Rumors

Carlos Boozer strode confidently through Zions Bank Basketball Center, the Utah Jazz training facility. Once upon a time, he walked this space as a player. Those were his All-Star days. His Olympian days. The days of Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and the late, great Jerry Sloan. The days of Utah’s powder blue uniform. Today, Boozer is back with the organization, and, along with Avery Bradley, is a key cog in a front office tasked with selecting the fifth pick in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft. Utah’s war room will be different for Boozer, not only because he’s no longer a player, but also because the building has undergone renovations since his playing days. And we’re talking about a front office that has transitioned in general managers from Kevin O’Connor to Dennis Lindsey, to Justin Zanik, to Danny Ainge, and now to Austin Ainge.

New York Times

Andy Larsen: Finally, Ryan Smith was asked about Justin Zanik's role with the Jazz: "Justin's the GM in the organization. His role hasn't changed at all. If you think about the skill set that Austin has, and JZ's skill set, they actually work really well."

x.com

Andy Larsen: Jazz GM Justin Zanik on drafting No. 5: "This was always the most likely individual outcome that we expected and kind of prepared for, given that the flattened lottery odds since 2019."

bsky.app

Andy Larsen: Justin Zanik, on what his team will do with the No. 5 pick: "We're gonna have a lot to look at to see what's the best fit for our team. I mean, it could be anywhere from eight or nine different players in that range. So that's that part is really exciting."

bsky.app

Andy Larsen: Jazz GM Justin Zanik, whose team just lost the lottery, on whether or not the lottery is rigged: "It's definitely not rigged. I guess the main thing is you definitely feel the 14% chance, not the 86% chance that it's not (the No. 1 pick.)"

bsky.app

• Brooklyn Nets: Makar Gevorkian, VP of Basketball Operations Alignment and Strategic Planning • Charlotte Hornets: Rick Schnall, Co-Chairman and Governor • Chicago Bulls: Faizan Hasnany, Manager, Basketball Strategy and Analytics • Dallas Mavericks: Matt Riccardi, Assistant General Manager • Houston Rockets: Sam Strantz, Senior Team Counsel • New Orleans Pelicans: Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President • Oklahoma City Thunder: Sam Presti, Executive Vice President and General Manager • Philadelphia 76ers: Ned Cohen, Assistant General Manager • Portland Trail Blazers: Andrae Patterson, Assistant General Manager • Sacramento Kings: Alvin Gentry, Vice President of Basketball Engagement • San Antonio Spurs: Brian Wright, General Manager • Toronto Raptors: Bobby Webster, General Manager • Utah Jazz: Justin Zanik, General Manager • Washington Wizards: Will Dawkins, General Manager

RealGM

There’s no way to know now what will happen with Markkanen this offseason. If the Jazz front office is presented with a deal that they think makes more sense for the future than it does to keep Markkanen on the roster, then they’ll take it into serious consideration. But they don’t want for Markkanen to think that they are shopping him around. “We’ll see when opportunities come up to add to the roster, but I see Lauri as a central part of what we’re doing, that’s why we signed him,” Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said. “We think he can be a huge piece for us as we join the competitive rings.”

deseret.com

In each of the three years, the Suns will only receive the least favorable of the first-round picks that the Jazz own, thus limiting the potential value of them. That was a key point that Zanik emphasized on the broadcast. “The way it makes sense for us is that we now have another shot at a pick that has a lot of variability,” Zanik told Craig Bolerjak and Thurl Bailey. “The three picks we traded have no chance to be the number one pick, and this one does.”

NBA.com

“It (the trade) balances out what we want,” Zanik said. “We’ve always talked about bites at the apple or more swings in the draft, but it is also about the quality of the swings, and this is, in my opinion, the most valuable asset on the market right now.”

NBA.com

When last season ended, the Utah Jazz were prepared to go "big game hunting" this offseason per CEO Danny Ainge. Instead, Utah ended up using most of their cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Lauri Markkanen and to sign a handful of veteran role players. “You guys have seen how things evolve in an offseason,” Jazz GM Justin Zanik said. “In this organization, we are extremely aggressive with pursuing any and all means necessary to make this a championship-caliber roster. When those opportunities come up, we’re ready for it. There weren’t any. “And so to sit there and not do anything, we decided that our plan was to completely throw our focus into our young guys and the best player on our roster in Lauri Markkanen.”

Salt Lake Tribune

“I looked around the league, and 90% plus (teams) have been homegrown. That’s the business we’re in. So we better get really good at it, and we also want as many shots as we can at it,” Smith said. With no big game hunted this summer, there may be a shortage of big games for the Jazz this season. But Smith says he’s optimistic that they’re coming. “I’m a competitive human. I think that going through and seeing how we’ve started and the decisions we’ve made are probably counterintuitive a little bit to how I want to start my tenure — but actually, I love it,” Smith continued. “I love working with these guys, and I’m totally bought in. If we want to win a championship, we’re going to have to do it our way, and I think we will. I’m 100% confident of that.”

Salt Lake Tribune

Tony Jones: Justin Zanik: The reason we bought the veterans here is to teach the young guys how to work.....We'll see how the roles and things play out. Every acquisition we have made this offseason in terms of veterans has been very strategic

x.com

Michael Scotto: The Utah Jazz have exercised the fifth-year option on head coach Will Hardy’s contract, team says. GM Justin Zanik: “Will has done a great job of guiding our program and instilling the right values and competitive habits with our young group. The organization looks forward to developing with Will as we strive for long-term success through strategic and deliberate growth.” Hardy is currently the second-youngest head coach in the NBA at 36 years old. He was the first head coach hired under Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.

Twitter

Andy Larsen: Jazz just announced they’ll do media availability earlier than expected for the franchise’s leaders: Ryan Smith, Danny Ainge, and Justin Zanik will have a press conference this Friday at 11 AM.

Twitter