The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Khyri Thomas headlines key pre-draft workout

By Ryan Aston

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Khyri Thomas #2 of the Creighton Bluejays celebrates a shot with Jacob Epperson #41 and Mitch Ballock #24 during the quarterfinal round the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament against the Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden on March 08, 2018 in New York City. The Friars won 72-68. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Khyri Thomas;Jacob Epperson;Smith Ballock
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Khyri Thomas #2 of the Creighton Bluejays celebrates a shot with Jacob Epperson #41 and Mitch Ballock #24 during the quarterfinal round the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament against the Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden on March 08, 2018 in New York City. The Friars won 72-68. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Khyri Thomas;Jacob Epperson;Smith Ballock /
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Creighton guard Khyri Thomas is in town with multiple other potential first-round picks for a pre-draft workout with the Utah Jazz.

Ever since Quin Snyder signed on to become head coach of the Utah Jazz back in 2014, locking down opponents has been the team’s modus operandi. However, the ability to spread the floor and knock down shots is also integral to the brand of basketball the Jazz want to play.

On Monday, a player that checked both of those boxes as a collegiate will be in Salt Lake City for the next wave of pre-draft workouts. Namely, Creighton guard Khyrie Thomas.

Joining him will be a slew of potential first-round picks, including Duke’s Grayson Allen, Jalen Brunson of Villanova and UCLA’s Aaron Holiday (the youngest brother of NBA ballers Jrue and Justin Holiday) — all of whom could be options for Utah with the 21st pick in the NBA Draft.

Malik Pope of San Diego State and Louisville’s Ray Spalding will also be in attendance.

For me though, this one is all about Thomas.

At 22, he’s one of the oldest players in the draft pool, so you have to wonder about his upside. That said, Thomas could also be a rotational player early in his career as an Avery Bradley-esque 3-and-D specialist.

Checking in at just under 6-foot-4 with shoes and boasting a wingspan of 6-foot-10½, he has the size and length to guard three positions at the next level. Better yet, he’s actually committed to doing so — Thomas was tapped as the Big East Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after each of the last two seasons.

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While he did his share ball-hawking, Thomas was largely a physical defender at Creighton, bodying up on the opposition’s best perimeter threats with regularity. That, combined with his knack for hustle plays could make him a fit for the Jazz defensively.

On the other side of the ball, Thomas was a 40 percent 3-point shooter during his run with the Bluejays. And last season, he ranked No. 1 in the conference with an effective field goal percentage of 62.9. Numbers aside, though, the’s one of the better shooters in the draft with a nice, compact shot that he can fire off in a variety of situations.

Now, Thomas isn’t an elite athlete (he is a good one, though) and the age/upside questions are legitimate. Regardless, he has skills on both sides of the ball that help teams win games.

And, more importantly, he has skills that the Jazz may be able to put to good use.