After a tumultuous stretch following the trade deadline, the Jazz finally know what their lottery chances will be less than one month from now.
On May 12, the Jazz will have the eighth-best odds of winning the draft lottery, with a 6.0 percent chance of making the top selection, and a 26.2 percent chance of making one of the top four picks.
Had the Jazz beaten the Warriors, they would have finished tied with the Brooklyn Nets in the final standings, but the loss guaranteed the team the league’s eighth-worst record.
The Jazz will have a 34.5 percent chance of making the eighth selection in the draft, a 32.1 percent chance of picking ninth, and a 6.7 percent chance of picking 10th.
The pick would belong to Oklahoma City if it were to fall outside of the top 10, but after falling to the Warriors, the Jazz have only a 0.4 percent chance of conveying the pick to the Thunder.
In their 50-year history, the Jazz have never owned the eighth pick in the draft.
Only once in the 38 years of the NBA Draft lottery has a team with the eighth-worst record moved up to the top pick. In 2011, the Los Angeles Clippers traded their unprotected first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Mo Williams.
Three months later, after finishing with the eighth-worst record, the Clippers won the draft lottery, and the Cavaliers used the pick to select Kyrie Irving.
The Jazz will learn if they have the 27th, 28th, or 29th pick in the first round via the Thunder after Sunday’s games conclude.
The team will also own the 32nd pick in the draft by way of the Washington Wizards.
George, Hendricks Close Season Showing Promise
After an up-and-down close to the season, both Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks had a strong close to their rookie seasons.
George scored 21 points on 8-11 shooting including 5-6 from the three-point line.
“I don’t want Keyonte playing well to only be reliant on if he makes threes or not, and lately that’s been a little bit of how it’s felt,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “But I think tonight going out on that note, the aggressiveness he showed at the point of attack was good.”
Hendricks added 16 points and eight rebounds on 6-10 shooting from the floor. The athletic forward also recorded three steals and a block in 41 minutes.
“Those are the kinds of performances that we’re looking for Taylor to sort of stack on top of each other,” Hardy added.
Brice Sensabaugh had a big second quarter where he scored 10 of his 14 total points, but shot just 6-15 overall and matched a season-high with 15 turnovers.
“I thought each of them had some good moments — I think they all want to play better, for sure,” Hardy concluded. “But we’re seeking the consistency piece, like, can you do it three games in a row or three out of four games, not one out of four.”
Jazz To Hire Avery Bradley
Before Sunday’s season finale Sarah Todd of the Deseret News reported that the Jazz were planning to hire Avery Bradley in a player-development role.
Hardy addressed the addition after the game.
“He has a lot of experience as a player, which will provide a good perspective for not only our front office but our coaching staff in different ways.”
Bradley spent 12 years in the NBA averaging 11.0 points in 660 appearances. The guard was selected to the All-Defensive team in 2013 and 2016.
“The things that sort of defined Avery as a player in his career are things that he can impart on some of our young players from a mentorship standpoint,” Hardy said of the newest hire.
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