For the Utah Jazz, it would have been really nice if Collin Sexton had come out and seized the point guard position this preseason.
After all, he’s the guard that the Jazz have committed the most long-term money to, as they signed him to a new 4-year deal after the Donovan Mitchell trade worth about $18 million per year. At 24 years old, he’s also a guard that fits nicely with the Jazz’s timeline: It’s easy to see him fitting with 26-year-old Lauri Markkanen, 22-year-old Walker Kessler, and 25-year-old John Collins as the Jazz grow moving forward.
The unfortunate part is that he’s done the opposite of seizing the spot: He’s a combined 2 for 11 from the field, with five assists and five turnovers, a -18 plus/minus. That worries me less than the overall approach — he just hasn’t been able to run an offense whatsoever. As much as he wants to be a good teammate (and he does!), he doesn’t appear to see the game in a 5-on-5 way. It’s been as disappointing as can be.
Meanwhile, the guards that have played best are the ones that the Jazz have the least long-term attachment to. Talen Horton-Tucker, an expiring contract, was his best self in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Clippers.
The Clippers won 103-98, but Horton-Tucker scored 24 points on 18 shots. I asked Will Hardy about what makes THT play his best ball:
“Talen’s at his best alone in space. He’s very hard to keep in front because of his athleticism, his strength, and size,” Hardy said. “In the halfcourt, it’s about trying not to bring too many bodies to him (i.e., to screen). When we do bring bodies, it’s better to bring perimeter players than it is necessarily to bring a big.”
Unfortunately, that one-on-one attacking style is not really how the Jazz want to play. They want an offense predicated on ball movement and player movement. Doing that frees up Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler for high-efficiency baskets. Having perimeter players screen for THT likely means that Markkanen and Kessler aren’t less likely to be involved in the play, which is a big problem. Or as Hardy put it when responding to another question: “Who fits with the frontcourt is massively important to the decisions that we’re going to make.”
Kris Dunn has also been good. He was also in the G League this time last year, is 29 years old, and is on an expiring, non-guaranteed contract — what’s the long-term thinking behind giving him a starting spot? Simply just maximizing the development of Markkanen and Kessler? I guess.
The brightest prospect here is Keyonte George. Noted NBA presence Nate Jones noted on Tuesday night that the “Jazz just need to let Keyonte play major minutes. That’s their PG of the future”.
And he’s probably right. George does at least have five assists in each of the two games, and the Jazz have outscored the Clippers with him on the floor in both games. He also showed his best defensive efforts of his early career on Tuesday night.
The problem is that George, after a strong summer league, hasn’t been “must-play” effective. He’s also not visibly setting up Markkanen and Kessler to great effect, either. While there have been bright spots, I don’t think this is quite Donovan Mitchell territory; if George is the starter, I suspect the Jazz will lose a lot of games in his rookie year, just as they would with nearly any rookie point guard in NBA history. There’s some concern that starting him would just be giving him too much, too soon, for his long-term development.
It’s really clear that Hardy is struggling with this decision. It’s also really clear that the team’s front office would prefer he not have to make it — because they tried to trade for a clear-cut starting point guard in Jrue Holiday.
According to multiple reports, the Jazz were extremely involved in the Holiday trade negotiations, at least considering an offer that was at least competitive with Boston’s winning offer that included two first-round picks, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams. I’ve been told that the Jazz’s potential offer also involved two first-round picks — which is a sizable trade offer for a 33-year-old point guard that probably doesn’t tip the scales for the Jazz to become championship competitive.
But ESPN’s Bobby Marks — who is well connected with the Jazz’s front office — explained what happened here on ESPN 700: “I think if Utah had a strong comfort level that Jrue Holiday was going to ... commit long term, then yes, I think Utah would have went in as far as multiple draft picks.” Holiday and his agency made clear that that commitment wasn’t there, though. Truthfully, that makes sense given Holiday’s desire to play for a championship contender at this stage of his career. Indeed, that’s what happened, and he was routed to Boston, perhaps the league’s most dangerous team.
There might be other options out there on the market; the Blazers are reportedly shopping Brogdon, for example. Point guard depth is significant in the league. At the moment, though, the Jazz have about five scoring twos and a deficit of passing ones, when it would probably be best for the rest of the roster if things were the other way around.
If there’s no trade, and there likely won’t be one immediately, Hardy did mention other changes that can happen. The Jazz also may have to “tinker with our style of play offensively,” Hardy said, in order to fit the Jazz’s roster better. In particular, “some things may have to be simplified” in order to fit the guards that the Jazz do have. That approach makes sense, and it’s also coaching 101: find a style of play in which your players can excel.
Regardless, the time for changes is shrinking. Hardy revealed his timeline for when the guard decision will be made.
“As a staff, these next three days at home are going to be important — to really put our flag in the sand and say ‘This is how we’re going to go into the beginning of the year.’ These next couple of days of practice, and probably that Portland game are going to be really big for us to make decisions. We don’t want to go too much past that Portland game, where we’re still trying to sort out where we’re going to be opening night, because you need to try to give guys an opportunity to play together.”
Despite the Jazz’s best efforts, that guard opportunity is still up for grabs.
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