The Utah Jazz may have some good karma coming their way after signing a five-year-old with leukemia to a ceremonial one-day contract before the team's first preseason matchup and allowing the young boy to enter the game and score a basket. Utah started its new season in the most inspiring way possible, and the organization will be hoping to continue on that note with a better-than-expected 2014-15 basketball season.

The squad was able to land a top prospect in the NBA Draft and already has a few quality players on its roster to begin building around, but make no mistake about it that the Jazz are in a rebuilding phase and will not be a team of relevance for quite some time. Let's take a closer look at Utah 2014 futures odds with predictions and analysis. All odds come from Sportsbook.ag.

2014 Utah Jazz Additions and Departures

Key Additions: Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Steve Novak

Key Losses: Richard Jefferson, Marvin Williams

Utah's biggest addition was being able to re-sign Gordan Hayward. However, in my opinion they overpaid for the fifth-year player, who has the potential to be a borderline all-star player in the NBA. Losing one of 2010's top draft choices would have been a devastating blow to the team and would have essentially knocked the rebuilding process back to square one. So they were kind of backed into a corner there. Utah was also able to pick up a potential franchise-changing player in the draft with the fifth pick in point guard Dante Exum.

The Australian has received an enormous amount of hype on the scouting circuit for the last couple of years, and his YouTube clips have already become stuff of legend. Of course, the question of whether or not his skill set will translate into the professional game remains to be seen, especially since the most recent example of a talented foreign point guard, Ricky Rubio, still struggles to be a productive scorer in the league.

2014 Utah Jazz Futures Odds

NBA Title Odds: +50000 (second-worst)

Western Conference Odds: +25000 (worst)

Division Odds: +10000 (worst)

Win Total: O/U 26

Dante Exum Rookie of the Year: +1500 (fifth best)

Utah has a solid core of young players that could make some noise and could help the team become playoff contenders in the near future. Unfortunately, this season will not be the year that happens. The team is still young, has a rookie coach and needs a lot of improvement on the defensive end.

Most of Utah's futures odds are not worth wagering on except for the team's win total and Exum's Rookie of the Year odds. The Jazz are on pace to be much better than NBA fans and experts are predicting and should be able to produce 30-something wins. Exum can also be a spectacular player, but his biggest advantage in the awards race is the fact that he is one of the few rookies in the media spotlight on a nightly basis.

2014 Utah Jazz Predictions and Futures Odds with Picks

Record: 33-49

Playoffs: No

Rookie of Year: No

Utah quietly grabbed a few quality players during free agency and the draft and could be much better than people expect during the upcoming season. That assessment is great for bettors because the Jazz are also a small-market team that flies under the radar most of the time. If Utah comes out hot and begins covering spreads, it could take a while before the public jumps on the trend, if they do it at all. Expect Utah to be a high-scoring team that relies on the three-ball a little too much-a playing style that might not lead to wins but is great for covering spreads.

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Read more articles by George Monroy