This offseason could come with a bit of change for the Utah Jazz.
With cap space, picks, and friendly contracts on hand, this team could have the means to make a big splash down the line this summer.
Danny Ainge made the team’s intentions clear during his end-of-season-presser where he noted the Jazz’s plan to be “big-game hunting” and going all-in for the right opportunity.
Still, with change looming, there are a few players on this Jazz roster who look very unlikely to be on their way out anytime soon.
Utah needs a few pieces around the edges to start competing at a high level, but they have a few cornerstones already uncovered who should be in their long-term plans for the foreseeable future, and likely gaining untouchable status.
And while many may see star forward Lauri Markkanen as the team’s most difficult player to deal for, some see the landscape of this team differently.
In a recent piece discussing each team’s most untouchable player going into the summer, Bleacher Report‘s Zach Buckley named rookie Keyonte George as the guy Utah shouldn’t even think of trading rather than Markkanen.
“It could be a while before this club competes at a high level, so it’s hard to imagine Markkanen, who turns 27 later this month and needs a new (massive) deal by next summer, is completely off the table,” Buckley said.
“It’s even harder to see a scenario in which it would benefit Utah to trade away Keyonte George.
The 20-year-old had some dazzling moments as a live-dribble scorer and table-setter as a rookie, but he also shot just 39.1 percent overall and 33.4 percent from range.
George’s future could be incredible, and his present form is just raw enough that potential trade partners might not want to pay top dollar in a deal.”
All signs up to this point have shown the Jazz’s strong unwillingness to ship Markkanen in a potential deal, but a few rumors have seeped through, putting the All-Star’s future in Salt Lake City into question.
The same can’t be said for George, who’s fresh off a stellar rookie campaign with averages of 13.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and4.4 assists a night.
Regardless of whether an extension or a trade is the result for Markkanen, the plan for the Baylor product to be the guard of the future for this team has yet to waver in the process.
