2. Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are a team that many fans thought would have the kind of season that the San Antonio Spurs had. Utah blew up the roster with two great trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and it seemed like the team had its eyes firmly set on Victor Wembanyama.
However, there was too much talent on the roster and Will Hardy was too good of a head coach and the Jazz were able to stay in the playoff picture for most of the year. As a result, the Jazz were not one of the worst teams in the league and ended up with the ninth overall pick.
Now Utah needs to figure out which direction it wants to go in as it pertains to next year’s roster and the immediate next few years.
The Jazz have enough cap space to outbid the Lakers if needed
The entire thing that makes Utah a potential candidate for Russell is the cap space. Utah has a projected $41.05 million in cap space and while there are players to spend on this offseason, the team could definitely afford to bring D’Lo into the fold if they so choose.
The logic would be similar to that for the Spurs. Russell could provide a scoring threat with all-star potential that elevates the team’s play while also elevating his value as a trade chip. Smart teams like the Jazz (who are now run by Danny Ainge) look at moves with the long-term picture in mind and signing Russell could be a move that pays off in the future.