The Utah Jazz gave Keyonte George a fair shot this season, and he did not thrive in a bigger role. George has proven he can put some points on the board, but he has also shown that it takes a few shots for him to do it.
For the Jazz to be taken seriously once they return to playoff contention, they will need scorers like George, but they will need efficient scorers, which George is not. A year and a half into his career, the jury is still out on George, but typically, in a sophomore campaign, the sophomore in question is tasked with showing that he has improved his flaws from his rookie showing.
George has improved in some areas, like playmaking. Still, his shooting efficiency has mostly remained the same, so experts like Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon have doubts about whether he's a cornerstone of the Jazz's future.
He's had his occasional bursts, but has failed to build off of it. Glass half full is that George could be a late bloomer who simply needs more time in the oven before he figures things out. Glass half empty is that George still being around the same player scoring-wise when scoring his is his calling card looms large for his future.
In a season in which the Jazz have figured out what to do with Walker Kessler and Isaiah Collier and have seen promise from Brice Sensabaugh and Kyle Filipowski, George, the one Jazzman many believed was the most likely to step up, has looked mostly the same.
He has fit better as the Jazz's Sixth Man, but those on par for an All-Star career more often than not don't do while on the bench. Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Herro may beg to differ, but they're the exceptions to the norm.
Because George's inefficiency woes have carried on into his second NBA season, his body of work will likely get compared to one of his current teammates.
Keyonte George might just be another Jordan Clarkson
The reaction to that comparison will likely be mixed because Clarkson's career has been defined as being one of the NBA's best bench scorers of his era. However, his inefficiency was why he never became a starter.
However, Clarkson was a mid-second-round pick who worked from the ground up to become the player he is. Given where he was picked and what the Jazz have paid him, that's a solid return on investment. George was a mid-lottery pick, so if he turns into a Clarkson-type, that's not the worst fate in the world.
It could be worse. That can be a good asset in the rotation. Plus, George has also shown playmaking abilities that Clarkson never showed until he showed up in Utah. George isn't an exact copy of Clarkson, but their skillsets are comparable.
While George's ceiling, being another version of Clarkson, isn't bad, it tasks the Jazz with finding a guard who can not only score but also do so efficiently. Maybe they'll try again with George in Year 3, but it might already be time to look at him and think they've got a future Sixth Man of the Year candidate.