Keyonte George explains what will be different in Year 2 with the Jazz

Keyonte George was the Utah Jazz's biggest standout as a rookie last season. He continued his impressive play during the preseason, and he'll get his chance to prove himself even further in his second season.

It's a challenge he's looking forward to. In an exclusive interview with Deseret News' Sarah Todd, George explained what will be different about him in his second year with the Jazz.

“Rookie year, you got all the jitters, trying to kind of be perfect — don’t want to mess up, and you see everything that’s said about you on social media,” George said. “This year, I’m just going out playing ball, not worried about anything that was said or what people think. I’m just going out there and hooping — bad game or not. I’m just going out there with a clear head, so I think that’s really the main thing. I’m just getting back to playing basketball.”

George started in every single game for the Jazz during the preseason, which is a pretty strong hint that they will throw him to the wolves with the starters when the 2024-25 season starts. It won't be shocking if George has a few hiccups, as is common in sophomore campaigns, but those are necessary to help him reach new levels.

Is George part of the future or is he part of their next trade package?

For the record, there have been no reports that the Jazz intend to trade George. There's a good reason for that. As they've slowly embraced their rebuild, George has given multiple indications that he is a building block.

Now, while the Jazz are expected to be among the NBA's worst teams, there still seems to be a modicum of sentiment that, because they still have Lauri Markkanen along with multiple veterans on the team, maybe they won't be as bad as many think they will. There's even been speculation that they may go in the opposite direction.

The Jazz will cross that bridge when they come to it, but if by chance, they decide they'd rather see what they have in Markkanen, they could go in the complete opposite direction and trade some of their youth for a star.

Depending on the star they would target, George could be included in a package, but knowing his potential, that would likely be for a proven superstar i.e. a player inarguably better than Markkanen. The fact remains that the Jazz have enough established talent and enough assets to make a legitimate play on someone if they wanted to.

For the record, no one is rooting for this as of now. The Jazz deserve to see this through and George is saying all the right things. He knows of the challenges ahead. Either he's their next star in the making, or he's one of the main assets for the next superstar the Jazz acquire.