In 2022-23, the Utah Jazz were in a sweet spot. They'd entered rebuild mode the previous summer, trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert ( and, famously, Royce O'Neale ) for a combination of draft picks, pick swaps, prospects and rotation players. Their 10-3 start wasn't sustainable, but it quickly became clear that Lauri Markkanen , the 7-foot sharpshooter they acquired in the Mitchell deal, was much more than a rotation player: He averaged 25.6 points on 64% true shooting, earning an All-Star appearance and the Most Improved Player award. Utah fell out of the playoff race and finished 37-45, but only after dumping several key contributors at the trade deadline and rolling out some ridiculous lineups down the stretch.

The Jazz's future seemed bright because the possibilities s

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