New Year resolutions for the Utah Jazz

I’m a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I like committing to goals, no matter how small, and feeling accomplished when I look back at the last 365 days.

This year, I’m going to attempt to sleep at more normal hours (the life of a beat writer makes this difficult), I’m going to read at least 30 books, and I’m committing to monitoring my email more diligently after cleaning it out (these 10,000 unreads aren’t going to read themselves).

Resolutions don’t need to be monumental things. Honestly, I find the bigger the resolution, the less likely the chances it sticks throughout the year. Attainable goals, that’s what we’re going for.

I figure since I’ve already set my own resolutions, I might as well set some for the Utah Jazz.

Keyonte George

Stay the course and force the front office to pull you from games.

The Jazz brass are going to be looking for opportunities to rest Lauri Markkanen, in order to not put too much load on his body during a losing season ... and also to make it more of a losing season.

But George is playing great and is nearly matching Markkanen’s point totals from night-to-night (sometimes exceeding them). George has done so much to revamp the way he plays and the way he approaches the game and he deserves all the praise he’s been getting lately.

So my advice is to stay the course. Play so well that it forces the hands of the front office. If they start pulling you from games so that the team doesn’t win, all that does is drive up the number when you go into extension talks this summer. Win-win.

Lauri Markkanen

I don’t really want Markkanen messing too much with his game. The stuff he’s good at, he’s really good at. But in the games when he has higher numbers of rebounds, the Jazz fare very well. The Jazz are 25-9 in games when Markkanen has more than 10 rebounds.

For an extra added boost to the challenge: Markkanen told me sometime in his second year with the Jazz that he has never had 10 or more rebounds during a nationally broadcast game. I’ve done as much digging as I can and it seems that Markkanen is right. Full disclosure, I did not check NBA TV games, only ones that have been broadcast on TNT, ESPN and ABC (the Jazz haven’t had a national game on any of the new networks like NBC or Prime this season).

Part of this is that the teams Markkanen has been on have not been featured on the national schedule. He’s had 98 games of 10 or more rebounds, but alas, none have been seen by the wider NBA audience.

Currently the Jazz are slated to have a single game on national TV this year and it’s coming up on Jan. 27 against the Los Angeles Clippers on NBC. So, let’s see if Markkanen can break the drought that day.

Ace Bailey

Ignore the rest of the draft class and study, study, study.

To the Jazz’s most prized rookie, I want him to know that his time is coming. Higher usage, more responsibility, more opportunity — it’s all coming. Don’t pay attention or compare yourself to guys like VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel or even former Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper. Just wait for your moment.

In the meantime, hit the weights and study as much as possible. When your time comes you’ll be stronger, faster and know personnel on a level that will wow not only the coaching staff but also your opponents. Scour scouting reports, watch games constantly, look at tendencies and nuances, don’t fall into the trap of comparing your production to other rookies on other teams.

Walker Kessler

Put aside the feelings against the front office. Focus on fostering relationships with coaches and teammates.

You’re literally paying someone else (agents, managers, etc.) to deal with the contract negotiations and all that comes with it. Don’t bog yourself down with frustrations and disappointment that you’re paying someone else to deal with. You’re young, and you’re going to make a boatload of money. Focus your time and energy on the things that will help you in the future.

Relationships with coaches and players can carry you so far in the NBA, and you have such a good foundation with everyone in and around the Jazz. Don’t let that good stuff get messed up by any feelings you have toward the front office.

Taylor Hendricks

Get mean. Discover anger.

At one point Hendricks said that he didn’t just want to be a good defender, he wanted to be one of the best defenders in the NBA. I’m sure there are plenty of Jazz fans who would also love to see that happen. But I feel like Hendricks could just use some more grit and meanness on that side of the ball.

I want him imagining that every player he defends is rude to sweet old ladies, or that they steal candy from children. I don’t need him to be violent at all. I just want him to exact justice via basketball.

Brice Sensabaugh

Don’t lose sight of your NBA niche. Fine tune.

A young NBA player realizing and voicing the way that they can stay in the NBA is rare. Sensabaugh did just last season. The NBA is always going to need volume shooters who are efficient. That’s not going out of style any time soon.

So, focus all efforts on becoming elite in that realm and making sure you’re giving enough defensive effort to stay on the floor. Adding elements to your game can come later.

Kyle Filipowski

You have to give, to get.

