Jazz Made the Right Decision Taking Keyonte George Over Cam Whitmore

Among the many storylines during Thursday's NBA Draft news, the largest might have been how far Villanova wing Cam Whitmore significantly slipped down boards. From being projected as high as 4th overall to the Houston Rockets early into the night, they ultimately did select him.

With the 20th overall pick...

A very steep drop for what many considered having one of the most NBA-ready bodies and profiles guys in the class at just 18 years old. The Utah Jazz had not one, but two chances to take a flier on Whitmore, instead opting to select Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks and Baylor guard Keyonte George. Many fans inevitably questioned why the Jazz would pass on such a special talent. To be fair, it's valid question to have.

However, the Jazz did make the right decision here on both of these picks. The fact that Whitmore fell as many spots, and more specifically, past the teams he did, is extremely telling of how the league viewed him as a prospect. Not only was no team willing to trade assets to move up to select him, but even competitive teams that could use a spark off the bench, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat chose to pass on him too.

There is a reason Cam Whitmore got picked where he was.

John Hollinger of The Athletic had this to report on Cam Whitmore’s stock once unexpectedly dropping to 20th overall:

"Whitmore's medicals were red-flagged by some teams due to concerns about his knees while his workouts and interviews were also underwhelming... One source described Whitmore as "comatose" during the predraft evaluations."

The athleticism and high ceiling were how Whitmore was advertised as a premier prospect, but considering his lacking interviews and workouts, he might not be as ready as scouts initially expected. Subjectively speaking, Hendricks and George project a better fit for the Jazz’s roster construction, and might even be more pro-ready than an 18-year-old Whitmore.

Health concerns are also a glaring issue. Whether the drop was due to previous lower body or thumb injuries, it was apparent enough for Whitmore to drop an unexpected 15 spots. Availability is the most crucial attribute on a basketball court, and the Jazz cannot afford to risk their franchise cornerstone to be in and out of the lineup frequently throughout the year.

This is far from saying Whitmore is a bad player because he could still easily develop into a future All-Star in the league. Still, the Jazz front office reportedly viewed Hendricks and George as the overall 9th and 10th best players on the board (obviously both above Whitmore).

Taylor Hendricks was 9th on Utah's overall big board. Keyonte George was 10th. The Jazz ended up with both of them, mainly because of how the board fell between picks 9 and 16
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 23, 2023

The Jazz having the ability to select two of their top ten guys in the draft is a rare opportunity the franchise had last night. Just because some media scouts saw Whitmore as a top-five talent does not mean the league views it the same way. If they did, we would not have seen every other team in between the 5th and 19th pass on him as well.

While we could look back in a few years and consider how foolish it is to pass on a talent like Whitmore, the Jazz still cleaned up well for this class no matter how Whitmore’s career unfolds. A haul of Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George is nothing to scoff at, considering both project as future long-term starters in Salt Lake City.

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!