Insider Predicts Jazz G Keyonte George's Role in Rookie Year

There’s been a Keyonte George sighting. On Saturday, George was spotted taking in a Baylor football game, where he received the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award before kickoff. Despite the pre-game festivities, Baylor was throttled by No. 3 ranked Texas, 28-6.

🙌 it’s a beautiful day for a @Utah_Football game 🙌#TakeNote | @CollinSexton02 pic.twitter.com/G1KTPYmsp5
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) September 23, 2023

With less than a month before the Utah Jazz start the regular season, it’s still unknown what George’s role will be in Salt Lake City. It’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll be a part of the rotation, but the bigger question will be whether he can take on the responsibility of being Utah’s lead guard. Baylor head coach Scott Drew says it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Keyonte, after coaching him for a year, there’s no doubt he can become a lead guard (in the NBA) if he gets that opportunity and the experience,” Drew told Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune.

“Keyonte, after coaching him for a year, there’s no doubt he can become a lead guard (in the NBA) if he gets that opportunity and the experience.” Baylor coach Scott Drew does a Q&A on Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George. https://t.co/dMkwboqNQq pic.twitter.com/QcURK4dqQj
— tribjazz (@tribjazz) September 22, 2023

George was a pleasant surprise in this year's Summer League. In six total games, the No. 13 overall pick averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 26.4 minutes while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from deep. Certainly, his stellar performance wasn’t enough to lockdown a starting job, but it was enough to raise some eyebrows among NBA insiders across the league. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently took note when evaluating Utah’s 2023 rookie draft class.

“The Jazz really like Keyonte George. They feel though he is the most ready; he looks the best of that rookie class,” MacMahon said. “They want to find out if Keyonte can be a lead guard. Will Hardy would LOVE for Keyonte George to develop into a lead guard,”

Tim McMahon on Utah’s rookies: “The Jazz really like Keyonte George. They feel though he is the most ready; he looks the best of that rookie class.”

“They want to find out if Keyonte can be a lead guard. Will Hardy would LOVE for Keyonte George to develop into a lead guard.” pic.twitter.com/YctB417zGc
— AJ (@AJ3Jazz) September 23, 2023

The Jazz currently have six capable guards who will be battling for minutes at the one and the two. George could be on the outside looking in on being a top offensive option, with Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson having a track record of getting their fair share of shots.

That said, Jazz fans can anticipate a trade at some point this year that could clear the way for the ex-Baylor Bear to get more of the volume needed to become Utah’s lead guard.

Jazz fans will get answers soon enough, with training camp starting on September 27.

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