In many ways, this has been a season from hell for the Utah Jazz.

Utah sits at the bottom of the Western Conference with one of the worst starts in franchise history. The Jazz’s record sits at 1-11 following Wednesday’s 123-108 loss to the Magic.

Nobody — from fans to the organization to the people paid to talk on TV — expected Utah to be this bad.

The expectation was that, after years of rebuilding, the Jazz would actually win some basketball games and ideally make at least the play-in.

According to a team source, the hope was that Utah’s young core of Darryn Peterson, Keyonte George and Ace Bailey would develop in a winning environment alongside veterans Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic. Those veterans were expected to carry a sizable load.

Instead, all three of those veterans are now out with injuries.

The Jazz announced on Wednesday that Markkanen will be reevaluated in a month after he sustained two nondisplaced fractures in his right hand.

He joins Jackson (torn MCL) and Nurkic (plantar tear) among starters sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Nurkic has yet to play in a game this season and Jackson was injured in Utah’s fourth game. Markkanen averaged 18.0 points in eight games.

So ... what now?

Utah plans to give the young trio of George, Bailey and Peterson plenty of run in the coming weeks. The ideal scenario, the team source said, is for those three to keep improving and be ready whenever the veterans return.

But nothing has been ideal this season.

Still, internally, the headspace isn’t doom or gloom for Utah’s front office. Multiple sources told The Tribune that the Jazz are far from happy with their start, but are still trying to make the most of a difficult season.

A team source described the rash of injuries as “awful, weird luck,” but expressed confidence that the team would stay together and keep fighting.

To be clear, the Jazz understand this team has real flaws, and the start isn’t only because of injuries. Namely, the bench’s offensive production has just not been good enough.

Utah ranks No. 20 (33.7 points) in bench scoring and No. 25 in bench net rating (-4.7).

But don’t expect any moves to happen right away.

The team will likely have to wait until after Dec. 15, when players who signed contracts during the 2026 offseason become trade-eligible and teams across the league are generally more willing to make deals.

Meanwhile, Utah’s long-term plan remains in place. There’s a lot of internal excitement about what Utah’s young trio has shown early this season.

George is now a known commodity, but Peterson and Bailey are showing flashes that have the organization excited about what’s ahead.

After a slow start to the season, Peterson has found his groove a bit. He’s had four straight games where he’s scored 20 or more points heading into Friday’s game against the Rockets.

Meanwhile, Bailey has taken a leap on the defensive end, highlighted by his four blocks in Utah’s loss to the Magic on Wednesday.

Still, none of that has led to wins yet.

And with the injury luck and abysmal start, there’s no doubt goals have changed.

Instead of hoping for a playoff run, the Jazz are focusing on developing their young trio — at least until the veterans return.