I know the Jazz are pushing for the playoffs, and rightly so. Playoff experience for G-Time, Favors, Burkes, etc. would be invaluable. But are the Jazz making the push a year too soon? By pushing for the playoffs they potentially give up a lottery pick, or get 3-5 picks behind what their lottery pick could of been if they had made a trade to force Corbin to play the "future core" more minutes. (This is a deep draft, but 3-5 picks lower than we could have been could still be a blow)

The Jazz seem to be in a sort of limbo, where they want to make the playoffs and get experience, but with their current roster they can't stay consistently good long enough to get where they want to be (4th or 5th seed). Right now, in my honest opinion, I can see a few scenarios happening:

1) Jazz miraculously take the 4-5th seed, and get valuable playoff development time for the young players. (not very likely)

2) Jazz do about as expected and get the 6th, 7th or 8th seed, get valuable playoff experience, and still retain a relatively high pick (probably around the 16-20 mark) if they are beaten in the first round. (Probably most likely of the 4 options)

3) Jazz lose a few more games like this past Sacramento one, and just barely miss the playoffs, being the 9-11th seed in the west, getting a pick in the lottery, but not a high one, and not getting experience in the playoffs, this could slow the progress of the Jazz, and could also be a step backwards in the non-rebuilding process. (this is probably the worst case possible in this situation, yet still could likely happen)

4) All heck breaks loose for the Jazz, and they end up losing every single game from now until the end of the season, getting them a higher pick in the draft, but lose dignity and confidence, and basically take a step backwards in the rebuilding process. (I don't think this is very likely)