Nickeil Alexander-Walker has the potential to be a Utah Jazz contributor.
The NBA trade deadline shook up the league in a big way with multiple teams making moves to give them a clear shot at contending for a title. The Utah Jazz may have not made a trade as groundbreaking as the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, but they did acquire a promising young player.
In a move that included moving beloved veteran wing Joe Ingles, the Jazz acquired third-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Strengths and weaknesses of the new Utah Jazz reserve
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has played the entirety of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans since being drafted 17th overall in 2019 out of Virginia Tech. In 2.5 seasons with the Pelicans, he proved he can get hot quickly, having recorded five 30-point games in his time in New Orleans, where he was averaging a career-high 12.3 points per game this season before getting traded.
While not known as a passer, those numbers have grown steadily each season as he is currently averaging 2.7 assists per game. He’s also shown potential to be a great pick-and-roll operator. That’s something the Jazz should welcome, especially after parting with Ingles, who was third on the team in assists.
Overall, the 6-foot-5 Canadian has a big upside both as a scorer and a playmaker. Having said that, there’s a reason the Jazz didn’t have to give up much to get a former top 20 pick.
The main reason it only took giving up Elijah Hughes and the 35-year-old Joe Ingles — with a torn ACL — is Alexander-Walker’s lack of efficiency. Despite increasing his scoring every year, his shooting percentages are currently lower than they’ve ever been at a dreadful 37.4 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from three. He’s also been a poor isolation player, shooting only 18.2 percent from the field when running isolation.
Luckily, Utah is in the bottom half of the league when it comes to isolation frequencies. And with natural scorers like Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanović, it is very unlikely Alexander-Walker will need to score one-on-one as often as he did in New Orleans.
In two appearances since the trade, the 23-year-old has logged only five minutes and has yet to score.
Still, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker doesn’t move the needle for the Jazz’s hopes to contend for a title, he will add depth to their guard rotation and could provide much-needed scoring from the second unit.
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