Don't Sleep on Keyonte George Winning Jazz Starting PG Job

Development is rarely linear for young basketball players. Utah Jazz fans have seen a number of examples, such as Joe Ingles morphing into one of the best glue guys in the league in his late 20s, Paul Millsap going from a second-round draft pick to multiple-time All-Star, Donovan Mitchell blossoming into one of the brightest young stars in the league, and most recently the ascension of Lauri Markkanen from forgotten lottery pick to All-Star starter. 

With training camp just around the corner, the Jazz have another young piece whose hype train is picking up steam. Drafted with the No. 16 overall pick, Keyonte George was Utah's pick after an award-winning freshman season at Baylor, and he's possibly the most exciting candidate to possibly seize the starting point guard job for the upcoming season.

After an electric start to Summer League, George suffered a nasty ankle sprain that ended his first NBA experience early. Despite the small sample size, we were able to see the offensive talent that made him such a highly regarded prospect. 

George was widely rated as a top-10 prospect in his high school class because of his ability to score the ball. At Baylor, he showed glimpses of that same skill set.

While questions about George's efficiency and athleticism made his draft stock slip a little bit, he immediately put the league on notice with his improved physique and ability to get wherever he wanted during Summer League. 

A report on Friday from The Atheltic's Tony Jones suggested that George's excellent summer has done anything but slow down.

As has widely been documented, the biggest hole on the Jazz roster is at point guard. While there are plenty of talented options to handle the starting duties, which player ends up being tasked with that title is unclear. 

Collin Sexton is a popular pick, though the Jazz have been consistent that they view him as a sixth man. There's been some speculation that Jordan Clarkson could fill the role, as well as some quieter buzz for both Kris Dunn and Talen Horton-Tucker. While all of these guys could fill the role in the short term, the Jazz drafted George to be their lead guard of the future.

With the way that the Jazz roster is constructed, they have a serious lack of playmakers and passers in general. George provides just that. 

He’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, and his passing — something he wasn’t revered for at Baylor — was exceptional during Summer League. If George can continue to take care of the ball and make high-level passes, it’ll be nearly impossible to keep him off the floor.

As George has already shown, development is not always linear. His hard work during the pre-draft process was evident, and it changed his trajectory as an NBA prospect. If he can continue to play well during training camp and preseason, the Jazz might just have their point guard question answered, and not just for this season.

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