One Big Keyonte George Question Still Looms Over Jazz's Offseason

The work that faced the Utah Jazz and their roster heading into this offseason is pretty much complete, for the most part.

They've got a full 15-man roster filled out months away from the regular season, have made a decision on all of their pending free agents, had a successful draft, and brought in a couple of free agents to round out some of their glaring holes.

So the Jazz could very well just sit on their hands by the time the regular season rolls around, and be just fine with how their roster looks. In reality, that outcome is certainly at least in the cards as a possibility.

However, there's still one big question that remains surrounding the Jazz and their future before next season gets underway that's going to get an answer one way or another.

And that revolves around their fourth-year guard Keyonte George: will he get an early extension, or will the Jazz hold off on paying him out until next summer?

Will Keyonte George Get a Rookie-Scale Extension Before the Season?

George can be considered pretty easily the biggest, and most welcomed surprise that the Jazz had on their roster last season–– who went from an intriguing upside bet in Utah's collection of young players to now being a franchise cornerstone the team can build around for several years.

But to do that, the Jazz are going to have to pay up for his services. Without a new deal to come his way, George is bound to hit restricted free agency next summer. He'll be in to get a significant raise his way because of how he's emerged as one of the best young offensive guards around the NBA.

Feb 12, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) warms up before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The questions for the Jazz remain whether they should decide to hand over that payday his way now after one season of high-end production, or opt to wait to see another year of production before they fork over such a high dollar figure for the next several years.

The Pros and Cons of Extending Keyonte George

On one hand, the Jazz can lock in George as a future fixture of this roster early, avoid the risk of seeing his value take another step forward with a strong season in 2026-27, and deter themselves from facing another similar situation that they just saw with Walker Kessler on the restricted free agent market.

On another, there's also an inherent risk with extending that raise to George now instead of waiting. That leaves the Jazz losing financial flexibility earlier, and risks the chance that George doesn't rise up to the same levels he played at last season.

If he proves that he's at all not worth that raise, and Utah's already extended him, things can get tricky for Utah's future pretty quickly.

So that creates a bit of a dilemma for the Jazz front office in the coming weeks. Do they be proactive in giving George what could be over $40 million in AAV by the time the extension kicks in, or should they wait for the situation to play out a bit longer?

Bottom Line

Based on past precedent––the Walker Kessler situation––combined with the steep contracts that the Jazz have on the books as is with guys like Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., there looks to be a better chance that Utah stays patient, rather than to get ahead of things on George's front.

Only time will tell how the front office faces its next big contract. But based on how George took on last season, there's a real case to be made that the Jazz are only prolonging the inevitable by waiting until next summer to put pen to paper. So maybe that deal comes sooner rather than later.

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