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Will this year be the year the Utah Jazz grab their last few young pieces of the future before making another run for the NBA Playoffs?
The Jazz did not make the postseason for the first time since last year's 2015-16 season. They traded guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a multitude of young players and draft picks.
Guards Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji, who were part of the trade that sent Mitchell to Cleveland, will be under contract for the Jazz next season. Center Walker Kessler, the No. 22 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, took a spot on the All-Rookie First Team with Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams, Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin. Center Damian Jones is listed with a player option for the 2023-24 season.
Utah will have the No. 9, No. 16 and No. 28 selections to work with in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Jazz could select UCF forward Taylor Hendricks at nine and Metropolitans 92 forward Bilal Coulibaly at No. 16 before moving on to guard selections at No. 28, or they can choose a guard at No. 16 before taking a forward at 28. With guards Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker on player options, the Jazz may want to add another player at the shooting guard earlier in the draft in case either one of the two guards chooses to decline their option by their June 29 deadlines.
If they were to go for Hendricks and a guard, who could the Jazz be able to take with their final selection in Thursday's draft? And how would he fit in with a blossoming roster looking to build a new era in Utah basketball under head coach Will Hardy?
The Jazz will select Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lewis at No. 28
No team can ever have enough scoring off the bench.
Utah's reserve unit earned an offensive rating, a stat that measures a team's points scored per 100 possessions, of 57.9, according to NBA.com. They took 10th place in the NBA during the regular season, taking spots over the Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks. Sexton ended the 2022-23 season with an average of 14.3 points per game in 48 games played and 15 starts last season, while guard Malik Beasley finished with an average of 13.4.
Lewis, a 6-foot-7-iinch forward from Pepperdine, would be a great pick to add an extra scoring punch off the bench if the Jazz have addressed their more glaring needs earlier in the draft. He saw his scoring improve from 11 to 17.1 points per game during his two seasons with the Waves. He kept steady averages of 45.4% from the field and 35.6% from the 3-point line. Lewis played and started in 31 games for Pepperdine last year.
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“In 26 years as a head coach, I've never seen a player improve as much as he has from the first day on campus until now,” Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar said, via NBADraft.net. “He's made the biggest jump of anyone I've ever coached.”
The former 4-star forward gave a straightforward response when asked how he would describe his game in a one-on-one interview with the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
“I make shots,” Lewis said, via the Pacers. “Off the dribble, catch and shoot. I'm really athletic. Maybe I might do a one-foot windmill every now and then after a fastbreak. I like to play defense. Do a little bit of everything. Just be a leader and just be a good teammate.”
Having a player like Lewis could relieve some scoring stress from the bench squad if forward Rudy Gay opts out of his player option. He said he felt his strength was making shots off the dribble during an interview with HoopsHype NBA writer Michael Scotto earlier this month.
“I think my strength is making shots off the dribble,” Lewis said, via HoopsHype. “I've gotten a lot better coming off the pick-and-roll and making reads. I can pull up or hit the roller. I've paid attention to details. I think what I need to work on is being an even better defender. I got better in the past two and a half months since my last game.
“It's about getting up more on guys and picking up from half-court consistently. I've tried to have more of a winning mindset by watching a lot of film. I also want to be more of a team player. I know I'm not going to be the main guy on whatever team I go on. It's about doing all the little things.”
