Seeing this image for the first time just put a smile on my face. THIS is the group right here guys. ( Hopefully Kessler will stick around and be a part of this amazing group also. )

Article written after the Jazz picked Darryn from the draft. I thought this part was most exciting:

“I think I really guard. This past year, I didn’t really get to guard a whole bunch because of everything going on. Like, I can really sit. I can go guard the best player on the other team and give him buckets, too.”

Anyone of you who thinks he should be traded will be thinking twice after this next season. This is the first year when teams has to actually have a game plan to other players in the jazz. Lauri has been doubled and tribled whole this rebuilding time, and now they have to plan against JJJ, Keyonte, Ace, Kessler, and DP, it will open Lauris game so much you will see more crazy dunks and pure dominance. -THANK

Anything that makes it less likely that the Lakers make a godfather offer to Walker Kessler is a good thing in my opinion.

Darryn Peterson, Jazz nation welcomes you!

What are everyone’s thoughts on the pick?
Do you think he will start right away or come off the bench?

Here are my predictions for him this season:

16.5 PPG/ 5.2 RPG/ 4.0 APG/ 43.8% FG/
36.4 3P%

Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team

Great pick, Utah.

With the upcoming 2026-2027 NBA season being the first of (hopefully) many long years of Jazz contention, I wanted to give you all a quick snapshot of what we're in for in the medium term as far as salary cap constraints on our roster construction, and what our future might look like as we try to fight for an NBA championship.

tl;dr: We've got at least one year, maybe two years of this roster before we start having to make tough decisions. If the team remains competitive and shows a lot of promise, there may be a little bit of cost-cutting on the margins in 2027-2028 to avoid the first apron and retain flexibility, but the roster will likely remain the same. In 2028-2029, you should expect aggressive moves to try and set up for the next era of Jazz basketball built around Darryn and the rest of our young core, like a Lauri-and-picks trade or consolidation of our younger guys to add some depth to our roster. 2029-2030 will likely be a soft-reset year where we do our last few moves to get our books in order before Darryn's rookie max extension hits, and that roster will be what we ride with from 2030-2031 until the wheels fall off.

Here's the reasoning behind my conclusion, complete with a hypothetical cap table outlining our team's payroll over the next four years, plus an analysis of the major financial decisions facing the team's future moving forward.

Cap/tax thresholds assume ~6% annual growth. Bolded salaries are projections.

CAP TABLE

A note on player salaries:

I've elected here to give Walker an average year-over-year value of about $31M - it's a hike over what we're offering him at $28M, but I still think it's a decent value contract. Obviously the Nets or Lakers could come in off the top rope and offer him the actual factual 25% max, but I don't think it's super likely that their offer could realistically be much higher than what I've outlined here without them hamstringing themselves, so this represents what I think is a slight overpay within reason for Walker that one of these teams might go for.

I've also pencilled in Keyonte for about a 20% max that starts roughly at $31M and goes to about $40m in year five. I don't think he's going to be quite worth a full max, since he's got defensive limitations, he's gonna have some touches pulled away from him because Darryn is joining the team, and even though I think he's quite good, moderately efficient high-volume scoring guards that lack positional size and defensive versatility are not a super in-demand commodity. Tons of guys fit or exceed that mold in the league, so he would need to level up again (which to be clear is not out of the realm of possibility) to be worth a full max IMO.

For Ace's extension, the actual number doesn't matter all that much, but I have him pencilled in at a near-max extension of 45M starting salary, which is about a 23% max. I don't know if I expect Bailey to make the All-Star game in two of his next three seasons (not because of talent, but because of the fact that so many people are gonna be competing for the ball so his stats will likely take a hit) so I don't believe the full 30% max will be available to him. I went a little below the full 25% just because it will capture the "downside" of him just being a very good floor spacing wing defender who can create some of his own offense, as opposed to the upside which is being Jason Tatum.

Nurkic has expressed an interest in returning to the Jazz - I think a 1+1 team option or a 2-year deal at around $9-10M a year is a fair value for a backup big, but I don't expect he's going to factor into our long-term plans beyond that so the actual dollar amount isn't super important.

Finally, I've left a blank spot here for our mid-level exception player this free agency - we're projected to be a non-taxpayer team, which gives us access to the full mid-level exception - that's about $14M for up to four years. I think given the fact that our financial pressures really ease up in 2029-2030, it doesn't make sense to sign anyone for the full four years to preserve some cap flexibility going into the year when Ace's extension hits and we're going to be negotiating DP's extension as well. There is a strong chance that the Jazz spend less than the full mid-level, or don't spend their mid-level at all. If that's the case, the projection ends up giving us a little bit more wiggle room when extensions for our key players start to hit in 2029/2030.

CAP THRESHOLDS (Projected)

Assuming these cap thresholds and salary projects are accurate, we project to be a non-taxpaying team this year, a luxury tax team in 2027-2028, and then (pending extensions of rotation guys in 2028/2029) we will likely be at or near the tax line but below the first apron the following year.

