Between the Utah Jazz Blue and Utah Jazz White, three players stood out over the course of the Salt Lake Summer League.
The Salt Lake City Summer League drew to a conclusion on Friday, with the Utah Jazz White handily defeating the Utah Jazz Blue 83-65. For Jazz fans, the summer league presents an opportunity to watch players that, in all likelihood, will not crack Head Coach Quin Snyder’s regular rotation throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.
The Utah Jazz are firmly entrenched in title contention, and that usually means there are few minutes to spare for rookies and sophomores on the fringes of the league.
Still, opportunity is like an annoying neighbour: it has a tendency to pop-in for unexpected visits. An injury to a key veteran, a mid-season trade or another unforeseen circumstance could have any of the following players checking into a regular season game before they expected to. Here are three guys who increased their NBA stock during the Salt Lake City Summer League.
Utah Jazz guard Trent Forrest
Trent Forrest managed to find a little bit of time on the floor for the Utah Jazz last season, averaging 10.5 points, 5.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds per 36 minutes. That’s a nice, well-rounded stat line, but in actuality, the 23-year-old point guard managed a modest 10.1 minutes per game over a 30 game sample.
Luckily, Forrest had much more opportunity to showcase his wares in the Salt Lake City Summer League. He wrapped up Friday night’s defeat of the Utah Jazz Blue with 14 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Those numbers were in line with his three-game average of 14.3 points, 9 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Forrest was able to consistently put up such well-rounded numbers throughout his Summer League play with exceptional court vision, finding teammates with sharp passes and collecting rebounds with fundamentally sound positioning.
Like many players in the three-point era, Forrest’s swing skill will be his three-point shooting. At the NBA level, he managed an (avert your eye if you’re squeamish) 19.2% accuracy rate on 0.9 attempts per game during his 2020-21 rookie campaign. Still, with great playmaking instincts, and good positional size at 6’4 with long arms that pair nicely with strong defensive skills, Forrest has the potential to be a solid rotational guard at the NBA level regardless of the development of his jump shot.
If it does develop, on the other hand, Forrest’s ceiling can raise considerably higher.
Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike
A quick question: is 87% a good field goal percentage? Asking for a (very uninformed) friend.
That’s the percentage Udoka Azubuike shot from the field during the Salt Lake Summer League, including a perfect 9 for 9 performance in the Utah Jazz White’s 94-75 romp of the Memphis Grizzlies’ squad. He finished that game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Like Forrest, Azubuike completed his rookie season for the Utah Jazz during 2020-21, and also like Forrest, it was quite limited. Azubuike saw a mere 3.8 minutes of action per game across 15 performances. Still, it’s hard not to see his potential. An athletic 5 who can run the floor, finish effectively in pick-and-roll sets, defend the rim and control the glass, Azubuike profiles as the sort of low usage, high efficiency rim-running 5 that contending teams tend to feature.
Like many young players in this model, Azubuike is raw, and that doesn’t bode well for his playing time on a contending team. You couldn’t blame him if he was excited when his Utah Jazz traded Derrick Favors, and disappointed when they signed Hassan Whiteside to replace him. Still, learning from a similar veteran in Whiteside could pay dividends for his career down the line, and one hopes that the athletic sophomore will feel motivated to compete with the veteran journeyman in practices.
After all, if he keeps his head down and work hard, prime Whiteside production could be in his future.
Utah Jazz guard MaCio Teague
Unlike the other two players on this list, Teague has not seen a minute of NBA action in his young career. However, if his 26 points on 50% shooting from the field during the Utah Jazz Blue’s demolition of the San Antonio Spurs’ Salt Lake City Summer League team on Wednesday night are any indication, he’s deserving of an opportunity.
Teague was a critical component of Baylor’s NCAA championship this year, alongside soon-to-be Utah Jazz rookie Jared Butler. Teague’s primary skill is arguably the most valued ability in the NBA today: his absolute cannon of a three-point shot. He went 4/10 from three-point range over the course of the Salt Lake City Summer League, flashing a quick, fluid release reminiscent of NBA shooting specialists.
Concerns about Teague revolve largely around his size. At 6’3, he’s fairly small as a 2 guard, but he doesn’t play like a traditional point guard either, as he made evident with his 0.67 assists per game over the course of his Salt Lake City Summer League play.
With a slim frame, he’s also demonstrated some difficulty finishing around the rim, and defending. Shooting specialists make more hay in today’s NBA than they ever have in history, but, Teague’s limitations may still lead to difficulties securing a regular rotation spot in the league.
Still, that three-point shooting has the potential to travel far. If MaCio Teague ever manages to secure an opportunity in the NBA, and a hot shooting streak happens to coincide with that opportunity, we may soon be talking more about his strengths than his weaknesses.