It wasn't right away, but the Utah Jazz signaled pretty early on that they were tanking. Trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. wasn't going to change their current direction, and while they have been playing their guys more, they don't finish with them. It's an amazing strategy that the NBA hates, but simply put, nothing can be done about it.
NBA Insider Marc Stein outlined pretty clearly why the Jazz are doing this, which every Jazz fan should know by now. He also explained that they're not alone.
"The Jazz and the Wizards made the splashiest and most aggressive trades in the league last week, but make no mistake: Both teams remain desperate to finish with one of the league's four-worst records to ensure that they can't fall lower than eighth in May's draft lottery.