The Utah Jazz have to make some tough calls coming up.
When it comes to the Utah Jazz, they’re going to end up facing one giant problem that few teams in the league have to deal with; what to do with all of your young assets? Eventually, the team is going to be filled with so many young pieces, you’re going to have to decide who to keep and who to get rid of. With so many first-round picks coming up, and a team already very young, not everyone can find minutes.
The team is not just flooded with first and second-year players, but the team only has two 30 years on the whole team; Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson. Both men are still very good players as well, so getting rid of them for the sake of getting rid of them would be foolish.
Sure, you could swap them for even more young players and draft assets but that further compounds the problem; what do you do when you run out of time to give players? There are only so many minutes per game to give a guy, and the Jazz is a team that already today has too many young prospects and project players to give reps to.
So the Jazz are going to have to decide what guys are worth keeping and what guys need to be traded away, and that’s where we come in. We’ve looked at the roster, crunched the numbers, and came up with the three prospects we think can still develop, and the two players the team needs to say goodbye to.
There’s a caveat, however, no 2023 rookies are included in this list. They’re too unknown as of right now.
3 young players that still have time to develop
Luka Samanic
If you saw the Jaz play in the Summer League, you know that Luka Samanic has that “thing” that makes a player special. He’s versatile, consistent and he’s far more aggressive than he’s been given credit for. He’s the type of player who could easily earn a spot in the rotation this season. His biggest issue to overcome is the minutes that Lauri Markkanen and John Collins are going to get.
Johnny Juzang
The shooting of Johnny Juzang deserves some serious attention. He was lights out in Summer League and while it’s unfair to assume he’d transfer that game to the NBA level, it’s still worth noting that guys do develop after they enter the league. Someone like Juzang could be a rotational piece for the Jazz this year, or even a spot starter if given a shot.
Kris Dunn
Kris Dunn is not the perfect player and he lacks a lot of things that NBA teams want, but what he does well is what the Jazz need. He’s someone who can come in, play defense and most importantly facilitate the offense. The Jazz do not have a true point guard, outside of Dunn, and while he lacks the ability to drop 40, mostly from three, he still has the ability to draw defenders to him to kick out a pass, as well as use the pick and roll game to his benefit. Plus his defense is second to none of any of the Jazz’s current guards.
2 players the Utah Jazz may need to give up on
Simone Fontecchio
It pains us to write this, but Simone Fontecchio shouldn’t be long for the Utah Jazz. He’s not a great player, and the one thing fans were banking on him to do well, shoot, is the one thing he struggled most with. He shot just 36.9% from the floor, 33% from three, and 79.5% from the line. If he weren’t already 27, keeping him wouldn’t be a huge issue but the team already has enough prospects to worry about who are younger, and have more of an upside.
Micah Potter
The team gave Micah Potter another two-way contract this season, but after watching him struggle to shoot threes in the Utah Jazz’s last Summer League game, it’s fair to question whether Potter is able to give the Jazz what they need. He’s a solid rebounder but if he can’t score and stretch the court then he lacks the skills needed to warrant minutes ahead of other, better, bigs.
Talen Horton-Tucker
ESPN lists Talen Horton-Tucker as the Utah Jazz’s backup point guard and backup small forward. He’s got the handles to be a point guard, but he’s about six or seven inches too short for a small forward. The height isn’t why the Jazz should ship him away in a trade, however, it’s the fact he’s not a good scorer. He shot just 42% from the floor, which on its own isn’t bad until you realize he shot 29% from three. You want a 40% shooter from the line, but you’ll take a 35% shooter. Anything under that is just someone who eats up valuable minutes. Horton-Tucker should be a part of some trade package for a better player.