Utah Jazz: Five free agent options at shooting guard
By Ryan Aston
Will Barton
Once again, if Utah acquires a two-guard this summer, it’ll be in the hopes that they’ll be a scoring threat off the bench. And since he joined the Denver Nuggets at the trade deadline in 2015, Will Barton has been one of the league’s legit second-unit stars.
When he’s hot, he alters the course of a game like a young Jamal Crawford, scoring from everywhere on the floor.
The 2017-18 season was Barton’s best year yet. As ever, he was strong off the bench, but thanks to Denver’s year-long battle with injuries, he also started in 40 games. As a result, Barton put up a career-best 15.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. He also grabbed five boards every night and hit on 37 percent of his 3-point shots.
Therein lies the problem. Barton’s big goal recently has been to lock down a full-time starting role. He sees himself as having reached a certain place in the NBA hierarchy and wants the respect and the role to match that stature.
The 27-year-old has spoken to that effect time and time again. In April, he told ESPN’s Chris Haynes “I’m a starter. No doubt about it. No question in my mind.” Clearly, he wants more, whereas the Jazz would want more of the same offensively.
Still, if Barton could become comfortable with the idea of being a sixth man who closes a lot of games, he could be a major weapon off of the Jazz bench. He could carry the reserve squad offensively in relief of Donovan Mitchell, or even pair with him in certain lineups.
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Barton’s activity level defensively often leaves something to be desired. He can be a ball-stopper at times offensively as well. On the flipside, he changes games with his scoring, can get you a bucket when you need one and is an underrated playmaker.