The Utah Jazz took a team of potential assets and fringe talent through two Summer League sessions. What can we learn from their performances?
With the allure (and occasional heartbreak) of free agency wearing off, the NBA biosphere, and with it the Utah Jazz, turned its attention to Summer League, where recently drafted rookies as well as other roster hopefuls sought to impress the coaches and general managers that frequented the sidelines.
The Jazz’s roster was headlined by recent 13th overall draft pick Donovan Mitchell, whom Utah traded up 11 spots to get, but it also featured Dante Exum, Tony Bradley and Joel Bolomboy as other players who will likely see time on the roster.
The Jazz started off their campaign by playing host to their own Summer League session, which took place from July 3-6. After winning all three games they played there, they moved on to the bigger stage of the Las Vegas Summer League, where the results were markedly different.
Utah won only one game in Vegas, their consolation matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, but of course, the important takeaways mostly come from individual performance rather than the team’s win-loss record.
With that said, let’s break down the five most important things Jazz fans can take away from their team’s summer league session.
5. The Rest of the Bunch
Aside from the players previously mentioned, Joel Bolomboy is the only other player with a predetermined shot at making the Jazz roster for next year. At 23 years old and having performed well in the D-League last season, you’d expect him to produce a nice showing in Summer League.
However, as he averaged just 6.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 36 percent shooting from the floor, this was not the case. For such an experienced player, it’s disappointing to see such a lack of fundamentals in terms of handling the ball or screening.
The signing of Epke Udoh said a lot about Tony Bradley’s playing time, but it was potentially more of an indictment on Bolomboy. The Jazz now roster four big men ahead of Bolomboy on the depth chart, which is to say he won’t be counted on in any large capacity next year.
As far as non-roster players go, no one really stood out save for Eric Griffin, a 27-year-old journeyman forward currently under contract in Italy. Although his 7.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game averages from Vegas don’t catch the eye, his effort and intensity level impressed the Jazz as well as the other teams watching.
SL over, the Jazz are hoping to sign Eric Griffin to a two-way contract, sources tell The Tribune. Griffin has other NBA interest as well
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) July 15, 2017
Utah has yet to sign anyone to a so-called two-way contract, which allows the player in question to split time between the G-league and the Jazz. Each team is allotted two such deals.
4. Williams-Goss’ Roster Chances
Selected with the 55th overall pick, Nigel Williams-Goss faced an uphill battle in terms of cracking the Jazz’s roster from the outset. Utah rosters three point guards ahead of him in Ricky Rubio, Exum and Raul Neto, so Williams-Goss would need to show the organization a lot this summer to have a shot.
Unfortunately for him, this did not prove to be the case. His playing time fluctuated with the comings and goings of Exum and Mitchell, but his performance was consistent in its un-impressiveness.
Scoring just 29 points over his 126 minutes and making only nine of his 37 field goal attempts, the former Gonzaga floor general just never looked the part of a competent NBA player.
As I laid out in my draft grades, his speed and ability to separate would more or less determine how much success Williams-Goss found at the next level, and the early returns are not good.
Facing constant on-ball pressure for the first time in his career, he struggled just to get the ball past halfcourt at times. With no extra burst of speed to reach for, he had no ability at all to create for himself.
Seeing as how Ricky Rubio provides the Jazz with the facilitation skills that Williams-Goss calls home as strengths, it would be a surprise to see the latter on the roster come next fall.
3. Tony Bradley Taking Steps
As the second of Utah’s draft picks this summer, Tony Bradley has taken a backseat to Mitchell in terms of attention granted him this summer.
Having not seen a ton of court time during his lone season at the University of North Carolina, Bradley is definitely a project player for Utah, as evidenced by the Jazz’s signing of Ekpe Udoh to play backup center.
An elite level-rebounder in college, Bradley continued that trend, performing well on his specialty on the offensive glass. Shooting over 44 percent in both sessions, he was able to finish well on put-backs, keeping the ball high and out of reach of defenders.
He shows an instinctual nose for the ball off the glass, but the rest of his game isn’t as polished yet. The one weapon he has offensively is his midrange jumper, which he didn’t get to showcase often but did bring out from time to time in Vegas.
He’s not a threat as a roller yet, so if he wants to have any shot at immediate offensive impact besides lurking near the restricted area for dump-off looks, he’ll need to be a factor in the pick-and-pop game.
It’s very likely that Jazz fans will see Bradley more with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G-League than with the big club next year.
2. Dante Shows Out
Unless it’s due to injury or other extenuating circumstances, it’s a great sign for a team to end the Summer League session for one of their returning players early, as was the case with point guard Dante Exum.
As one of the more experienced players on the court during the Jazz’s home slate of games at the Utah Summer League, the soon to be fourth-year NBA talent proved quickly to be a level above the competition.
In addition to averaging 20 points over the three games the Jazz played in Utah, which was the second most of any player there, he added on 6.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Considering the talent level of his teammates, it stands to reason that the former number could be higher if he was surrounded by the shooters the Jazz have rostered on the main club.
More encouraging than his counting stats were Exum’s shooting splits. Finishing and outside shooting have been major issues for him throughout his career so far, and the Jazz were looking for improvement in both areas this summer.
His touch around the rim as well as his pick-and-roll maneuvering wasn’t quite elite, but he did shoot 41 percent from behind the three-point line during his stint in Utah. It’s important to remember that he’s still just 22 years old despite his three years on an NBA roster.
1. Donovan Mitchell, Breakout Star
A lot of eyes were on Donovan Mitchell coming into Summer League. For one, the Jazz had unexpectedly traded up in the draft to acquire him, but the franchise was also reeling after Gordon Hayward‘s exit in free agency.
Utah desperately needed a beacon of hope for the future, and if we can forecast Mitchell’s NBA prospects based on his play in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, they now have that in a big way.
Many other prospects have shown flashes at Summer League, but Mitchell has outpaced them all in terms of eye-catching highlight plays, NBA-level athleticism and physical, in-your-face defense.
All told, he averaged 20.4 points per game on respectable — for Summer League — 40 percent shooting. His play caught the most eyes in Vegas, where he went off for a summer-high 37 points, including a whopping eight steals.
As impressive as his offense was, it was on defense where Mitchell really made his mark. Even while being younger than most of the other players on the court, he seemed to be playing at a speed faster than his opposition, routinely darting into passing lanes for steals that turned into breakaway dunks.
Even while going head-to-head against the likes of Markelle Fultz, Jayson Tatum and others, Mitchell still stood out as one of the best prospects on site. Jazz fans should be very excited to watch him next season.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
Jazz basketball will return again for preseason action, which will kick off for Utah on October 10.