NBA Rumors: Utah Jazz took a step back in order to ‘take three or four forward’

The 2013-14 season was rough for the Utah Jazz.

After missing out on the playoffs by two games last season, the team let Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap walk away in free agency and finished 18 games worse this season.

Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey told Mike Sorenson of The Desert News, the Jazz had to take a step back to move forward.

"“The nature of sports and society is instant gratification,’’ he said. “It sounds convenient (for management) to lower expectations whether it’s … our work with young guys and free agency and trades and draft prep work. I think when we add all of that up over time, several good decisions will add up and we’ll have a very significant team here in Utah. But a specific timeline, I don’t know.’’Lindsey acknowledged that before this season the Jazz took a step back in order to “take three or four forward” and he believes the fans understood that.“We’ll take it step by step,’’ he said. “We clearly did a few things to create more opportunities for the young guys, to be very disciplined with our salary cap outlay and the contracts that we have coming due in the next few years. We’re in very good position with our picks."

The Jazz finished with the league’s fourth-worst record, which means they will picking anywhere between first and seventh in June’s draft.

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