Duke senior guard Grayson Allen will be one of many options for the Utah Jazz come draft night when the team is selecting 21st overall.
The Utah Jazz are in position to land a good player in the 2018 NBA Draft. Picking 21st overall, they will have a lot of options. That player could be a younger guy with upside that can be developed, or it could be someone who can come in and play right away.
Grayson Allen, the four-year guard out of Duke, would be a player who can make an impact on the Jazz right away. Allen is projected to be a late first round/early second round pick after helping his draft stock at the NBA Draft Combine last month.
Duke’s Grayson Allen "is very much in consideration for Utah when it picks at No. 21 in the upcoming draft," @tribjazz reports from today's @utahjazz workoutshttps://t.co/1k0q2oK2XJ
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) June 5, 2018
Throughout his career at Duke, Allen was one of the more hated players in the country. He’s a guy you’d love when he’s on your team, and a guy you’d hate having to go up against. Allen can flat out ball, and teams seem to be impressed with not only his skill level, but his competitiveness on the court.
As I stated earlier, Allen really helped himself during the NBA Draft Combine. His measurements were solid, but where he really shined was in his athletic testing.
Allen had a 40.5″ max vertical jump, which was tied for fourth among all prospects at the Combine. Allen posted a time of 10.31 seconds in the lane agility test, the fifth best time in NBA Draft Combine history.
The former Blue Devil also had a time of 3.4 seconds during the shuttle drill, and had a standing vertical of 32.5″. He had one of the best turnouts out of anyone who attended the Combine.
Now, how would Allen fit on the Jazz? Well, at 21st overall, he’d give the Jazz another athletic guard that they could bring off the bench. Allen is capable of playing multiple positions as he played both guard spots quite a lot during his time at Duke.
He’s become a very good shooter over the past four years, and is solid defensively. He may never become a star, but he has role player potential written all over him. Remember, solid role players have decade-long careers.
Allen’s experience and athleticism will help his game translate to the next level. If put in the right system, I think Allen could contribute from day one. That would be great extra contributions for a Jazz team looking to make a statement in 2018-19.
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One thing that has concerned fans regarding Allen has been his on-court issues. Allen has had multiple tripping incidents, and was even suspended for it at one point in time. You can look at it as competitiveness, but maybe he let’s it get the best of him at times.
Regardless, Allen is a very good basketball player. He will be an option for Utah at No. 21, and is definitely a name to keep an eye on come draft night.