Utah Jazz mailbag: Why the Utah Jazz are taking the long view on Darryn Peterson

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Darryn Peterson (22) during an NBA preseason game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026.

The NBA season is finally here.

The Utah Jazz open up the regular season on Wednesday in Memphis against the Grizzlies — excited to chase wins and not lottery balls.

That’s a sentiment I’ve heard from the front office to the coaching staff to the players themselves.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be growing pains. It will take time to figure out the right lineups, take a step forward defensively, and, more importantly, what else we need to add to the roster to become an eventual contender.

One of the biggest storylines to watch this season is the development of rookie Darryn Peterson. For the Jazz, there’s no rush for him to turn into a star right away.

Just ask coach Will Hardy.

“For Darryn, I just want him to focus on getting good,” Hardy said. “I think whatever happens the first two weeks of the season, it won’t be true. If he plays great and we annotate him as the greatest thing ever, that’s probably not true yet. If we say that he’s terrible or not getting enough shots or whatever the reasons are – that’s not true either.

“We need to take the low and slow approach to Darryn’s development. He’s not trying to outperform the other rookies. He’s not trying to live up to some expectation that’s created by voices that are outside of our building. My goal for Darryn is I want to help him build a great career. I want him to just be Darryn.”

For Jazz fans, these words are important to remember as the season starts.

Anyway, it’s time for another Utah Jazz Q&A. Thanks, as always, for the questions. Questions have been lightly edited.

I like the over on this one. As I understand it, Peterson has had no health issues since arriving in Salt Lake. In fact, he’s impressed those within the organization with his overall stamina and endurance.

Peterson said one of his goals at the NBA Draft is to play all 82 games this season. From that statement alone, it feels like he’s determined to play as many games as he can – as long as he can avoid injury.

This is a great question. The Jazz finding their identity as a team will be the thing to watch early in the season. They’ll need to figure out the right lineups and — if certain issues arise on the court —how to handle them.

For example, if they try to fix one issue, does that create another? On top of that, Utah needs to figure out how to amplify players’ strengths while mitigating weaknesses.

All of this will take time because this team has so many new players and isn’t an established contender like the Oklahoma Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.

What this team is and what it still needs is something the coaching staff and front office are trying to figure out.

The team has clear areas to improve, but what needs to be addressed first won’t become clear until roughly halfway through the season.

There’s no perfect answer to this question. I think it’s something the Jazz, like other NBA teams, are still trying to figure out.

Typically, teams use an eight-man rotation in the playoffs. But injuries have forced teams to use more than eight players in recent years.

For the Jazz, I think Hardy will go deep into the rotation at times to match up against different opponents. Still, in important games, eight guys will play heavy minutes.

Those eight players will likely be Peterson, Keyonte George, Jusuf Nurkic, Jaren Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier and Jaxson Hayes.

The back end of that rotation could change, but based on conversations with sources, those eight look to play the most minutes early.

New waiver addition Tony Bradley will take that last spot, though his contract is unguaranteed. The Jazz brought him on for center depth after Nurkic’s injury. Right now, the Jazz don’t plan to make any other roster moves before the season starts.