Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Trey Lyles
By Adam Coffman
Moving Forward
Lyles has two years left on his rookie deal, which includes a club option set to take place in 2018-19. After that, he’ll become a restricted free agent, assuming the Jazz provide his qualifying offer that summer.
He’s under team control for a long period of time should the Jazz wish, so it’s definitely in their best interest to develop and include him into their long-term plans.
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As far as the roster goes, Lyles was buried underneath Derrick Favors, Boris Diaw, Joe Johnson and others on the depth chart this season.
It’s very likely that Diaw and possibly Favors will not be on the team next season, so the opportunity for Lyles to increase his role should become larger.
Of course, this offseason will also bring in at least two new rookies to Utah through the 2017 NBA Draft.
Lyles won’t be forgiven for his struggles under the name of development for much longer.
His first priority should be straightening out his three-point shooting. Even if the rest of his skills remained at his present levels, his value would be upped tremendously if he were even a 38 percent shooter from long range.
There’s a lot of work to be done, but the Jazz shouldn’t be ready to give up on Trey Lyles just yet.
Next: Utah Jazz - 5 options for pick No. 24 in 2017 NBA Draft
We’ll recap the seasons of the rest of the Jazz roster over the weeks to come.