It is almost impossible to tell who will be in place for the Utah Jazz once training camp begins at the end of September. The roster will be in a constant state of flux from now until the start of the regular season.
At the same time, several players are heading into critical individual and even career-defining seasons. We identified three of them and analyzed their situations in the space below. The three guys all have differing reasons for what makes this upcoming year so important for them. But, those reasons on a personal level will determine how subsequent years go for the entire Jazz organization.
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There isn’t a guarantee the three we picked will be with the Jazz in September. But, we are making an educated guess that they will at this point. So, without further interruption, we dive into the three players currently on Utah’s roster who we feel have the most to prove in the upcoming season.
Udoka Azubuike
It isn’t hyperbole to suggest this season probably represents Udoka Azubuike’s final opportunity to prove himself as a worthy NBA rotation player and not the punchline of a draft pick that ultimately led to change at the very top of Utah’s front office.
On one hand, Azubuike has had a rough go of it that has bordered into the unfair. Everyone knows the Jazz should have drafted either Jaden McDaniels or Desmond Bane with the pick that became Azubuike. Everyone knows the failure to do so did a lot to lead to the demise of Utah’s current contending window. It was that big a mistake. Azubuike has had precious little opportunity to play because Rudy Gobert played the same position. To make matters worse, Azubuike has had serious durability issues and multiple significant injuries that have halted his progress.
The Jazz may or may not pick up his fourth-year team option in a little over a month. And if they don’t, that means this will be a contract year for the 7-footer out of Kansas. Even if they don’t, and this is assuming the Jazz don’t go and pick up another impact big man, Azubuike has the best path to consistent playing time that he’s had in his career. Right now, the Jazz have him and Walker Kessler on the roster as true centers. That list probably will expand at some point, but even if it does, it probably won’t be someone who is impossible to beat out.
What does Azubuike have to do to make it to his second NBA contract? He’s got to be the defender and rim protector that made him a first-round pick. He has to be in the best physical shape of his career. He’s got to develop as a vertical lob threat. He’s got to rebound the ball at a much better clip.
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If he gets passed up by Kessler, the rookie first-round pick out of Auburn, then it’s safe to say Azubuike’s Jazz career may be in peril. The good news? Sources say Azubuike has worked extremely hard this summer, staying in Salt Lake City and working out at the facility with the coaching staff. He’s someone who has an immense amount of physical tools. But he hasn’t come close to putting it all together, and this is his third year. He’s going into the season healthy. There is, at this moment, playing time available. Circumstances are finally going his way. Whether Azubuike takes advantage is up to him.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Much like Azubuike, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was thwarted by the logjam at his position when the Jazz traded for him at the February deadline. He didn’t get much of an opportunity on a playoff team to make an impact. There were flashes of brilliant play on both ends. But, he just wasn’t going to get much time over people like Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson.
The Jazz are a little more invested in Alexander-Walker because they traded to get him, and this was a Justin Zanik and Danny Ainge trade. Azubuike was a pick of the previous regime, and that does matter. But, there is currently an immense backcourt logjam, and there’s no way to know who’s going to be on the roster once the season starts.
When a team trades a mid-first-round pick, as New Orleans did with Alexander-Walker, before his second season ends, that’s not a great sign for the resume. Alexander-Walker has to show enough between now and next summer when he’s extension-eligible to try and entice the Jazz to want to talk positively about said contract extension.
If the Jazz clean house in the backcourt, Alexander-Walker will get a real opportunity to play major minutes. His upside as a versatile piece is significant. He can play all three perimeter spots. He can make plays off the dribble. He can defend. He’s a good and willing passer. He can run an offense.
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He hasn’t proven he can shoot the basketball. He hasn’t proven he can contribute to winning basketball. He hasn’t proven to have great shot selection. But he’s a smart player and someone who has responded well to coaching in his Jazz tenure. The Jazz like him, and they would like to see him have an opportunity to be a real impact player.
Mike Conley
No, this is not a typo. And no, Mike Conley doesn’t have to prove anything in a traditional sense. He’s Mike Conley. He’s had a terrific basketball career. But, what he does have to prove is that his basketball career still has some gas in the tank. He, along with Mitchell, had major issues defensively with Jalen Brunson in Utah’s first-round loss against the Dallas Mavericks. There were times during the season when the 34-year-old Conley looked exhausted, and he clearly wasn’t the same player he had been in his prime.
Some of that was Conley carrying the Jazz through a brutal January stretch last season. But some of it was that he’s lost some of his quickness. Because of that, there’s a chance he starts the season with the Jazz and not somewhere else. If he is indeed in Utah, he has to show enough for a contender to be enticed to give Ainge a real asset of two to trade for him. If Conley starts the season in Utah, particularly if Mitchell is traded, it would be obvious that Conley would like to be in a true winning situation and that the Jazz would want to prioritize playing the young guys. The better Conley plays at the beginning of the season, if he’s indeed with the Jazz, the better it would be for Conley and the Jazz.
This truth may apply to several veterans. It remains to be seen how many the Jazz can find homes for between now and the beginning of training camp. What’s obvious is that one or more may be with Utah at least at the start of the year.
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(Top photo of Mike Conley: Jeffrey Swinger / USA Today)
