The Utah Jazz have played 24 games this season.
From a record standpoint, things are going as planned. They are 5-19 overall. If the season ended today, they would finish with the third-worst record in the NBA, which would come with top-five draft lottery odds. That’s the goal. The Jazz know they have to build through the draft. Their pick is owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, top 10 protected, so they know they have to do their best to protect the pick.
This comes with the balance of trying to figure out a young and callow roster on the fly. As mid-December is here and the NBA’s trade window has opened, these are a few of the things that have stood out with the Jazz.
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What I like: Walker Kessler’s development
Of the young players this season, Kessler has been the most impressive, especially when you consider the backdrop of his struggles from a season ago. Last year, he seemed lost in many spots, both on and off the floor. He had a difficult time playing (or not playing) for Team USA, and that experience spilled over into the season. The entire year became a massive disappointment after an impressive initial campaign where he made First Team All-Rookie.
Kessler, this season, looks like the guy everyone thought would show up for the Jazz … last season. At times, that road back has been winding and difficult. It began with Kessler and his camp meeting with the Jazz at the outset of last offseason to air out feelings and thoughts on both sides. That part wasn’t as easy as it turned out to be, because there are many cases of players having disappointing seasons and that player and that organization never finding a way back. Credit Kessler, his camp, the Jazz coaching staff and Jazz front office for working out differences. It’s clearly worked.
For example, look at Friday night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. Kessler came out, took and made his first two 3-point shots of the season. Those shots were a small footnote to the game because those shots came in the opening possessions. Asked after the game why, Jazz coach Will Hardy said it was about scratching an itch.
The itch? There were too many instances last season where Kessler felt like a pariah within the Jazz offense. And yes, there were many times where Kessler wanted to be allowed to take 3s and to try and expand his game. Friday was Hardy allowing that to happen.
“We want to always keep developing Walker,” Hardy said.
Of course, Hardy isn’t going to allow Kessler to shoot 3-pointers at a Brook Lopez volume. But, it does show that Hardy has some flex, as this season is about developing and this is one way to do it. Kessler is having a terrific season. He’s averaging 11.2 points per game to go along with 10.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots. He’s one of the best rim protectors in basketball. He’s a terrific vertical threat. He’s defending well away from the basket.
He’s playing just 29.3 minutes per game. Why? Because if the Jazz played him more, in a season where they truly need to finish in the top five of the lottery order, playing him more probably results in a few more wins than needed. The Jazz are a much better defensive team with Kessler on the floor. The important thing is that Kessler’s play so far has erased concerns of last year’s regression. Kessler is playing the best basketball of his career and looks like a true cornerstone for the Jazz going forward.
Williams is 20 years old. He is going to be given a lot of time to grow, and the Jazz knew when they drafted him that he was a project. They picked him for his upside, not for what he is today.
Still, the concern is that Williams looked so out of place when the Jazz started the season with him in the rotation — he was given almost 19 minutes per night, mainly off the bench —they have been forced to send him to the G League for a prolonged stint.
The averages aren’t pretty. For the season, Williams, whom the Jazz took with the ninth overall pick, is shooting 26 percent from the field and 19 percent from 3-point range. Almost by osmosis, those numbers should be better than that. There have been occasional flashes of real ability, mostly making passing reads that are well beyond his years. But the shooting splits are such an issue that it became hard to justify keeping him at the NBA level.
What the Jazz have wanted to see from Williams in the G League is aggression. Make or miss, turnover or assist, just look to make plays. Shoot the ball until the right arm falls off. Make mistakes and make great plays. But try and do stuff. That has been part of the issue for Williams at the NBA level. He’s been too timid, and he’s looked too afraid of making mistakes. With the speed of the NBA game and with how fast scoring and passing windows open and close, a player can’t afford to think too much on the floor. There has to be an instinct to knowing when and when not to make plays.
We are a long way away from the panic button for Williams. He’s 6-foot-8 and multi-faceted. But he has to gain experience at the pro level. Over the offseason, he will need to come a long way in the weight room, and he will need to figure out a way to start shooting the basketball a lot better. That being said, I don’t think anyone anticipated this rough of a start to his professional basketball career.
What I like: The emergence of John Collins
To be fair, Collins emerged with the Atlanta Hawks. But he’s playing some of the best basketball of his career this season. More importantly, he’s playing some of the most mature basketball of his career, from taking pride in the defensive end to tailoring his strengths to what the Jazz need to simply taking the right kind of shots. He’s averaging 18 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. But he’s shooting 54 percent from the field and a career-high 45 percent from 3-point range.
The Jazz may not be winning at a high clip, but Collins is helping this franchise in a number of ways. His locker room presence this season has been fantastic as he’s been a terrific mentor for a number of the younger players on Utah’s roster. His play is giving the Jazz a real chance to flip him at the trade deadline and recoup value that wasn’t available at this time last year, in the offseason or even a few months ago.
This is not to say the Jazz are a lock to trade him, but Collins is giving them the option.
Last season, he could only play at the center spot. This season, he’s figured out how to play power forward in Hardy’s system. That’s allowed Hardy to be able to re-insert Kessler full time into the starting lineup, which has been another win. Collins said it took him a year to adjust to the system after the Jazz acquired him in a trade the previous summer.
Like Kessler, Collins looked unsure of himself, and his role within the offense a season ago. Now, he looks more comfortable and looks like he knows what to expect on every possession. The shooting has been a revelation, but he’s simply been a much better overall player.
There are nights where George looks terrific running the point. Against Phoenix on Friday, he scored 18 points while handing out nine assists. He looked patient in his reads. He was efficient from the field. The offense looked fluid under his leadership.
There are nights where George looks like he’s not an NBA point guard. He doesn’t make the correct reads. He has too many turnovers. He doesn’t shoot well.
Part of this is that he’s a second-year player, and you live with the ups and downs. Part of this is because George hasn’t played point guard full time at any level before playing in the NBA. But, let’s make this clear: George’s NBA position is probably going to be at point guard. That’s the position where his physical size will matter. If you put him at shooting guard, he is small. That lack of size also comes without dynamic athleticism. George’s viability as an NBA starter probably depends on this experiment working.
The Jazz are giving the experiment every latitude to succeed or fail. It’s a mixed bag right now. He’s averaging nearly six assists per game, almost 1.5 assists better than his rookie season. That’s good. He’s shooting 39 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range. Those numbers are identical to his rookie season. That’s not good. They need to improve. He’s averaging 3.3 turnovers per game. That number is way too high. It probably needs to come down to the two-per-game range.
There are nights where George combines a terrific tool set of shot making and ability off the dribble, and there are nights where he looks unplayable. He’s averaging 16 points per night, which is also good. He’s been a very mixed bag defensively, and to Hardy’s credit, he refuses to hide George on that end. A few weeks ago, when the Los Angeles Lakers hunted him on every possession down the stretch, Hardy allowed George to wither on the vine. Since that night, George’s defense has been significantly better. Or, at least the effort has.
George has a tough job, but he’s tough and resilient at his core and competitive, almost to a fault. It’s kind of why the Jazz aren’t afraid of putting a lot on him.
But there is another reason: With high level point guards such as Egor Demin, Dylan Harper and Nolan Traoré looming as possible top-five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Jazz truly need to know whether George is their franchise point guard. For the Jazz, and for George, there is a lot at stake for the remainder of the season.
(Photo of Walker Kessler and John Collins: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
