It’s hard to believe, but the NBA season is just around the corner.

The Jazz open preseason play on Oct. 4 against the Denver Nuggets. A couple of weeks later, the regular season starts in Memphis on Oct. 21.

There’s a lot of excitement around this Jazz team, and for good reason.

In case you don’t know who I am, let me introduce myself.

My name is Shreyas Laddha, and I’m the new Jazz beat reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune.

I’m excited to be your eyes and ears on the ground for what should be an interesting season.

Before joining The Tribune, I covered Kansas basketball and football for The Kansas City Star. Before that, I covered a season of UConn men’s basketball for the Hartford Courant. I started my career in York, Pennsylvania, covering sports, life and hunting and fishing.

I’ve wanted to cover the NBA since I graduated from Georgia in 2020, and every move I’ve made in my career has led to this moment.

You might recognize my work because I wrote a lot about Darryn Peterson … like, a lot.

Yes, I do find it funny that both of us ended up in Salt Lake City. So did multiple people in Peterson’s camp when I told them. They also liked the fact that he would have a familiar face in the NBA.

I can’t wait to follow Peterson and the Jazz this season as the team chases its playoff ambitions.

There will be plenty of opportunities to tell great stories and offer analysis, so I hope I can become your go-to source for Jazz news.

I will be doing weekly mailbags to answer any questions fans might have about the team or the NBA in general.

Anyway, let’s get started. Thanks, as always, for the questions.

What’s the ideal scenario for the Jazz this season? What’s the ceiling? Can we dream about a playoff series win, or is that too early? — @shub__1

The ideal scenario this season would be a top-six seed or at least a play-in team.

Even if the Jazz don’t win the play-in game or a playoff series, that’d give the young players important experience and the team as a whole a chance to see how opponents game-plan for them in games that really matter.

The absolute ceiling for the Jazz is probably a top-five seed and playing in a competitive playoff series. A series win might be too ambitious, but it will come down to matchups.

What should a realistic set of goals for DP be? Obviously, when you’re drafted at No. 2, you have aspirations of ROY, but he’s also coming in with a loaded class and lots of turnover around the league, so where does your expected success meter land? — @zoomar39

It would be great for Peterson to compete for Rookie of the Year, but it’s important to remember he’s on a team where he’s not yet a top-three player.

Right now, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George are better players. That’s to be expected; Peterson, after all, is only a rookie. The organization understands that, too and doesn’t expect him to be the best player on the team.

Still, Peterson should average somewhere between 12-18 points per game, with good efficiency and good defense, while showcasing some of the playmaking we saw in Summer League and high school.

Ideally, he also stays healthy — something he wasn’t able to do at Kansas.

From conversations with different people within the Jazz, Peterson hasn’t had health issues since he arrived in Salt Lake City.

If that health remains, and he flashes the potential he’s shown at different points in his lone season in college (and Summer League), then his rookie season will be an immense success.

Don’t get too caught up in the numbers; focus more on his overall development throughout the season.

What are your impressions of the Jazz beat, and what about your perception of the Jazz has changed so far? I’m curious about the change from an outsider to an insider perspective— @CadeCottrell

Everyone I’ve met on the beat so far has been very nice, and I am excited to work alongside them in covering the Jazz.

The biggest thing I’ve learned in my short tenure is how much there is to learn about basketball.

I certainly don’t pretend to be an absolute expert on all things basketball, but as I’ve spoken with people in the Jazz organization, it’s astonishing how much they know about basketball and how measured their takes are.

I think remembering that when I do my analysis and reporting has changed how I view the Jazz and the NBA in general.

What was your favorite team up until now as a fan? — @SolomonMarlow

I lived in Rhode Island for eight years as a kid, so I am a Boston sports fan and thus grew up a big Boston Celtics fan.

I started paying attention to basketball around age 10, when the Celtics formed a “Big Three” with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. My love for the game grew over the following years as I became an avid commentator on the r/NBA subreddit.

My favorite player of all time is Isaiah Thomas (no, not the former Pistons guard; the other one) because I love small guards who are absolute bucket-getters. Plus, he led Boston to the first seed in one season and was special.

Jazz have an interesting dynamic where their best players currently might not be their best players in three years. How do those dynamics work? How do you prioritize winning while still allowing room for Peterson and Bailey to have a path to stardom? — @GVUDM

This is a really great question. It also has a somewhat simple answer: Jazz coach Will Hardy believes players earn minutes and aren’t just given them.

Bailey didn’t start his first game. Peterson might not either.

That said, they will each have plenty of opportunities to develop in games; it’s just that the organization isn’t going to cater to them.

Some fans might be unhappy if they don’t start or close games, but know this: If they are good enough, they will play plenty.

And development doesn’t just happen in games. From what I’ve heard, the Jazz practice a lot. A lot of learning will happen behind closed doors.