Power ranking every NBA starting lineup after blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Planned starters: Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Taylor Hendricks and John Collins

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Utah Jazz only have one player we can be confident will be in the starting lineup.

Lauri Markkanen is an All-NBA fringe talent and one of the league’s most unique finishers. Despite appearing in just 55 games, he ranked in the top 40 in both total three-pointers and total dunks during the 2023-24 season.

There are no wasted movements or dribbles in his touches either. He is one of the game’s most determined, explosive and efficient offensive weapons.

After that, your guess might be as good as any other.

John Collins’ mid-season move seemed to clarify his role a bit. And if the Jazz want to pile up losses to improve their chances of signing Cooper Flagg, they might want to keep Collins there to increase his trade value. It would definitely make sense to unload it during a conversion.

At this point, it makes sense to get Keyonte George a few more development reps against the starters. He had a decent rookie season in which he started 44 games, but he still has plenty of room to develop as a shooter and decision-maker.

Taylor Hendricks, the No. 9 pick in 2023, still needs more time. And Utah can be more open about his tanking by putting him in the top five right away.

That leaves the 2. And while there’s an argument for starting Jordan Clarkson that kind of sounds like the one for Collins, Collin Sexton could have more trade value than any of the mobile veterans. Last season he played more confidently than ever before in his career: In just 26.6 minutes, he averaged 18.7 points, 4.9 assists and 1.6 three-pointers while shooting 39.4 percent from distance .

What does the sum of one great player, two veterans playing for trade value, and two completely unproven sophomores add up to? One of the worst starting fives in the NBA, which is probably just fine for Utah right now.