Thunder NBA Cup: Power ranking each West Group B team

4. Utah Jazz

There's a lot to be optimistic about for Jazz fans. The biggest storyline this summer was easily Lauri Markkanen's agreement to re-sign with the franchise on a long-term five-year, $238 million extension, locking him up and essentially making him untradeable heading into next season.

He is committed to this team and city, and their confidence in the 27-year-old is clear.

On paper, the Jazz are a competitive squad, as they consist of high-quality NBA players such as the aforementioned All-Star big, former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson, spark-plug scorer Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, and John Collins along with plenty of other promising young talents.

At the same time, however, that might be their biggest issue.

With lots of talent up and down the roster, distributing minutes properly may be a bit challenging, and, considering their mix-and-match of different aged players, the franchise seemingly lacks a clear direction.

The Jazz feel like a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of their roster construction, but in this loaded Western Conference, that will relegate them to a lower-tier finish. The team has a little more depth and established players than the Spurs do, but the rest of the roster doesn't quite match the standard of the other three teams ahead of them in the group.