This year's NBA draft appears to be one of the strongest in several years, and losing enough games to become a lottery team could result in a bigger payoff than even making a play-in game. The NBA has frowned on teams that appear to be tanking for a high pick, and the league implemented a player participation policy in September 2023 to try to discourage clubs from losing on purpose. The Jazz did not play stars like Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of recent close games.
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