NBA.com Poses Key Question for Utah Jazz Rebuild

Since the Utah Jazz kicked off their rebuilding process three summers ago, the front office has remained diligent in adding an array of young pieces across their roster for an interesting foundation to roll into the future with– adding two new names this offseason in Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr., who could be solid building blocks on the roster for years to come.

However, in the mind of NBA.com analyst John Schuhmann, the young talent the Jazz have brought into the building across their retooling process has come with one major hole: backcourt play.

While the Jazz have put together a strong core in the frontcourt, Schuhmann sees the backcourt collection of Clayton, Isaiah Collier, and Keyonte George as "relatively shallow," and thus asks one big question for this roster during the season ahead: "Is there a starter in the backcourt?"

"Keyonte George didn’t show much progress in Year 2 and is one of five players with an effective field goal percentage below 50% on at least 500 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons. Isaiah Collier is a steadier hand, but was an even worse shooter than George," Schuhmann wrote. "Clayton (the 18th pick this year) is another bite at the apple as the Jazz try to find a guard who can run the offense with some efficiency."

"The Jazz’s most reliable and most intriguing players are all in the frontcourt, and it will be especially interesting to see what they have in Taylor Hendricks, who’s still just 21 years old, having played just 930 total minutes since being selected with the No. 9 pick in 2023. Kyle Filipowski was a second-rounder, but averaged 20.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per 36 minutes after the All-Star break last season."

While the trio of aforementioned young guards haven't shown the same upside as some of the elite young backcourt pieces around the league, they're also an extremely unproven group.

The combination of George, Collier, and Clayton Jr. has only played a combined total of 213 career games, the last of which has yet to even make his NBA debut. All three are under the age of 23.