The Utah Jazz will be thrilled just to get a lottery pick from a loaded draft. They have positioned themselves well to get a top-eight pick in this draft. That alone will be a win adding such an asset to a team built for a playoff run next season. That being said, the Jazz don't have the best history with the lottery, so it would be disheartening to see that rear its ugly head yet again.
At the same time, that's what happened last year, and it led to Ace Bailey, so it's not like the Jazz are exactly sour grapes about that. If that happens again, as long as they keep their pick, they'll be fine with it.
Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley projected Utah to end up with the No. 7 pick. Not optimal, but he projects that they will take Kingston Flemings with it. Buckley explained Flemings' appeal to Utah.
"He already makes veteran-like reads with the basketball, so Utah could entrust him with fairly heavy minutes early and believe he'd find ways to positively impact winning.
"He has some of the best burst in this class and the processing ability needed to mentally slow down while physically zipping around. If he can up his perimeter volume and fine-tune his shot selection, he could be a steal—even this early in the draft," Buckley wrote,
This isn't the first time Flemings has been floated as the Jazz's pick. It makes a fair amount of sense to pick him because if there's one area where Utah could use some more depth, it's at guard. Again, the biggest win is simply keeping the pick, so even if they get No. 7, they'll take that and be more than happy to take Flemings.
The question would be where he would fit in the rotation
If the Jazz take Flemings, he wouldn't be in the starting lineup, but could be considered a super-sub for Utah if he lives up his pre-draft billing. The only unfortunate part would be how it would affect someone like Isaiah Collier.
Collier has been a good soldier who had an impressive rookie season whose sophomore season got overshadowed by Keyonte George's breakout. Collier's problem is his lack of floor spacing, and if Flemings proves from the jump that he's better as a shooter, Collier could find himself int he doghouse.
All indications point to Flemings being NBA-ready, and if it's true, he fits snugly into Utah's plans even if he won't start right away. Sure, the Jazz would prefer the higher pick, but this time, not even bad lottery luck would deter them.
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