There is plenty to discuss when it comes to Keyonte George's newest extension. The fact that he could have held out for more but instead to decided to stay on what may be a team-friendly deal is topical enough. Or how about the fact that he's among the few Jazz players to get that rookie extension. Or how about that a good chunk of his Jazz teammates showed up at his press conference the next day?
Oh yeah, there's plenty to celebrate from the deal, but something else has gone overlooked: George signing the extension removes any modicum of pressure on Utah this season whatsoever.
The Jazz could have gone into the season knowing George was going to be a restricted free agency, which could have been a potentially bigger elephant in the room than Walker Kessler. The only reason why that wasn't discussed more was because, well, he spent the majority of last season on the sidelines.
But because George and the Jazz got ahead of this, now that's no longer hanging over their heads for the foreseeable future like it could have been had they waited this out.
Jazz have absolutely nothing pressuring them
This upcoming season has the makings of the best season the Jazz have had since the end of their previous era of playoff basketball headed by the likes of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. George's extension was supposed to be the most nagging issue this season, but since they took care of it ahead of time, now there's no outside noise.
Yes, this team can absolutely make the playoffs, but it's not like there's a ton of pressure on them to win as much as possible. Because they have a fun mix of youth and veterans, Utah will simply throw whatever they can against the wall and see what sticks this season.
The pressure is sure to come later once the Jazz understand what works and what doesn't for them, but for now, this should be a pretty easygoing season. Even if it turns out Utah is even better than we all thought, it's not like if they don't make the second round of the playoffs, everyone should be disappointed.
That's the beauty of being a team whose talent is strictly on paper and after being a non-playoff team for the last four years. Despite the talent they've added, it's not like anyone is expecting a title out of the gate. It wouldn't be fair if they did, and even if they show that they have the makings of a title contender from the jump, no one should be mad if they don't win one.
If anything, it should make the fans excited for what's to come. And then that's when the pressure will come in.
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