The rookies need to earn their spots with the Utah Jazz

Pushing the rookies into spots they didn’t earn will hinder the Utah Jazz

There’s a small contingent of Utah Jazz fans right now that seem to think pushing Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks into rotational spots with high minutes is the way to go. And among them, there are even some who think the two rookies should be shoehorned into the starting lineups. Both ideas are bad form for the Jazz and should be avoided at all costs.

The Utah Jazz are a rebuilding team, but they’re not a bare-bone squad like the Houston Rockets. This is a team far closer to competing for the playoffs (not even the Play-In Tournament)) than the NBA Draft Lottery. This is not a team loaded with veterans, nor are the best players on the team (Lauri Markkanen) so much older that they’re not in the team’s timeline.

So what’s the point of rushing the development of the rookies? The Jazz have time to see what’s what. If John Collins isn’t the guy, okay, go with rookie Hendricks. But if Collins is the guy, why rush Hendricks into the starting lineup? It doesn’t help him to be thrust into a situation he isn’t ready for, nor does it help the team that is clearly trying to have a successful season.

If he outplays Collins, let’s reexamine the idea, but there’s no reason to just start Hendricks for the sake of it. The same goes for fellow rookie George. He looked exciting in a handful of games this summer, but he also looked really inconsistent in the rest of those games. A trend he’s showing in the preseason as well.

George could very easily be the kind of player that leads the Jazz to the NBA Finals in a few years, he could also be so inconsistent that he never gets his fifth-year option picked up. We have no idea. So forcing him into the starting lineup when he clearly needs far more seasoning, coaching and experience will only hinder the Jazz and his own growth.

Give them time to grow. Make them earn their minutes. If they’re not the best option, they shouldn’t be playing. And if they are the best option, they should have some of the biggest roles on the team. But until they prove that over a prolonged period of time, forcing them into huge roles isn’t the way to go.