Is it time to blow up the Utah Jazz this offseason?

Despite having the NBA’s best record this season, the Utah Jazz (52-20) fell short of a title, and now the team may be at a crossroads.

For the fifth-straight season, Utah fell short of reaching the Western Conference Finals. Their most recent second-round playoff loss to a Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers team may be the most disappointing, having led the series 2-0 before losing four straight games. Now comes the question of whether or not it’s time to blow up the team this offseason.

Aside from Mike Conley, Georges Niang, and Ersan Ilyasova, the remaining group of key players will be returning under contract next season barring any offseason trades. Both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are signed with the team through the 2025-26 season, and given their high-level talents they are the two players this organization should continue to build around.

The Utah Jazz should focus on retooling rather than a complete rebuild

What should be shaken up is the team’s supporting cast. Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, Joe Ingles, and Jordan Clarkson are each set to return next season. With the exception of Ingles (2023 FA), they are all under contract through the 2022-23 season at a reasonable price should other teams be interested.

Their offensive abilities aren’t an issue, but the lack of perimeter defense was the main flaw exposed during the final four games against the Clippers who were able to penetrate for easy shots at the basket or wide-open 3s.

The Jazz need to get tougher and get stops when they count in the playoffs. As important as offense is in today’s era, the best teams and the ones who win the Finals are among the best defensively.

Despite having a three-time Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert, the Jazz still allowed an average of 125 points in their final four games against Los Angeles. They also allowed the Clippers to shoot 47 percent from 3-point range in those four games as well.

You have to credit the Clippers for battling back and hitting their shots, especially when Leonard went down, but Utah’s lack of defense was ultimately their downfall.

The offseason for the Jazz shouldn’t be considered a complete rebuild, rather a retooling. This team is still loaded with some of the league’s best talent in Mitchell and Gobert, now it’s a matter of surrounding them with better pieces to win a championship.