Utah Jazz: What Would Be Best For Bryce Cotton

Would it be better for Bryce Cotton if the Utah Jazz didn’t guarantee his contract and he was free agent after the summer?

You bet it would be.

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The way that Cotton has played this summer has made Dante Exum, Raul Neto and Trey Burke all look expendable. The undrafted and undersized point guard from Providence is making a lot of people in Las Vegas take a flyer on his game. After the Summer League concludes Cotton’s going to make an NBA franchise ecstatic if they are able to come to terms on a contract.

The situation in Utah for Cotton is dire. In Salt Lake City it will be difficult to keep Cotton around because of the way that their team has been constructed. The roster already has two young point guards in Exum and Burke, and each of them feel like they should be the starter.

In addition to Exum and Burke, it also didn’t help Cotton’s chances of landing a guaranteed contract because of the recent signing of Neto. The point guard who hails from Brazil is a bit of a mystery to most casual NBA fans but he’s played basketball on the highest level representing Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, as well as being named the 2013 Adidas Eurocamp MVP.

Neto was traded to the Jazz after being selected No. 47 by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2013 NBA Draft.

That signing looked like the nail in the coffin for Cotton’s time in Utah. Even though Cotton’s time playing for the Jazz might come to an impending close, thanks to his showing during summer league his basketball career is far from finished.

*** In a few years we might be saying that the Neto signing over Cotton might be one of the most foolish moves that Utah’s made in recent years. Cotton’s that good.***

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There hasn’t been many mistakes when it comes to roster construction for Utah under the guidance of general manager Dennis Lindsey. However, if Lindsey doesn’t find a way to keep Cotton on the roster and to give him playing time after the numerous performances that we’ve seen him have over the summer it would be a complete travesty. It would one be one of the most glaring mistakes that Lindsey’s made during his tenure as the general manager.

On paper it looks like Cotton is the second coming of LeBron James. According to the stats on NBA.com, the H erculean numbers that he’s been putting up would have him winning the Summer League MVP.

Cotton’s been one of the most exciting players to watch this summer and he would make an excellent addition to any roster that he’s a part of. The best game from Cotton of the summer came against the Miami Heat in the Las Vegas Summer League where he finished with 28 points, four assists, five rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes.

The point guard was on fire and was bombing away from the court nailing jump shot after jump shot. He even played defense and got a huge open court steal and finish. What’s been the best part of Cotton’s game is the way that he’s been able to take his defender off of the dribble.

Cotton’s quick as a cat and has the athleticism to get into the paint at will to find open teammates or to finish at the rim (which he does exceptionally well for his size) Just fast forward to 1:16 in the video above and see how he maneuvers.

Oh yeah did we mention that the 6’1″ guard has an insane 45-inch vertical leap?

In an interview with Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune, Cotton’s teammate Jack Cooley said this:

"“I think the Jazz are going to try to find a way to keep Bryce on this team. To have a minimum contract point guard that’s that skilled is an extremely precious thing to have. I think the Jazz front office is some of the smartest guys in the NBA. They’ll figure out a way to make that work.”"

Cotton originally signed a multiyear deal with Utah last summer after being called up from the NBA D-League’s Austin Spurs but his contract is not guaranteed.

Even though the contract with Utah might not stick past this summer there should be several teams that should show interest to sign Cotton including the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. Let’s also add the New York Knicks in the mix too. Unless the Knicks want to have Jose Calderon or possibly Alexey Shved (if re-signed) to run point guard (which they shouldn’t) then it would make sense to sign the exciting 22-year-old point guard.

In the large sample size that we’ve seen from Cotton we’ve seen that he has the ability to not only push the tempo and speed the game up but also to make good decisions with the basketball when he does it. Additionally to his ball handling ability Cotton’s also intelligent and understands his role on the court.

Because he’s a scoring point guard, Cotton understands when to look for his own shot and when to distribute to others to score.

With all of the undrafted talent on Utah, if Cotton isn’t on the team it’s going to hurt them more in the long run.

Utah’s been looking for a talented point guard and it’s been sitting under their noses the entire time.

Next: Utah Jazz: Chris Johnson or Jack Cooley?

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Utah Jazz: What Would Be Best For Bryce Cotton?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau | Jul 15, 2015

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