So Zach Lowe said so, basically? That's not too bad, you could do way worse.
Interestingly, the only way you could say that Utah had the best defense in the league would be if you took opponents points per game as the only metric involved in it. The Jazz also played at the slowest pace in the league, which limits points on both sides of the board, but of course we won't mention that. The fact that they consistently stick to being a middling team that would rather fight for the playoffs than alienate their loyal mormons does not indicate 'trending up' in the slightest.
They're cut from the same cloth they've always been cut from -- they're going to hope that one of their draft picks hits and that they can pair him with a big who is passable as they scrape towards a seasonal record in the high forties. They'll cap out at, arguably, 50 wins in one season, and there will be much wailing when their new point guard of the future eventually bails. If that's 'competing', then sure.
Also, they have a very good coach? are you one of those people that was clamoring for Stevens to win COTY too?
Uh, no, not "cause Zach Lowe said so". I was just using him as an example of a well-regarded media personality who agrees, the Jazz are ready to start competing.
And let me be clear, by competing I don't mean contend for a title. By "compete" I mean contend for a playoff spot in a brutal western conference. By compete, I mean allowing the young core they have already in place to improve to the point of a 7th or 8th seed. That doesn't in any way mean sacrificing long-term assets for short term improvements. That means allowing the guys they have to continue developing and only considering moves that can help in the short and long term.
I don't see how this is even debatable. They're not just "sticking to being a middling team", they have a very talented, improving core of young players who got considerably better as the season went along. Like us, they're now in a position where, if they don't plan on competing, they would have to take steps backwards on purpose (or get decimated by injury) to be in range for a top 10 pick. The fact they brought the whole team back is proof they plan on being more and more competitive as their young team grows. They're trending up because they have legit high-end young talent in Gobert, Hayward, Exum and Favors and showed the kind of elite defense you can build something with over a fairly decent sample size.
That defense, BTW, led the entire league in D-Rating after the ASG. Not just opposing PPG. And no, I didn't think Stevens deserved to win COY, but I thought he deserved some later votes. That he deserved to be in consideration. You don't have to have an incredible W-L record to do a great coaching job. What Stevens did with last years Celtics team was a prime example of someone doing a very good coaching job with a less than superior team. And yeah, Quin Snyder is a good coach. He has a great player development record including a large stint of time within the Spurs organization. He did a good job with that team last year. There has been a lot of very bad NBA head coaches, and Snyder did more with that team than a lot of other candidates would have. I didn't say he was great, I said he was good.
Frankly, your nearly constant condescending tone and your habit of questioning the validity of opinions that don't match yours takes away from the good things you contribute to the board.