Despite his status as a late first-round pick, Grayson Allen has a chance to get minutes for the Utah Jazz during his rookie season.
Grayson Allen‘s first and second preseason games with the Utah Jazz followed wildly varying scripts. Against an overmatched Perth Wildcats team, he was on fire offensively, hitting his first five shots and finishing with a team-high 19 points, draining 5-of-9 from distance in the process.
In Utah’s Tuesday night win over the Toronto Raptors, he had the kind of struggles you’d expect from a rookie. Despite some bright spots, he largely failed to make an impact, missing seven of his nine shot attempts and logging zero assists and two turnovers as the back-up point guard.
Gauging a rookie’s exhibition efforts definitely requires a discerning eye and a flair for nuance. Even so, it’s clear that Allen — who hits our preseason Jazz player rankings at the No. 10 spot — has the tools to make a play for minutes in year one despite a crowded Utah backcourt.
In particular, his physical profile and measurables both stand out to me.
Allen doesn’t have that crazy Dante Exum length, but at 6-foot-5 with a wingspan approaching 6-foot-8, he’ll be on the plus side of things in the backcourt. He’s a big-time athlete, too. At the NBA Draft Combine, Allen’s lane agility test time of 10.31 seconds paced the field. He posted a top 10 time in the shuttle run (3.04 seconds) as well.
Also — his max vertical leap tops 40 inches.
GET UP YOUNG FELLA https://t.co/rQ0HAi9euK
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 3, 2018
It would seem that white men can jump.
In year one, Allen needs to show he can defend and get his shot off against NBA defenses. He needs to reaffirm the team’s belief that he can play some point, too. There have been positive reports coming out of camp, but the regular season will be a different animal. Especially as he battles Exum and Alec Burks for minutes.
Exum is definitely a shoe-in for a big role off the bench. Meanwhile, Burks could enter the year ahead of Allen in the rotation. Regardless, if the former Duke star can progress in those areas, he’ll earn some minutes from Jazz coach Quin Snyder.
It will be particularly hard to keep him on the bench if he can bang down triples like he did against Perth. As ever, the Jazz could never have too many shooters.
Bottom line — the Jazz thought enough of Allen to invest a first-round pick and a guaranteed money slot in him. He’ll have to take advantage of opportunities when they trickle his way, but drafting him could prove a fruitful long-term play for the franchise.
Our ongoing 2018-19 Utah Jazz rank countdown —
20) Jairus Lyles
19) Trey Lewis
18) Isaac Haas
17) Naz Mitrou-Long
16) Tyler Cavanaugh
15) Tony Bradley
14) Georges Niang
13) Raul Neto
12) Ekpe Udoh
11) Alec Burks