3 Way-Too-Early 2024 NBA Draft Prospects for Jazz Fans to Keep Eyes On

One thing the Utah Jazz have at a luxury across the next five years is draft capital. Last year's blockbuster trades to send out All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell allowed the Jazz to take on a ton of first-round picks, positioning Danny Ainge and this Utah front office right next to the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of the best-set teams for the future.

The lone hiccup for the Jazz comes next offseason when Utah only has one first-round pick at their disposal (their own). If the Jazz make the play-in tournament, the pick falls out of Utah’s possession, as prior pick protection would put that selection in the hands of the Thunder.

The top-10 pick protection stems from a 2021 trade involving the salary dump of Derrick Favors, a deal in which they received a sole 2027 second-rounder in return. Looking back, it can be a trade fans may consider a poor or short-sighted move from the front office, but the team nonetheless has to now deal with the undesirable cards at hand.

On the bright side, this does make the Jazz scouting process much more simple than this offseason's. If the Jazz do end up with a selection in this year’s draft, it’ll be with a top-10 selection. Utah would be able to focus on the top of the board to find yet another franchise-cornerstone prospect.

However, unlike the 2023 NBA Draft, there is not quite a prospect on the level of Victor Wembanyama. Heck, scouts might even tell you there is not even a Scoot Henderson in this draft. Still, these young players will inevitably improve within the next year, which can potentially give a much-needed boost to their stock. Just like any draft, there are always a few solid first-rounders that come as a result.

With that, there are a few early names for the Jazz to keep an eye on entering the next draft. There is lots of size and versatility at the top of this board, and we know the Jazz have had a ton of emphasis on adding some of that to the current roster.

Here are three way-too-early prospects to keep an eye on for the Jazz in the 2024 NBA Draft:

3. Tyrese Proctor, 6-5 PG, Duke Blue Devils

One of the biggest concerns NBA fans and critics will have about the current Jazz roster comes down to a lack of elite point guard play. After February’s trade deadline to send Mike Conley to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Jazz have yet to truly find a comparable replacement to him.

The lack of a traditional point guard may be all a part of Danny Ainge and Will Hardy’s plan, but if the Jazz struggle enough to be a top-10 pick next season, it would be fair to assume adding playmaking and guard depth would be a strong emphasis come next offseason. This creates the perfect storm for the Jazz to target Tyrese Proctor come the 2024 draft.

He fits the recent Jazz requirements of possessing the needed size and length to play multiple positions, is a threat on both ends of the floor, and fits the need of being a high-level on-ball playmaker. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (subscription required) had some strong words about Proctor’s game entering his second season for the Blue Devils:

"But by the time mid-January rolled around, I thought Proctor was Duke’s best perimeter player and one of the better two-way guards in the country. He averaged 11 points and 4.2 assists versus only 1.8 turnovers while shooting 37 percent from 3 and 87 percent from the line, in helping Duke to a 15-5 record. Proctor is a pick-and-roll maestro who can pull up from 3, get to his midrange from a variety of different angles and throw every pass in the book. On top of that, he’s a really tough point-of-attack defender who processes the game exceptionally well. I’m a believer in him turning into a starting NBA point guard."

Of course, it’s early, we have a whole season of college basketball ahead of us, but when it comes to point guard play in next year’s draft, there may not be a better option out there than Tyrese Proctor.

2. Matas Buzelis, 6-10 SF, G-League Ignite

Many scouts tout Buzelis as the potential best prospect in this class. He has a lot of aspects to his game that any GM would love to take a swing on in the NBA Draft. He has great size at 6-10, great athleticism, and all of the upside in the world to become a great player in the league.

However as expected, he comes along with a few flaws, given that very few 18-year-olds are coming in as a fully polished product. While most of the offensive game is all there, the defensive ability Buzelis brings needs a bit of tweaking if he wants to have a lengthy career in the NBA.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had this to say about Buzelis, who looks to enter the NBA’s G-League Ignite next season:

Buzelis is probably the highest-upside player in the 2024 NBA Draft class if everything goes right for him in the G League. His mix of tools is ridiculous for a teenager. He’s a 6-foot-10 athlete who can run the floor like a guard, attack off the bounce and finish above the rim with ease...

Why is he not ranked as the top player? There’s a lot of unnecessary stuff in his game that he needs to cut out. His decision-making can be questionable; while he made real strides in this respect last year at Sunrise, his flair for the dramatic definitely can lead to unnecessary turnovers...defense is a real issue right now, especially on the ball....Buzelis has immense upside, but needs to work on his offensive consistency and decision-making, and he needs to be more reliable at sitting down and defending consistently."

With lots of time to go until next June’s NBA Draft, Buzelis will have a fantastic opportunity to develop in the Ignite program alongside many other incoming prospects.

1. Justin Edwards, 6-8 SF, Kentucky Wildcats

When it comes to an early projected number-one selection in the draft, Justin Edwards may just be the leader in the clubhouse right now. A projected dangerous two-way threat, Edwards will have all the opportunity you would want to develop effectively under Kentucky coach John Calipari. After coaching four first-round picks over the past 16 seasons, it's fitting to add another to his resume.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic continued on his scouting report to say this about his number-one ranked prospect:

"He consistently plays hard and has excellent feel for the game. Defensively, he’s all sorts of versatile and plays with attention to detail across the board. I think Edwards’ offensive craft is a touch further along at this point than [Ron] Holland’s. His jumper is a bit cleaner, and his drives are a bit more straightforward toward the rim...I buy him being a bit more polished than some of these other guys, capable of playing well on both ends of the floor at an important position of value (a combo three/four) and especially able to drive toward the rim."

You can almost see shades of Taylor Hendricks with a player like Edwards. Adding another two-way forward to the Jazz could give Will Hardy’s coaching staff a plethora of dangerous defensive lineups that the NBA will have trouble keeping up with.

With virtually an entire calendar year to go until the next NBA Draft is underway, the Jazz will have plenty of time to look into the league’s prospective newcomers. Still, these are a few interesting players to look into as the next season of basketball gets going.

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