Jazz passing on Joe Ingles 2.0 in 2024 makes first-round selection look worse

Ingles was one of the biggest fan favorites in Jazz history, so it's hard to see a rookie who plays just like him on another team.
Utah Jazz v Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz v Denver Nuggets | Doug Pensinger/GettyImages

Joe Ingles will be fondly remembered by Utah Jazz fans for years to come. Not just because of how he worked his way up from the very bottom, but because of how incredibly useful he was in Utah from start to finish. As far as glue guys go, there aren't that many Jazz players in franchise history who made a name for themselves during their time there like Ingles did.

Why is this relevant? Because there's a rookie who's beginning to look a lot like Ingles 2.0: Celtics first-round pick Baylor Scheierman. The sample size isn't that big, but Scheierman displays a skillset that looks awfully similar to Ingles.

A floor-spacing wing? Check. Impressive passing abilities for his size? Check. Veteran-like defensive instincts? Check. If that's not enough, Scheierman has a dad bod like Jingles did. It's fair to say that Scheierman has won over Celtics fans pretty quickly, much like Ingles did when the Jazz gave him a shot.

What makes this look even crazier is that Scheierman had been getting comparisons to Ingles before he even came to the NBA.

In fact, after the Celtics drafted him, he even admitted that he modeled his game after the Jazz alum.

Okay, well, good for the Celtics. They're the reigning champions and have the next Joe Ingles waiting in the wings. What does this have to do with the Jazz? Well, despite Kyle Filipowski and Isaiah Collier's standout rookie seasons, Scheierman's late-season breakout only makes the Cody Williams selection look even worse for the Jazz.

Why Scheierman makes the Williams pick look worse

Williams has given every indication that, most optimistically, his development will take time. Even with the occasional flashes of brilliance, Williams has had a pretty bad rookie year overall. As the No. 10 pick, seeing players who were picked way after him play better this late into the season makes his disappointing rookie campaign stand out like a sore thumb.

To be fair, Scheierman was the 30th pick in the draft, and if the Jazz had picked him with the 10th overall pick, it would have been seen as a reach. However, seeing Scheierman show shades of Ingles when he plays makes it harder because of how much fun Ingles was to watch in Utah and because Williams' NBA future and ceiling are very uncertain.

Here's where this situation gets even harder. Much like Williams, Scheierman did not start the season great in the limited opportunities the Celtics gave him early on. However, while Williams has only continued to be given opportunities by the Jazz and hasn't run with them, Scheierman has thrived as the Celtics have only begun to count on him in recent weeks for not many minutes.

To summarize, Scheierman has shown the progress the Jazz hoped Williams would make in much less time. In all fairness, the Celtics rookie is 24 years old, which is considered old for a first-year player, while Williams is 20. It's not unheard of for an older rookie to start his career better than a younger one.

When Williams reaches that age, he may turn into the player the Jazz want him to be, making this whole issue look foolish in hindsight. However, it's hard not to look at the situation right now and not think of the Jazz having another Ingles and how much fun that would be instead of a rookie who looks like he will need a lot of time in the oven.

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