At first glance, the Utah Jazz appear to be in prime tanking position. They let Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, their two best players, walk for nothing in free agency. Of their top-8 in minutes played last season, only three are slated to return. Instead of using nearly $24 million in cap space to improve, they rented it out to the Golden State Warriors for two future first-round picks, taking on the salaries of Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush in return.

The Jazz broke apart a 43-win team and received nothing in return, but it’s been a fire sale years in the making. Ever since dealing Deron Williams in 2011, they have been quietly rebuilding their roster. In the process, they pulled off the rare double dip: acquiring multiple high lottery picks without sinking to the bottom of the standings. Now, after three seasons of treading water, their future is here. With one of the most intriguing young cores in the NBA in place, Utah is a team on the rise.

Next season, the Jazz will have a lottery pick at every position on the floor. Upfront, they have the two third overall picks they received for Williams -- Derrick Favors (2010) and Enes Kanter (2011). On the perimeter, they have Gordon Hayward, No. 8 in 2010, as well as Alec Burks, No. 12 in 2011. In this year’s draft, they grabbed the final piece of the puzzle, moving up to select Michigan PG Trey Burke at No. 9. All five fit together, something teams that build through the draft are rarely able to pull off.

Burke will likely start as a rookie, but the other four all had to serve a lengthy apprenticeship before being given the reins. Favors has started 44 games in his first three years in the league, 23 of which came in his half-season with the Nets. Kanter has a grand total of two NBA starts under his belt, two more than Burks. Hayward, with 102 career starts, is by far the most experienced player of their young core.

Rather than throwing their young players to the wolves, Utah made them sit behind a steady group of veterans. While they made the playoffs only once in the last three years, they were always in the hunt, forcing their young core to develop good habits in order to earn playing time. For the Jazz, the most important lessons might have come in practice, where Favors and Kanter battled 1-on-1 with Jefferson, one of the best post scorers in the NBA.

Even without Jefferson, Utah will remain an inside-out team. Favors (6’10 250) and Kanter (6’11 260) will be one of the biggest and most athletic frontlines in the league. Last season, both were incredibly productive in their time on the floor. Per-36 minutes, Favors averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks on 48 percent shooting while Kanter averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds on 54 percent shooting. Favors is 22 and Kanter is 21; they should only improve with age.

Neither is a great perimeter shooter, but their skill-sets overlap reasonably well. Favors is an excellent defensive prospect with great feet and an excellent 7’4 wingspan. Kanter is an offensive machine, with a refined post game, excellent touch and a massive frame. Both can play out of the high post and attack the offensive glass, which will force smaller teams to match up with them. In a league moving away from post play, the Jazz are one of the few teams going the other way.

Size is the great equalizer, which we saw in the playoffs. The Indiana Pacers and the Memphis Grizzlies made back-door runs to the Conference Finals by playing through two big men and dictating the tempo against smaller teams. Most NBA teams are lucky to have one big man who can defend the low block, much less two. In general, a big man with the size to defend Favors or Kanter won’t have the skill to punish them or space the floor on the other end.

Playing off two-way big men will make life easier for Utah’s guards. Post players have a gravitational pull on opposing defenses, drawing them in and creating open three-point shots. Their impact is even more dramatic on the defensive end, since the ability to erase mistakes at the rim allows everyone to be more aggressive. Hayward, Burks and Burke don’t need to be great for the Jazz to be successful. If they are just average, Utah will have a good starting five.

Hayward, still only 23, is their most established player. A surprisingly athletic 6’8 210 small forward, he is a two-way player who can handle the ball and stretch the floor (career 40% shooter from 3), two necessities to playing with Kanter and Favors. Burks, 22, has been inconsistent in his first two years, but he’s an excellent scorer with good size (6’6 200). As long as he can maintain his three-point shooting numbers (36 percent on 1.4 attempts last season), he’ll be a great fit in Utah.

Burke struggled in the Orlando Summer League, but he’s still a promising prospect. While he doesn’t have ideal size at 6’0 185, he is one of the most decorated college players in recent memory. With the Jazz, his statistics won’t be as important as his ability to control the tempo of the game. He’s a good shooter and an excellent ball-handler, so as long as he isn’t sped up by opposing defenses, he should be able to give his big men the ball and spot up off them.

The real struggle for Utah will be replacing their young bench, not their starters. Their six most frequently used lineups last season, all stacked with mediocre veterans, had negative point differentials. Now, with 3 players moving into the starting line-up, the Jazz have next to nothing left on their bench. To be a playoff team, they’ll need Rush (ACL) and Marvin Williams (Achilles) to recover from serious injuries and either Rudy Gobert or Jeremy Evans to take a step forward upfront.

Nevertheless, with Kanter, Favors and Hayward in place, the Jazz already have the foundation of an elite team. Going forward, they should be able to find guards and bench players with cap space and late first-round picks. They probably need one more summer to fill out the rest of their rotation, which sets up an intriguing scenario for 2014. The Jazz don’t need to get lucky in the lottery, but if they do wind up with a Top 3 pick? Watch out.