While the Utah Jazz have had a rough season in 2025-26, good things have come of it amid all of the losing. The trade for Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen's return to form, Keyonte George's star turn, Jusuf Nurkic's strong showing filling in for Walker Kessler, and even Kevin Love showing he has something left in the tank.
And there's one other thing - Isaiah Coller is showing that he is ready for a bigger role.
Will that be with the Utah Jazz, or another team?
The Jazz run differently when Collier is in the lineup. His natural passing instincts and ability to draw contact and attention during drives to the paint open things up for his teammates in ways that no other player on the roster can pull off. And he's improved as a finisher at the rim, with highlight plays night after night.
Collier's shooting from the field has risen significantly from 42.2% as a rookie to 50.2% in Year Two, his turnovers are down (from 2.9 to 2.5), and his scoring is up (from 8.7 to 11.4). His three-point shooting, while still abysmal, is at 28% (up from 24.9% a year ago).
Collier's offensive game is still growing, with 33 double-digit scoring nights out of 56 games played this year. He has 10 double-doubles this year, including a 17-point, 22-assist gem in the Jazz's road win against the Indiana Pacers in February.
The problem the Jazz face is that Collier is best suited as a point guard, which also happens to be where breakout star Keyonte George is best suited.
Too valuable to trade?
Collier is outplaying his current deal and will likely want a big raise soon, along with a starting role. He's better than a backup, and that's the problem the Utah Jazz will face with how they move forward.
The Sacramento Kings had a similar choice a few years ago between De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton and made the wrong one. They ended up with neither player (Fox or Haliburton) and are among the worst teams in the NBA in the aftermath of those decisions.
While Keyonte George has done enough to prove he's the point guard of the present, there's an argument to keep both him and Isaiah Collier and play them together in stretches, and apart at others, as they both help the rest of the team to play better.
Getting fair value for Collier in a trade would prove difficult, and a package deal to get a better player might bite the Jazz down the road, if Collier fixes his three-point shooting and becomes a star like Haliburton did after he was dealt to Indiana.
For now, the Jazz need to hold the course and convince Collier that he's part of the future here, and hope he doesn't become so valuable that they lose him as a free agent in a few years.