Utah Jazz Should Consider Starting Jaren Jackson Jr. at Center to Open Season

The Utah Jazz should consider opening the 2026-27 season with Jaren Jackson Jr. at center. With Jusuf Nurkić set to miss at least the first few weeks of the regular season due to a toe injury, Utah has a decision to make regarding its starting lineup, specifically who fills that opening at center.

Jaxson Hayes is the most natural replacement, but the Jazz should also consider sliding Jackson Jr. from power forward to center and inserting Ace Bailey into the starting lineup. This would give Utah an opportunity to get its young talent on the floor together while maintaining some much-needed depth at center.

While Jackson Jr. isn’t a particularly strong rebounder, the Jazz could potentially overcome that weakness with the overall size of their starting lineup. Darryn Peterson and Keyonte George are expected to be the starting backcourt, and both have good size for their respective positions. From there, Bailey stands 6-foot-9 at small forward, Lauri Markkanen is 7-foot-1 at power forward, and Jackson Jr. is 6-foot-10 at center.

That’s a tremendous amount of size across all five positions. And while Utah wouldn’t necessarily have a dominant rebounder who could control the glass, the collective length of that group could help make up for it. Not to mention, Jackson Jr. is an elite defensive player who has the ability to protect the rim and make an impact on that end of the floor.

The other reason this approach makes sense is the depth it would preserve. If Hayes enters the starting lineup, Utah is suddenly relying on Mo Bamba and Kyle Filipowski to handle most of the reserve minutes at center. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but having Hayes come off the bench would provide a much more established option in that second unit.

Furthermore, Hayes is expected to be a reserve once Nurkić returns anyway. Keeping him in that role from the beginning of the season would allow Utah to maintain some consistency in its rotation rather than shifting players around multiple times over the first month.

There are several different ways head coach Will Hardy can approach Nurkić’s absence, and Hayes starting is certainly a reasonable option. However, Jackson Jr. sliding over to center and Bailey moving into the starting lineup is another approach that deserves serious consideration as the Jazz prepare to open the regular season.

In any case, expect Utah to be a very competitive team this season.