Our 2018-19 Utah Jazz player rankings tip-off with Jairus Lyles, who previously led UMBC to the first-ever upset of a No. 1 seed in Round 1 of the NCAA tournament.
The last time the Utah Jazz took a player named Lyles into training camp, it didn’t work out so well. Trey Lyles, the team’s pick at No. 12 in the 2015 NBA Draft, had a particularly rough sophomore season, shooting 36 percent from the field and putting up a rebounding percentage under 12 as a 6-foot-10 big man. If the team hadn’t found a way to swing him for Donovan Mitchell, there’d be little good to say about his tenure in the 801.
Although he likely won’t remain with the team through opening night, former NCAA tournament hero Jairus Lyles should be a nice palette cleanser over the next several weeks. He enters our 2018-19 Jazz player rankings at No. 20.
The UMBC star, who led the Retrievers to a first-round tourney win over Virginia in what was college basketball’s first upset of a No. 1 by a 16th-seeded school, signed a training camp deal with the Jazz in July. He did so after averaging just under seven points, four boards and three assists per contest over five summer league games with the Jazz.
“I played pretty good, not my best, but pretty good,” Lyles later told the Baltimore Sun. “I guess just believed in me. That’s all you can ask for.”
At the least, Lyles will work to push Utah’s main roster players in camp. However, I’d be surprised if we don’t see him in Salt Lake City throughout the year as well.
As the preseason comes to a close, the team can waive him and still retain his G-League rights. In that scenario, he’d join the Salt Lake City Stars, with whom the Jazz could monitor his progress.
He may even be a candidate for a two-way contract down the line. The team’s two-way spots are currently occupied by Tyler Cavanaugh and Naz Mitrou-Long, respectively, but Lyles’ scoring ability is nothing to sneeze at and may be worth a closer look.
In UMBC’s big upset over the Cavaliers, he scored 28 points to fuel his squad. He also added six rebounds, four assists and four steals. As a 6-foot-2, 175-pound combo guard, continuing to develop that all-around game in tandem with his scoring will be key in his ability to hang with the giants in the Association.
Until that comes to pass, he brings up the rear for the Jazz’s 20-man camp roster.