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Las Vegas • The Utah Jazz wanted to put Trey Lyles in position to fail. In case you are wondering, that's a good thing.
As the leader of Utah's summer league roster and the only player who will be in Quin Snyder's rotation next season, Jazz brass wanted Lyles to test himself. They wanted him handling the ball as much as possible, to create for himself and others. At the end of games, they wanted him to take the money shots. They set him up to push his overall game past its limits, to create new ones.
They wanted him to be the first option in almost everything they did.
"That's helped me out a lot," Lyles said. "You're not going to be successful in everything you do in this league. So the key is to get better in everything you do and be comfortable in everything you do. I appreciate that they've had confidence in me from a fundamental standpoint. I feel like I've gotten better this summer."
Overall, Lyles has exhibited exactly what the Jazz have wanted to see out of him. He's taken the reins of a summer league roster mostly devoid of NBA players and put it on his back. The standout scoring games have been noteworthy, especially the 30 points and nine rebounds he put up against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday afternoon.
But if you look beyond the scoring, you'll see more intricate improvement in Lyles' overall skillset, which was already pretty varied as a rookie in the first place. Lyles was able to create a good shot for himself off the dribble with relative ease. He was able to find his way to the free-throw line with regularity. In the Utah summer league, he struggled a bit with his efficiency, but that hasn't been as much of an issue in the Las Vegas summer league.
Lyles was also given carte blanche to rebound the ball and start transition opportunities himself, a departure from his rookie season. It's been an effort to take advantage of his ball-handling and offensive versatility.
"What you see out there is a kid that played the wing when he was at Kentucky and is now a power forward playing against other power forwards," Jazz summer league coach Mike Wells said. "What you are seeing is his ability to make reads and make plays. He's come a long way as a rookie, and he's making another step this summer."
Lyles enjoyed what was an impressive in-season jump in his first year with the Jazz. He went from a relative non-shooter to one who consistently knocked down 3-pointers from the corner. He went from knocking down corner threes to making threes above the break (top of the key extended), something that was unforeseen even by the front office.
Part of his development came because both Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert missed significant time with injuries last season. So Lyles was counted on to contribute out of need, and he responded when pressed into service.
"I definitely think I've gotten better as a basketball player," Lyles said. "I've gotten more vocal as a teammate, and I've gotten more confident in my ability to play freely within the offense."
As a defender, Lyles has work to do. There were matchups in Las Vegas where he struggled, especially in terms of pure strength. But the Jazz envision Lyles as the first big man off the bench this upcoming season, and a stylistic complement to Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
That's why, although they wanted him back with the team, the Jazz allowed Trevor Booker to sign with the Booklyn Nets in free agency. Lyles has truly been dominant at times offensively. In addition to the 30 he dropped on the Trail Blazers, he had 28 points on 7-of-16 shooting against the Washington Wizards on Sunday. He's been far and away the leading scorer for the Jazz, and he's been one of the best players in Las Vegas.
And that's exactly what the Jazz wanted. They put him in position to fail, and are happy that he succeeded.
"I think this has been a good summer," Lyles said. "I've wanted to work on everything and just try to get better at everything."
Twitter: @tjonessltrib —
About Trey Lyles
• Projects as the third big for the Jazz on opening night, playing behind Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.
• Is entering his second season with the Jazz. He spent a lot of time in the starting lineup as a rookie, because of injuries.
• Has averaged 29 points in two summer league games in Las Vegas.