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Who will be a starter for the Jazz two years from now?

Who will be a starter for the Jazz two years from now (in 2026/27)?

  • Walker Kessler

    Votes: 9 20.0%

  • Taylor Hendricks

    Votes: 17 37.8%

  • Keyonte George

    Votes: 33 73.3%

  • Brice Sensabaugh

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Cody Williams

    Votes: 35 77.8%

  • Isaiah Collier

    Votes: 2 4.4%

  • Kyle Filipowski

    Votes: 5 11.1%

  • Johnny Juzang

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    45
J

jazznik

Well-Known Member
The Jazz have a bunch of young players. Who do you think will pan out and be a starter in the 2026/27 season (when, I hope, the Jazz will be done with the rebuild and try to compete again)? I limited the selections to three, since, realistically, two other starting spots will be taken by someone else (Lauri, someone the Jazz will trade for, someone from the future drafts etc.). Of course, you can select less than three.

You can also name your selections - it will be fun in 27 months to look back and see who was the best at divining the future.
 
George, Cody, Walker

Who knows with DA making moves though. Walker might not make it 2 years. Also if we have vets on the team do the still play over young raw talent? Is 2 years enough for coach?
 
jazznik said:
I think it is for Hardy (and I don't think we will have a new coach soon). He started Kessler and Keyonte in their rookie seasons.
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Hardy is in a too much comfortable situation. No pressure or need to win. Too much upstairs responsibility. Too much youth, no time frame. Just too easy even for himself.
 
Next off season will be very interesting. We are likely going to have a bunch of reasons to try and be bad again, but how long can we really try and be bad with Lauri?
 
Got to think Lauri and whoever is drafted in 2025, assuming they are a top 5 pick, are going to be certain starters.

Then got to think Keyonte/Williams are starters because they are the two most talented young players the Jazz have.

The wildcard is Kessler because there is no other clear starter next to Lauri on the team at the 5. Would Cooper Flagg's defensive ability allow him and Lauri to be starters without a traditional defensive big. Maybe Hendricks would get the nod over Kessler if that's the case.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Got to think Lauri and whoever is drafted in 2025...
...assuming they are a top 5 pick...
...Would Cooper Flagg's defensive ability allow him and Lauri to be starters without a traditional defensive big.
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that-escalated-quickly-300x300.jpg
 
Johnny Juzang fo sho.

All kidding aside thats a great list to stare at. I can see most of them turning into starter+ guys, but its hard to tell which ones will fail that expectation.

Brice is the only guy who I dont see turning into a starter in 2 years. Maybe thats too soon for the 2024 class as well. Even Juzang has an outside shot at solidifying himself as a capable 3&D guy in that timespan and we sure could use those.

I put my money on Key, who we already know can beat NBA defenders and Taylor+Cody because of their projected ceiling.

Lame answer, I know, but I'm low on hot takes atm.
 
Great question. Keyonte is most likely and I would say probable. Cody and Kessler would be my most next likely, I’d put both of them around 50/50. Kessler has a decent chance of being traded, but if he’s here I think he’s a probable starter.

Hendricks is the only other player I would not be shocked by….but I think his chances are below 50% atm.
 
I was afraid that someone would complain why I limited the number of starting positions for our young players to no more than three. "I see 4 or even 5 of young players starting by then!" But in reality , by now 22 voters cast only 50 votes, so most of them probably picked only two players. So, people on Jazzfanz are not completely carried away by the prospects/potential of our rookies.

I also think that this upcoming season will be crucial for Walker. Kessler needs to perform on the level of his rookie season or even higher to avoid the team giving up on him as a long-term piece. Also, looking at the players that we expect to become starters ( and, assuming that this sentiment is shared by the front office) it looks that the Jazz need to focus on finding a quality PG in the 2025 draft. And there are several. I just feel that even if Kessler underperforms again finding a starting center is much easier in the NBA.
 
FWIW, Hendricks makes a reasonable 5th starter given his rebounding, shooting and fairly versatile defense. He also doesn't need too many touches on offense.

Check out the length of a lineup like this: Demin / Williams / Dybantsa / Markkanen / Hendricks
 
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I think the FO has demonstrated more confidence in Key than any other young player, but just to play devil's advocate....look at how quickly things have changed for some young players. Kessler got put in the dumps last year, Ochai "Untradeable" Agbaji was untradeable until he was a throw in, and THT won the starting job over Sexton/Dunn/Key etc. All that happened in a shorter time span than the one proposed in this thread. Key is the golden child right now, but he'll need to play well to keep that status.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
FWIW, Hendricks makes a reasonable 5th starter given his rebounding, shooting and fairly versatile defense. He also doesn't need too many touches on offense.

Check out the length of a lineup like this: Demin / Williams / Dybantsa / Markkanen / Hendricks
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The Jazz trying to tank for 2027 draft with this lineup?

Maybe, MAYBE, you can do a non-traditional 5 around Flagg, but you cant do it around Taylor freaking Hendricks lmfao.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
The Jazz trying to tank for 2027 draft with this lineup?

Maybe, MAYBE, you can do a non-traditional 5 around Flagg, but you cant do it around Taylor freaking Hendricks lmfao.
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See if Hendricks bulks up and can play some minutes at the 5. I think he's more likely to play there than at the 3. Lauri is ultimately a 4.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
See if Hendricks bulks up and can play some minutes at the 5. I think he's more likely to play there than at the 3. Lauri is ultimately a 4.
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There's more to being a 5 than just having the size (which I dont think Hendricks even has enough of). You have to be incredibly cerebral and be able to QB the defense. I think Hendricks is a nice defensive talent, but more as a perimeter defender who can make some transition plays and some help side plays.

Flagg is the guy who can maybe let you unlock that small-ball 5 type stuff because he is that talented on D in every facet.
 
One thing I’d like to see if Filipowski develops is him at the 5 with and Kessler coming off the bench, and in some situations bring in Kessler move Filip to the 4 and Markkanen at the 3. We tried having a traditional 5 rim protector with limited offense and it doesn’t work. I want a center that can do more than rim protect and put backs and ally oops. I’d rather have a team that can defend the perimeter and maybe a weaker defender in the middle than a good rim protector and matadors for defense on the perimeter.

I’d like to see a lineup of

Filip
Markkanen
Williams
A longer type 2
George (I believe in him and think he’s going to be really good offensively)
 
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