Jazz Land 'Plug-And-Play Scorer' in Latest NBA Mock Draft

This rendition of the NBA regular season is just about over for the Utah Jazz, which signals a solid time to look at where the team stands within recent mock drafts. The highly-anticipated night is over two months away from unraveling, but you can never be too prepared in scouting the board around this point of the year.

Utah will be one of the most intriguing teams to look at as we approach draft night. They have a late first and early second-round pick in their hands, and will likely hold onto another first in their pick as long as it lands within the first ten spots. Those later picks are nothing to scoff at, but most eyes will be focused on what will go down with their lottery selection.

In Bleacher Report's latest NBA mock draft, the Jazz ended up taking a chance on Tennessee G/F Dalton Knecht with their projected 8th-overall pick after leading the Volunteers for a strong run in the NCAA tournament. NBA scout Jonathan Wasserman later gave his rationale for the team's choice:

"Despite the loss to Purdue, Dalton Knecht added another special scoring performance to a resume that already shows 30-40-point games against Kentucky, Auburn, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida... He seemingly has an ideal skill set for a complementary role at the next level, where he can space the floor, curl off screens and take dribble handoffs into pull-ups or drives.Turning 23 years old this month, Knecht will have some skeptics who worry about age for a lottery pick. But most teams won't be overly picky in 2024. The idea of adding a plug-and-play scorer with a valued core skill and professional approach will look appealing outside the top five."

The Jazz are a team that could benefit from a bit of depth on the wing, and Knecht provides just that. He's on the older side for a prospect, but for a roster that already has several young players to build with and more draft picks to come along the way, it's not a huge concern.

Knecht is fresh off his senior year with Tennessee, where he averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 45.8/39.7/77.2 shooting splits. With the impact he provides as an efficient option on the offensive side of the ball, it won't be a shock hearing his name called within the lottery of June's draft.

Throughout the past two offseasons, the Jazz have fortified their young core with a point guard to build within Keyonte George, two strong, high-potential forwards in Lauri Markkanen and Taylor Hendricks, and a ROTY finalist big man from a season ago in Walker Kessler. Bringing another lottery wing into the mix that can fit seamlessly and score at all three levels could be an extremely welcomed addition.

There's still a few games remaining within this year's NBA regular season, so we stand a bit of a distance away from seeing how this process unfolds for the Jazz. However, as long as they stay within their top-ten protection, some new young talent will be joining aboard in Salt Lake City very soon.

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