Utah Jazz: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
By Mason McFee
Rookie of the Year: Grayson Allen
Grayson Allen was Utah’s lone selection in the draft. While the front office and fans of the Jazz are looking for him to make an impact in his rookie campaign, barring an injury to Ricky Rubio or Donovan Mitchell, Allen won’t be seeing much time on the court.
Instead, Allen could spend a portion of his season playing for the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. Even if Allen spends most of his time with the Jazz, he just won’t be averaging enough court time to be in a position to be considered for the Rookie of the Year award.
Most of the time, the Rookie of the Year award goes to a player that receives a ton of minutes for his club while also putting up gaudy numbers. Allen at most will likely receive 15-20 minutes a game, well short of the type of playing time he’d need to put up ROY-caliber numbers.
This isn’t to say that Allen has no shot at winning the award, it’s just more likely a Marvin Bagley III or Deandre Ayton does.
Odds: Unlikely