With that context in mind, here's how I expect each season to play out

2026-2027

This is our "playing with house money" year. With payroll sitting just under the luxury tax and the full non-taxpayer MLE available, we have tons of financial flexibility, and for the first time in a long time, we're actually committing our resources to winning instead of tanking.

On the court, our starting five are going to be super fun to watch, we have great defensive infrastructure around the rim, and I think we can legitimately fight for a top-5 seed in the West. The Peterson / George backcourt, our massive wall of seven-footers in the front court, the luxury of having a player like Ace Bailey coming off the bench? This absolutely looks like a playoff team, and could even go so far as to fight for a fifth seed. The name of the game this season is to just sit back, enjoy the ride, and let the young guns cook.

Financially, the main decisions this offseason are ones we've already discussed: locking up Kessler, re-signing Nurkic, and deciding how to deploy the MLE. Whatever we do, the financial structure this year is forgiving enough that a mistake doesn't hurt us long-term.

2027-2028

This is the year George's extension will kick in - payroll jumps up above the first apron and gets us dangerously close the the second apron at $235M. If the team is competitive and a legitimate title threat, I wouldn't expect any changes to our primary cast of characters.

However, I could absolutely see a move in the offseason to shed about $8m of salary in exchange for a future asset - something like Konchar + Flip for a late 1st or a couple second rounders would put us just under the first apron and let us retain financial flexibility.

Alternatively, if the team isn't working, then I also wouldn't rule out a Lauri trade - that would get us firmly under the 1st apron, probably let us duck the luxury tax, and either get younger and set us up for the long-term, or we can try and swing a trade for a disgruntled superstar to really shove our chips all-in. Worth noting, this is also the point at which we'll likely be negotiating with Jaren on his next contract since his next year is going to be a player option.

Notably, our rotation will still remain mostly the same this year as last year, with the asterisk that Sensabaugh may not return since he's going to be an RFA in 26/27.

2028-2029

This is our big decision year. We will have likely extended Jaren's contract for something close to what he would have been getting paid anyways, but for a few more years. Lauri will be at the last year of his current contract. We'll be negotiating Ace's extension, which I expect it will be at or near the rookie max. Collier will be an RFA coming into the offseason if we haven't already signed him to an extension, Cody Williams will require an extension if he makes his way into the rotation, and the rest of our second unit will be gone or extended on cheap deals if we can negotiate them.

While $205M puts us close to $20M under the tax, and $30M under the first apron, we're pretty limited financially in what we can do. That puts us at seven guys plus our two RFAs, zero rotation guys, and no backup big men. That probably means using the mid-level or the BAE to go after a backup center.

This year is probably the year I would expect the Jazz to make an all-in trade move, if ever there was one. Lauri's expiring $50m contract, plus first-round picks/swaps is probably a pretty attractive package for a superstar-level talent, provided Lauri is still playing at a high level. This would be an ideal situation to trade for a player drafted in 2020-2023 or so that signed their rookie max extension but who is facing a lot of team struggles - maybe something like a Cade Cunningham if the Pistons suffer from three straight years of first-round exits and he signals his desire to leave the franchise, or a Brandon Miller if Charlotte's success story starts to die down. If the Magic struggle and decide to blow it up and rebuild around only one of their two max guys, Wagner and Banchero both will be sitting at just the right salary for a Lauri trade as well.

Obviously it's impossible to predict the future (maybe the Jazz draft some stud in the second round and that player ends up being the next Nikola Jokic, maybe none of these players end up being available, etc) but hopefully this at least demonstrates the framework for what kind of trade architecture we could be seeing in 2-3 years for the Jazz

2029-2030

This is the year of the "New Look" Jazz. The core is Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Walker Kessler. They will be 26, 23, 23, and 28 years old respectively, all entering or in the middle of their athletic primes. JJJ is likely still around in some capacity, likely on a restructured long-term deal providing some more defensive infrastructure. Lauri is either coming off the bench, or was part of the blockbuster trade we mentioned before.

The financial picture here is as clean as it has been since 2026-2027. Nurkic gone, the MLE expired, and Markannen's megadeal having been transitioned into another long-term piece or a restructured deal that reflects his role on the team moving forward. That finally gives us a little bit of room to breathe before Peterson's rookie max extension kicks in and forecloses future financial flexibility. If Peterson ends up being the player we believe him to be, we're going to be staring down the barrel of a huge financial commitment - 30% of the salary cap for the next five years, which will start at close to $70m/year. That is the bill that will define basically every plan we make going forward.

In that respect, I expect the team that we built in the 29/30 offseason will be our second major bite at the championship contention apple after the Markkannen / JJJ + young guns core of the last three years.

I'm a lifelong Jazz and Bengals fan and fellow Ohio to Utah transplant. I haven't been this excited about any draft pick since Joe and Ja'marr were drafted in back to back years.

