LAIE, Hawaii — What if I told you that in addition to being a great scorer who is out to prove he can be an equally great passer, Keyonte George also possesses the gift of super speed?
And, what if I said that his teammates have been impressed after the first few days of training camp with his ability to see the floor and deliver passes? What if there is already a sense from talking to the Jazz players that George is going to be even more exciting this season than we saw during Summer League?
That would all be pretty great, right? Well. I’m telling you that it’s all true. That’s the word coming out of Jazz training camp this week. Keyonte George is the real deal.
During scrimmages he’s blown past the defense and shown a real ability to finish with finesse through traffic. When the team is told to run, he’s the first one down the court and back. He’s a lot faster than you think he’s going to be.
It hasn’t been forgotten that George comes into the league having posted a negative assist-turnover ration at Baylor, so it meant quite a bit after the first day of training camp when Walker Kessler exclaimed that he didn’t realize George was such a good passer. Kris Dunn and Jordan Clarkson have both left the gym this week praising the rookie’s performance and by all accounts, there’s more to come.
But training camp is not just about George and it’s not just about the rookie players finding their footing on this team. Jazz fans have been clamoring to know more about John Collins and how things have been going for him.
Maybe it’s because Collins’ role was always changing and seemingly diminishing in Atlanta, maybe it’s because of the decrease in production, and maybe it’s because I haven’t watched Collins a lot in person, but I feel like he’s never looked as strong and springy.
From dunking on rookie Taylor Hendricks to rising up for improbable weakside blocks, he’s just so much more athletic than I can remember him being at any point prior to this. And if you’re wondering how his shot looks (after shooting a career-low 29.2% from 3 last season), the basket seems like it’s the size of the ocean right now.
Of course, this is all in practice and we’ll have to see what he looks like when the lights are bright and the games matter, but the early signs are very good.
In the limited time I’ve been able to watch the Jazz run offensive sets and scrimmage over the last few days, one of the people that has really stood out is Ochai Agbaji. After having an incredibly successful end to the 2022-23 season, he doesn’t look like he wasted any time getting back up to speed.
Agbaji is in incredible shape and his understanding of spacing and his timing on backdoor cuts and dives into the lane have been very impressive. While a lot of the conversation surrounding the Jazz has been about the point guard position, Agbaji is not going to let the coaches off easy when it comes to doling out minutes on the wing.
I asked Jazz coach Will Hardy how long it would take before the team would have enough of a sample size to determine who will make up the Jazz’s starting backcourt. He said that while a decision will have to be made by the beginning of the season, a more informed decision would likely be made after roughly the first 20 games.
I expect that both George and Agbaji are going to make those decisions difficult for the Jazz coaching staff.
After three days of intense practices on Oahu’s North Shore, the Jazz will have an “optional shooting day” Friday. That’s NBA shorthand that means the veterans get the day off to enjoy the beach.
The Jazz will be back at it on Saturday before taking on the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Oh, and just one more fun fact before we close things out today — Kelly Olynyk wears his signature backwards hat all throughout practice and said if he could wear it during NBA games, he absolutely would.
