While there is a lot of uncertainty of whether the Utah Jazz should focus on the offseason or a last-minute playoff tournament, here are five dream guards to target for the future.
Throughout the course of this season, I’ve been trying to come up with scenarios in my head where the Utah Jazz can find a better backcourt partner for Donovan Mitchell.
Is this a knock on Mike Conley? Take it as you will, but I never envisioned Conley as the long term solution in the first place. I always pictured him as being a part of the team for two years, maybe four years at the most.
But no, this is not intended to be any Mike Conley slander in the slightest.
The Utah Jazz front office decided to cash in the chips they’d been stockpiling for a long time, and finally got a big piece via trade, which I respect them for doing so. Unfortunately due to the suspended season, we may not get to see Conley finish what was a great stretch run for him.
One of my keen observations of the Mitchell/Conley backcourt tandem is the defensive pressure it puts on Rudy Gobert. Conley has lost a step of quickness into his 30s, and Mitchell simply hasn’t been defending the way he ought to be.
Standing at only 6-foot-1 and carrying the heaviest scoring load on the team, Mitchell needs to have a backcourt partner that can take the lead on defense and be able to work without the ball on offense.
In other words, he needs a 3-and-D guy to be his backcourt partner, ironically the exact type of player I thought Mitchell would develop to be when the Jazz drafted him.
While Conley has been great recently for the Jazz, he just needs the ball in his hands more which takes touches away from Donovan, who really should be playing point guard anyways. Here are some names I’d love to see in a Jazz uniform someday suiting up alongside Donovan: