Keyonte George's ascension has made for quite the story for the Utah Jazz. Year 3 could not have gone better for George, and it feels like he really has only gotten better as the season has gone on. Him turning into a major star is a game-changer for the Jazz, but even better, he shows that the Jazz truly struck gold with one of their first-round picks, which didn't become evident until now.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon delved into this on "The Hoop Collective," explaining what a relief George has been for Utah.
"Because (the Jazz) haven't had the super high pick in the lottery, they need one of their recent first rounders to really pop. Keyonte George wasn't a lottery pick, but he's the young recent first-rounder who's finally really popped for them," MacMahon said.
"... The guy's averaging 24 a game, like 24 and seven, and been great in clutch situations and looks like he can be a cornerstone for them moving forward."
Now, to be fair, the Jazz have gotten some solid production out of some of their draft picks over the last few years. Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski have all had their moments to shine. Ironically, it's been their high lottery picks (except for Ace Bailey) that haven't looked great yet, like Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams.
It's possible that all of them turn out to be solid role players - again, we're excluding Bailey - which is a problem for teams trying to build through the draft. George not only popping, but turning out to be a first-round steal, should give Utah relief about the future.
It will take more than George though
This Jazz season would be a repeat of the depressing show that was last year if it weren't for George. However, he's simply a step in the right direction. The Jazz will need more players to pop, like Bailey, to add to its core of George and Lauri Markkanen.
Luckily, Utah has plenty of assets that should help their chances of getting another cornerstone. It would help if the team tanked, which is definitely not out of the question, because it would help their chances of developing another young franchise player. At the same time, throwing away George's ascension for that could stunt his long-term growth.
It's no longer up in the air as to whether the Jazz have something special in George. They definitely do, but what is up in the air is what they do about it. If they can keep the good times rolling with George while getting a potentially golden prospect in the draft next year, that's how this situation can work out perfectly.