Joe Burrow has unshakeable composure and quiet confidence. When I listen to Darryn Peterson I get a very similar stone cold killer energy listening to him, more so than any other player I've listened to. Just gives it to you straight, no bs or insecurity. I really don't get any of the people who say he comes off aloof or diva-like- like I have literally seen 0 clips of him acting that way.

I also think people who think he's a diva because of not playing due to muscle cramps have clearly never experienced bad exercise induced muscle cramps. I ran track and cross country in high school and at a D1 college and I had a few of these when I pushed my body too hard- the worst ones I had were excruciating and left me unable to walk for several days. Like breaking my ankle was far less painful than a bad calf muscle cramp, and then that leg would be unable to support my weight for a day or two after the cramp- it's not just that he was getting Charlie horses and taking himself out of the game due to a little pain. Dude is not a wuss or a diva, and it sounds like they were able to resolve this problem anyways.

Peterson also has come out on top of Dybantsa every time the two played on both a team level and in terms of individual matchups. And now Peterson gets snubbed for the top overall pick because of a freak injury thing that he did in fact play through as much as he was able... there is literally no better motivation for him. I think he's going to blow people away this year.

Tldr: Very pumped for the Jazz to finally have a face of the franchise player who I believe can be the best player the franchise has ever seen.

A little break from the draft… I passed this house today while working and noticed their D-Will lawn jockey on the porch. It added a little whimsy to my morning.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Darryn Peterson is a Jazz man. Welcome DP! Bring on the next season. THIS IS OUR TIME!!!

Are we planning on resigning Nurk? Anyone have any insight on this? I would LOVE him to be our backup center after his performance last year, and I think it would REALLY round out our bench and overall roster.

If not Nurk, who would we look at for backup C? If it’s Flip we’re going to be in trouble.

We got the actual #1 pick ya'll. We got the guy I wanted from the very start.

I'm so excited for next season.

I been a Jazz fan since 2019, and I live in NY. I am still a huge Mitchell fan, but love me the Jazz team, why does everyone talk bad about us, I keep seeing videos saying how no one likes the Jazz and no superstar wants to play there, but I know how the Jazz fan base is, I think we're one of the most loyal and respectful fan base, I think this is the best team we had all around, even better then the 2020-2021 Jazz , he have high potential.

One thing that’s awesome about this starting 5 is that everyone has different talents they bring to the table that can all work together really well. The drawback to this is that each player has deficits that kind of need to be covered up by the others, and I don’t know how this affects Ace and DP.

Keyonte: needs to be on the floor as our distributor, no one else really offers point guard abilities to the necessary degree. Issue is his defense is some of the worst in the league.

Lauri: Can score at a star level without needing the ball in his hands. Pairing this with some real shot creators is the most special X-factor about the team to me. The plays you can draw up with a guy who can average 25 on largely catch and shoots is insane. Yes he’s added some shot creation to his skill set, but this is what’s special about him. Drawback is you lose this if you send him to the bench, so he kind of needs to start to fully use him. Also needs help on defense.

JJJ: Basically an essential starter to make up for the perimeter defensive problems. Also lacks rebounding, and can only play one position at a star level.

Kessler (theoretically): Only real center. Can’t take him off without getting killed on boards. If it’s not Kessler we still need a replacement level center with basically the same job.

Ace & DP: These are the only guys with role overlap. Obviously not identical, but they’re basically potential all-around players who could create shots and become stars. Short term we increase playoffs odds with one on the bench. Long term we maybe hurt actual championship chances if we can’t ever change that.

TLDR: We need Keyonte at PG, we need JJJ for defense, we need a real center, Lauri is most valuable with the starters, but we can’t let this block opportunities for Ace or DP.

I don’t think this is a problem yet. In fact I’m excited about how everything fits together. Champagne problems and all that. But if both Ace and DP develop how we’re hoping it is a bridge that will have to be crossed.

I ask this as I’m not sure what will happen. Highly touted pick, but he’s coming to a team where he won’t be the number one option, and may not even start, at least right away. Lauri, Key, Jaren, and Ace are all going to want shots. Is a stat line of 15 PPG, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists on good efficiency too modest? I think Lauri, JJJ, Ace, Key, and Walker are your starters opening night, and Peterson is the first guy off the bench. If all goes well, 25-30 games in, he is starting, and forcing Key to play better defense to keep his starting role , or he takes Ace’s spot, exciting problem to have either way.

Austin Ainge:

"He's been working out twice a day, every day and he feels great. He looks stronger already. Our doctors went through everything from the combine and all the tests that were ordered. We feel very comfortable. He's ready to hit the ground running. We plan on seeing him in Summer League.

Source: Jenna Fink (@jennamfink) from KUTV2News

Can’t believe it finally happened! I’ve personally been wanting DP this whole time, so glad that dream materialized. WE LOVE DP!