This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As the last pick in Thursday's NBA draft, Tyrone Wallace became the No. 7 point guard on the Jazz's depth chart.
Both of those distinctions make him the pro basketball equivalent of Mr. Irrelevant, although his status is subject to change in the coming days, months and years. Seven point guards? The Jazz could stock their own roster, the D-League Salt Lake City Stars and a county rec team with that list of players.
The team began the week already in an overstocked state with four point guards — Dante Exum, Shelvin Mack, Raul Neto and Trey Burke — and then added George Hill via trade and drafted Marcus Paige from North Carolina and Wallace from California. Some of them can play both guard positions, and certainly not all of them will remain in the Jazz's picture when training camp starts in October. But the saturation at the point makes for a fun summer conversation, and even Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey laughed about the convergence of so many players at the position as he spoke late Thursday night after the draft.
Some creativity will come into play, as the Jazz work with their three second-round picks. The developmental plans for Weber State center Joel Bolomboy, Paige and Wallace "might mean something different for each of them," Lindsey said.
The 6-foot-5 Wallace is "just a big guard," Lindsey said. "He's a great defender … very versatile. We'll see what that means."
Paige "could be willing to work with us on a variety of things, moving forward," Lindsey said.
Those possibilities include signing one or both of the drafted guards to a D-League contract, bypassing the Jazz roster and going straight to the Stars.
Having been taken late in the second round, all three Jazz picks face staggering odds of piecing together long NBA careers, although precedents exist in Jazz history. Jerry Eaves, Bobby Hansen, Shandon Anderson, Jarron Collins and Jeremy Evans were drafted between Nos. 52 and 55, like Bolomboy and Paige. Wallace's historic model is point guard Isaiah Thomas, who became an All-Star with Boston in 2016, five years after Sacramento made him the last pick in the draft from Washington of the Pac-12.
Thomas' 5-9 height was his perceived liability. Wallace's weakness is outside shooting. He shot 29.8 percent from 3-point range as a senior, while averaging 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Wallace scored 26 points against Utah in Cal's overtime loss in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals in March.
NBA teams "love his all-around game," Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said in a school news release this week. "The one thing they question is his ability to hit the 3-point shot. But everything else, they really like. They like his length, his size, his athleticism, his ability to defend, to rebound at that size."
Unlike the NFL draft, there's no Mr. Irrelevant celebration for the NBA's final pick. So Wallace won't be going to Newport Beach or anywhere else for a parade and presentation of gifts before reporting to the Jazz's summer camp next week. Three football players with Utah ties — Weber State's Cam Quayle (1998), BYU's Tevita Ofahengahue (2001) and Dixie High School's Andy Stokes (2005) — have enjoyed such treatment as former Mr. Irrelevants.
Wallace will always have a place in Jazz history, though. The Jazz earned the last selection of the 2016 draft by participating in Golden State's salary dump in July 2013, collecting five picks via the three-team trade and having the Warriors post a record number of wins this past season.
In 1998, the Jazz picked second to last after tying Chicago for the best regular-season record. They took Torraye Braggs, a forward from Xavier who appeared briefly in the NBA with Houston and Washington and played professionally in 12 countries.
Who knows where Wallace's pro basketball odyssey will take him, but it will start in Salt Lake City next week. Wallace considered turning pro after his junior season of 2014-15. He returned to Cal partly to fulfill a promise to his late grandfather, completing a degree in social welfare. That's relevant education, regardless of where he goes from here.
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