Kyle Filipowski has been the talk of the town for the Utah Jazz ever since the Summer League wrapped up. He played so well that while it's clear he should be in the NBA, his ceiling as a prospect is ambiguous. However, for everything FIlipowski brings to the Jazz, there is a problem worth mentioning: his defensive shortcomings.
Sam Vecenie talked about this on The Game Theory Podcast while also revealing what position he thinks the Jazz youngster can play.
"Defensively, there were some flaws (that) definitely popped up. I thought, in general, just the movement continues to be a bit of concern. I do think he is one of those guys that's kind of in the middle positions like the 4/5," Vecenie said.
His defensive inadequacies may make the Jazz reluctant to embrace him completely until he can rise above them. Until then, it might be best to find the balance between optimism and cautious optimism for FIlipowski.
Filipowski might be best as a sixth man
While it may sound pessmistic to suggest that Filipowski is best coming off the bench, there have been offensively talented big men who have thrived in the sixth man role. Look no further than Naz Reid, who won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award because of his similar skillset to Filipowski.
Better yet, Reid has played a hand in why Minnesota has had its most consistent playoff success as a franchise (besides having esteemed Jazz alumni Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley, of course). What makes him so useful is that when they go up against teams that can negate Gobert's impact, Reid can come in and undo that.
Reid will never be a star, but he's a very impactful player who the Timberwolves went out of their way this summer to keep. If that's the kind of player Utah has in Filipowski, he could be a huge piece of a glorious future.
It's actually kind of frightening how similar Utah's future could be to Minnesota's present. Both have a rim protector who is offensively limited, but defensively elite, so to compensate for any issues with that, they have a floor-stretching, offensively savvy big man who can come in and undue those problems.
Best of all, nobody knows if that's what Filipowski could be. He could be even better than that if everything continues to go well, but if he's of a similar vein to Naz Reid, that's fantastic value for a second-round pick and it's a sign that many should be very optimistic about the future holds for Utah.