Kyle Filipowski breakout may have Jazz reconsidering future frontcourt

It's about to curtains for the Utah Jazz this season. There hasn't been much to brag about for them, but amongst all the losses and injuries and what-not, among the players who no one should have had any issue with throughout the season is Kyle Filipowski.

The rookie has impressed from Day One and he has not stopped. Every time the Jazz have asked mroe from him, he's delivered. Just look at what happened when the Jazz started him in their win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

If Isaiah Collier breaking John Stockton's record for most assists by a Jazz rookie wasn't enough this season, Filipowski doing something that not even Karl Malone did has got to make Utah feel good about their future.

Sure, this could be problematic for the Jazz's lottery odds - they've tied the Washington Wizards for the worst record in the league - but the odds afford the Jazz the luxury of having their cake and eating it. They can have high lottery odds and watch Filipowski blossom.

No one considers Filipowski a star in the making, but while he proved early on that he was perhaps the biggest steal in the 2024 NBA Draft, each time the Jazz have tested him, the rookie has passed it with flying colors.

It makes one wonder, with Filipowski making it fairly clear that he deserves more time, what does that mean for some of the other Jazz frontcourt players?

Filipowski's emergence could make them re-think what to do with the other Jazz bigs

Filipowski is a stretch-big, clear as day, but he's proven how much of a weapon he can be as such. His ability to score at will and even show his nose for the boards could impact Lauri Markkanen's and Walker Kessler's futures with the Jazz.

Markkanen's future in Utah is already in enough doubt. Filipowski's exciting play as a rookie makes it clear that Markkanen not only doesn't fit with their timeline but is kind of superfluous. No one's saying Filipowski is Markkanen 2.0, but no one's not saying that either.

It's a little grayer with Kessler because they are very different players. Even though the Jazz have tried to get Kessler to become a floor spacer, Kessler is more suited as a rim-protector and rebounding machine. However, it hasn't always been peaches and roses between Kessler and the Jazz, so don't rule anything out.

The Jazz haven't batted 1.000 with their draft picks, but Filipowski has been a home run. Because the Jazz have so many options with their rebuild, there's no telling what his emergence means for the others around him.