Not having the ball in your hands a ton, it’s hard to show off how offensively talented you are. But basketball is a very give and receive game. It might not feel important or glamorous to be a secondary part of an action, like a screener or a cutter. But those are the moments when you have to give the most.

By setting good screens or cutting hard or even just spacing with intention and according to scheme, you give yourself even more of a chance to get the ball and either make a great pass or a shot (both of which Filipowski is very good at). So give as much of yourself in those smaller secondary moments as you can.

Svi Mykhailiuk

Continue building credibility.

Steady, consistent and reliable has turned out to be a really good way for Mykhailiuk to do things. There’s respect and credibility in that and word travels in the NBA. There are a lot of teams, including the Jazz, who could do a lot worse than Mykhailiuk, even if you’re just thinking about a two-guard off the bench.

He’s been on a number of partially or non-guaranteed deals and floated around the NBA. But I think there’s a chance for some staying power by continuing to be consistently dependable.

Isaiah Collier

Either take more shots, or focus on defense.

One of these has to happen for Collier to stay in the NBA. You can’t average one 3-point attempt per game, no matter how good the percentage is, as an NBA point guard and expect a good team to want to have you on the court, especially during the playoffs.

The only way that can happen is if you’re very, very, very good at everything else — playmaking, dribbling, passing, defense.

Right now, speed and passing are your superpowers. You either need to either prove yourself as a serious point-of-attack defender, or force the defense to respect your shot.

Jusuf Nurkić

More on-court mind games.

Prior to Nurkić, the last Jazz player that was great at playing mind games was Mike Conley. I’m talking about grabbing jerseys when the officials can’t see it. Flopping with malice. Baiting the opponent into a technical foul.

I know there are people who think that kind of basketball is dirty. But I love it. So I want more of that from Nurkić. These young guys need to learn the game within the game.

Walter Clayton Jr.

Maintain confidence, practice patience.

There are going to be so many opportunities for you as the season progresses. You’ll have the chance to prove your mettle, even more than you have through the first couple of months of the season. Just be patient.

Kevin Love

Know that wisdom has value.

I could wax poetic pretty easily about Love’s basketball acumen and his abilities on the court (maybe the greatest outlet passer ever). But after 18 years in the NBA, there’s nothing more on the court that Love has to prove.

Instead, I would encourage him to realize that there is immense value in the amount of NBA knowledge that he has. He has already been such a huge help and mentor to some of the Jazz’s young players and his contributions there do not go unnoticed.

If there’s ever a moment that you feel like you are under appreciated or that you’ve given everything you can to the game, don’t believe those thoughts. What you provide is beyond value.

Cody Williams

Find joy in basketball.

There are so many reasons that Williams could be feeling down in the dumps or lacking in confidence. He’s often at the end or out of the Jazz rotation, he’s struggling to shoot the ball, and sometimes it feels like he just can’t catch a break.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that it never feels like Williams ever seems really happy. And this is probably the most difficult thing to ask of a player that is struggling, but I would love to see him just enjoy himself, even if it’s in a G League game. Remember that this is a game, and it’s supposed to be fun.

Kyle Anderson

Keep cashing those checks.

Not really asked to do much after 11 years in the league and you’re getting $9 million to just be a good teammate? Not a bad place to be.

Georges Niang

Consider coaching.

I’m not insinuating that Niang should retire or should even think about this as anything that will happen in the near future. But, it’s never too early to think about the future.

Niang has been dealing with a foot injury and has not played a single game this season. But his presence on the bench, in huddles, on the sideline has been incredible. He’s a people person and he’s really good with guys of all ages and he has the ability to immediately endear himself to large groups of people.

Focus on getting healthy and back to the court, of course. But maybe also consider what happens when you aren’t playing anymore, because I think there’s an obvious path.

Will Hardy

Don’t hit snooze.

When I asked the Utah Jazz coach if he had any New Year’s resolutions, he said that he didn’t have anything big, but that he’d like to stop hitting the snooze button.

He probably meant it literally. I’d like him to take it metaphorically as well.

If snoozing means relaxing, maybe chilling out a little bit, I don’t want Hardy doing it. From the first game of the 2025-26 season, it has seemed as if he thinks every game is Game 7 of the Finals. He coaches so hard and so intensely that there are moments, when you might think to yourself, “Geeze, Will. Take it easy.”

No, Will. Don’t take it easy. This is working and the players love you despite (or maybe because of) your intensity. Don’t hit snooze.