Isaiah Collier has been the talk of the town in recent weeks for the Utah Jazz. Collier has really come around after an uneven start to his rookie season. He's been impressive enough that the Jazz really believe he's part of their future.
That's not to say it's been all-around perfect. ESPN's Jeremy Woo revealed how excited the Jazz are about Collier's future, though he still has some kinks to iron out.
"Sources said the Jazz, understandably, are excited about his growth internally as the team works through a long rebuild. Collier is shooting 25% from 3-point range and can still be an adventure to watch," Woo wrote.
Woo also noted how Collier replacing Keyonte George in the starting lineup helped the Jazz's offense flow better because he's more of a natural point guard than George is. However, he needs to show an improved jumper to be a building block for the Jazz.
Luckily, Collier's progression should make the Jazz optimistic about his jumper seeing how he has adjusted his game well in the NBA.
Collier's progression may also help the Jazz put George in right role
Collier's progress has made for one of the Jazz's best storylines, which has unfortunately made George's lack of progress one of their worst storylines by contrast and by proxy. The upside is that with Collier now taking the reins as the Jazz's point guard of the future, George may be playing a better role for himself and the Jazz as their Sixth Man.
Woo pointed out exactly why Collier's development is so important for both him and George. Plenty of attention was given to George's development coming into the season, but despite the Jazz giving him a bigger role and more touches, he has not improved much as a scorer.
But it all may point to the fact that everyone was looking through the wrong end of the telescope with George. He may fit best as their Sixth Man of the future instead of being their next elite scorer like some expected him to be.
Part of getting the rebuild right is figuring out where certain young talent fits in the rotation. For now, it looks like the Jazz were wrong to think George would turn into an elite scorer, but have made up for it by letting Collier run the show while George can do his thing with the second unit.
Odds are, neither will turn into the franchise player the Jazz are hoping to get in the next few years, but they have every reason to be optimistic that those two can thrive in their own way long-term in Utah.