MINNEAPOLIS — Was it worth it?
That’s the question every Utah Jazz fan will be asking between now and May 12, the night of the NBA draft lottery.
The tanking, the dubious injury reports, the nights healthy players sat on the bench, the times 23-year-old Walker Kessler was “resting” rather than playing, the lineups that consisted of mostly rookies, replacement-level players and two-way guys, the extended time Lauri Markkanen spent off the court, the wear and tear on the patience of the fan base — was all of it worth it?
On Sunday afternoon at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, the Jazz completed the final assignment of the 2024-25 season, losing 116-105 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, finishing with a 17-65 record, the worst in the league, guaranteeing that they will not only have the best possible odds (14% chance) at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, but also guaranteeing that they will select no lower than No. 5.
The Jazz were helped along the way Sunday in their journey to the bottom of the standings. Shortly before the game in Minnesota tipped off, the Washington Wizards, who went into the day with the same record as the Jazz, picked up a buzzer-beating win against the Miami Heat.
Had the Wizards lost, the Jazz and Wizards would have tied for worst record and a coin flip would have decided who would be guaranteed a top five pick and who could potentially fall to sixth on lottery night.
So, by the time the Jazz’s final game of the season tipped off, all they had to do was lose to the Timberwolves — a team that was desperate for a win to guarantee a playoff spot rather than falling into the dreaded play-in tournament.
It was fitting for Minnesota to be the team to hand the Jazz this final loss. After the buzzer sounded and the game was over, the Jazz’s ragtag team of slowly developing youngsters and non-guaranteed players shook the hands of Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, all former Jazzmen and all casualties of the Jazz’s down-to-the-studs rebuild.
The ultimate prize for the Jazz at the end of all of this would be Cooper Flagg, the 18-year-old Duke product who has been coveted by everyone in the basketball world for years.
But, the Jazz are not guaranteed the No. 1 pick. The best they could do this season was ensure best odds and get the worst record so they could go into the offseason knowing that they will get a top five pick.
Control what you can control, right?
Now begins a month of hope.
In case you were wondering, the game between the Wizards and Heat was watched by just about everyone in the Jazz front office and even a number of players on the Jazz roster.
The Jazz brass is now done with guess work and manipulating. They now sit back and hope that the ping pong ...
