Former Jazz Coach Predicts Keyonte George's Future

The former Utah Jazz assistant coach pulled out the crystal ball regarding Keyonte George.

The Utah Jazz are approaching the end of season two of their rebuild. The future roster is starting to take shape, but there seem to be more questions than answers at times.

One of the lingering concerns for Utah is what will happen with the point guard position. Keyonte George has shown impressive flashes but also struggled with making shots and taking care of the basketball in his rookie campaign.

Despite the small sample size of what George has done thus far, the question of whether he has it in him to be Utah’s future starting point guard came up when former Jazz assistant coach Gordie Chiesa joined ESPN 700 on The Bill Riley Show.

“No, not long-term, but I do like his game,” Chiesa said. “I think if he plays for the Jazz, he’ll be a combination guard coming off the bench.”

When asked the question, there was a long pause before Chiesa answered. It felt as if the ex-Jazz coach could have gone either way on this one, but eventually, he provided some logic behind his belief.

“I like his talent,” Chiesa said. Again, it’s who you play against. So always, just try to visualize. He's just 20 years old, but can he outplay Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the next 2-3 years long-term? Can he body up on Jamal Murray in the next 3-4 years? Can he outplay the other teams' starting point guards in the NBA?”

From this point of view, the jury is still out on how this story will unfold. George has sometimes looked the part, but being an efficient offensive player has been a struggle.

George has shot 33.9% from long distances and 39.3 % from the field for the year. That is not what you want to see from your starter, especially considering he's also a below-average defender.

George is only 20 years old, and there's still plenty of time to improve. A good way to see how he's trending is to compare him to former Jazzman Deron Williams, who also started his career in Salt Lake City.

The former lottery pick began his career at 21 years of age and didn't reach All-Star status until his fifth year as a pro. Also, entering his rookie year, Williams had three years of college experience, while George had just one.

With Utah still in the infant stages of its rebuild, it would be premature not to let George get at least one more year of live reps before rendering a decision. No other rostered candidates are positioned to take over at the one, and George will be under club control for the foreseeable future.

However, this doesn't mean George is untouchable if a trade presents itself this summer. Jazz CEO Danny Ainge is always looking to upgrade, and where it stands now, bringing in a proven point guard to pair with established veterans Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton is plausible. At the least, it will make for some interesting debates this off-season.

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