kelly Olynyk, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton eating up all the minutes and taking away important development time.

On top of that, it means that players will show what they have and the Jazz can make more informed decisions with contracts for players.

Info on drafting Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.
From a Jazz front office executive:

“When Ace was on the board at our pick, it sure took a lot sting out of dropping in the lottery. All the stuff about him pre-draft and not wanting to come to Utah, that was all just nonsense. He’s excited to be with us, and we’re thrilled to have him,” a Jazz front office executive said. “As far as Walter goes, he’s exactly the kind of player we want. He’s a leader. He’ll be a leader on Day 1 of camp. We can already see it during Summer League. And it’s authentic. Talk to anyone around that Florida program and they’ll tell you that Walter drove them to the title this year. Not just on the floor, but in practices and in the locker room. We love that about him.”

It’s interesting to hear that all the behind-the-scenes stuff was all nonsense. It’s hard to know what all is true and what is media exaggeration, but it’s nice to hear the Jazz perspective on the Ace Bailey drama and that they’re not worried about it and are excited. Things certainly are looking good for a long-term relationship.

The note on Walter Clayton Jr. is nice to hear. Clayton played well in summer league and improved with each game. If Clayton pans out as a great player, that’s a win for Utah. If he also proves to be a big-time leader in the locker room, that can be the type of thing that has a huge impact long-term.

Regarding Walker Kessler’s contract situation
From a Jazz front office executive:

“We’d love to get Walker signed. We have a whole lot of flexibility, because Lauri (Markkanen) is the only veteran we have on a long-term deal. That will come into play with Walker too, because he’ll be the next guy on a long-term deal. That’s something we have to be mindful of, as we plan and build out roster out in the immediate and for the future,” a Jazz front office executive said.

I don’t believe we’ve seen a Jazz comment on this situation yet, so this one caught my attention. Flexibility being the main reason no contract is done is interesting. Kessler is eligible for a contract extension as of July 1, meaning the Jazz could give him a contract right now. If flexibility is the goal, this makes sense. But it also begs the question, why haven’t they just given him a contract if both sides want it to happen? The easy answer is that Utah probably wants to see another season from Kessler before committing big, long-term money. If Kessler plays well, then Utah is probably happy with the contract.

That said, it’s also mentioned that they are looking at roster construction for the future. Is Kessler not considered a solid part of the future? We’ll find out.

Regarding Lauri Markkanen’s future with the Jazz
From a Jazz front office executive:

“We hope it will be a long one! (laughed) Seriously, we love Lauri. He’s been great since getting here and nothing will change with that. He understands what we’re doing and how this team is building. He’s ready to get back here and to get back to work for next season,” a Jazz front office executive said.

From the quote about Kessler before, it shows how Utah views Markkanen as the only veteran with a long-term deal. I could get all spicy blogger here, but I am going to ignore Markkanen being referred to as a veteran rather than a star. What I do think this shows is that Utah is not interested in just giving out long-term contracts to everyone they can. They have mentioned this a lot that Markkanen understands what they’re doing. Does he know what’s coming this season? Utah is clearly looking to keep its top-8 protected pick next season. Utah is not going to manipulate lineups to lose, so how does this all fit together? It’s a fascinating season coming up. Utah was able to breathe a sigh of relief by getting Ace Bailey, but do they want to risk missing out on some franchise-altering talent in the upcoming draft? Does Lauri fit with next season’s goals?