Editor’s note: Third in a three-part series examining what players the Utah Jazz might select in the 2024 NBA draft.
The Utah Jazz have three picks in the 2024 NBA draft — No. 10 and 29 in the first round, and No. 32, the second pick of the second round.
There is a chance the Jazz package the 32nd pick and don’t end up making a selection. But until a deal is done, they have to plan to make a pick, and I have to plan for that, too.
With the combined knowledge of what the Jazz like, who they’ve had in for workouts, what the team needs and the time I’ve spent learning about the different prospects, here are five players I think the Jazz should target with the No. 32 pick:
Enrique Freeman | Akron | senior | 6 feet, 7.25 inches
I have written extensively about Enrique Freeman. He is exactly the type of player that teams should be taking a chance on with a later pick.
He was a late bloomer that wasn’t on the NBA radar going into college. In fact, he was at school on an academic scholarship, reffing intramural games his freshman year at Akron before he had a growth spurt and decided to try out for a walk-on spot for Akron’s men’s basketball team. Over the last few years, he has slowly and methodically turned himself into an NBA prospect.
His work ethic, defense and his body are reason enough to take a chance. But he’s also turned himself into a shooter (hitting 37.7% from deep in his senior season) and been working more on expanding his creation game on the perimeter while leading the NCAA in rebounds for the season.
There is no reason to think that he can’t improve. Based on the evidence that we have, we should believe that Freeman is going to be able to anything that is asked of him.
Dillon Jones | Weber State | senior | 6 feet, 4.5 inches
With a second-round pick, why not take a chance on the local guy?
Dillon Jones went from being a fringe draft prospect at best in 2023, to getting some real love at the combine and throughout his predraft workouts this year. Let’s say that he spends a lot of time in the G League and doesn’t pop right away, but that there’s a chance he could turn into a good role player for the Jazz. Feels like taking a guy who played great at Weber State would be an incredible business decision at that point. He comes with a built-in fanbase!
In addition to the marketability of Jones, he also has a really well-rounded game and has improved in nearly every metric over the course of his collegiate career. He has a great handle and is an effort defender and he isn’t afraid of driving through contact because he’s really savvy at drawing fouls, scoring and then capitalizing at the free throw line.
He would have to learn how to play without the ball, cut down on turnovers and understand not being the No. 1 option, but he’s a dedicated worker who loves basketball and is always looking for ways to get better.
Jonathan Mogbo | San Francisco | junior | 6 feet, 6.25 inches
Another late bloomer, Jonathan Mogbo worked his way up from junior college and through a number of different schools before eventually landing at the University of San Francisco.
Though he didn’t get a ton of national attention being at USF, he really popped onto the radar for NBA scouts because of how versatile and smooth his game is. When watching the way he was used as a handler in pick-and-roll while operating as big in college, he reminded me a lot of Kelly Olynyk. He doesn’t have the same height and he doesn’t have the 3-point shooting ability, but he has the savvy and understands timing that allows him to be a bit of a Swiss Army knife.
But he’s also really, really athletic and explosive and plays a lot bigger than his 6 feet, 6.25 inches (without shoes). He had the third most dunks in the country this past season. He has a good handle, is a good defender and has a lot of potential.
Baylor Scheierman | Creighton | senior | 6 feet, 6.25 inches
If you’re looking for a safe bet with this pick, Baylor Scheierman is a no-brainer.
He played three seasons at South Dakota State before transferring to Creighton and he improved every year and ended his career with a monster of a season. He’s a great shooter, hitting 38.1% from 3-point range on a high volume of shots, he’s a three-level scorer and incredible wing rebounder (averaging nine rebounds per game), is a smart passer and puts in a ton of effort on the defensive end.
He’s going to need to improve his body and conditioning to last through an NBA season and get faster on defense, and he’s going to have to learn how to operate a little more without the ball in his hands, but he’s got a lot of potential to step into a legitimate role player spot in the NBA.
Nikola Djurisic | Mega MIS, Serbia | 6 feet, 7 inches
Who says the Jazz need to draft someone and bring them into the fold right away? Nikola Djurisic is a player that they could draft-and-stash and allow to develop a little while longer before they bring him over.
But even if they did decide to keep Djurisic stateside, he has a ton of upsides and seems to be consistently improving. He’s wildly explosive and really good with the ball in his hands. With his size, he’s an ideal secondary playmaker who has a lot of experience running pick-and-rolls and creating for teammates.
Though he doesn’t have the greatest career shooting numbers, as last season progressed, he shot better and better and seemed to shoot even better as the pressure and stage of the games increased, shooting 46% from 3 over the final 10 games of the season.
His mother was a professional volleyball player and father was a professional soccer player, so it’s impressive and interesting that he chose basketball. But he’s been on NBA radars since he was just 15 years old. He just turned 20 and still has a lot to improve on, but he’s a great player to take a chance on.