New Utah Jazz Strategy Blends Youth Development With Veteran Guidance

We get it.

This Utah Jazz season it’s all about youth and individual results rather than full blown wins and losses.

Seeing young players develop and take that next step is the most essential thing this year as the Jazz lay the foundation of what someday may be a competitive basketball team.

After all, that’s partly why they shipped away John Collins and Collin Sexton right?

That’s a likely reason on why Jordan Clarkson was bought out, we would imagine.

The veterans went elsewhere so the youngsters could come out and play with unlimited access to minutes and opportunities.

So why in the world would the Jazz bring back Georges Niang?

The three point shooting specialist was a fan favorite during the Donovan Mitchell/ Rudy Gobert era for the Jazz, lovingly dubbed the “minivan”.

Niang spent 4 seasons in Utah and his last, the 2020-2021 year, saw the Jazz go 52-20 in a Covid shortened season with a first place finish in the Western Conference.

That season Niang averaged 6.9 PPG while shooting nearly 43 percent from downtown while taking almost 4 threes a game.

Since then he’s spent time in Philadelphia and Cleveland with a quick trip to Atlanta last season where he put up 12.1 points a night on 41.3 percent shooting from distance.

Niang has helped teams win ball games the past handful of seasons, no questions asked.

So when Boston decided to trade him as quickly as they got him in a cost-cutting move, why would Utah be the one to welcome back an old friend in their current state?

They aren’t built to win games right now, they don’t need a bench guy to come in and provide a spark, they don’t need depth.

And while more draft capital never hurts the Jazz, Niang didn’t seem like the guy for Utah to claim.

But they did.

Because all though they don’t need a glue guy or a sharpshooter or someone to fill minutes, they do need a veteran presence, and Niang has become a really good one.

No meaningful youth movement can really take place without a somewhat reasonable veteran presence.

Ask the 2022 Houston Rockets how big of a difference to the teams outlook and growth a few veterans can make.

And although you had vets in Collins, Sexton and Clarkson, you would have a harder time finding ways to keep them off the floor.

The new crew of veterans, guys like Jusuf Nurkic and Kyle Anderson and now Niang won’t require quite the same accommodations, blending the new with the old in solid fashion.

Not to mention, players like Clarkson, Sexton and Collins needed the ball in their hand quite often, taking away touches and opportunities for the youth whereas none of the new trio is ball dominant.

For example, Jordan Clarkson attempted 13.3 shots per game last year, Kyle Anderson put up 5 a night.

That’s 8 shot attempts given to a younger player while still holding a vet presence.

John Collins was good for 13 or more attempts every game, Nurkic hasn’t attempted double digit shots since 2021, going for 7.3 last year.

Niang in his career has attempted 6 shots a game, Sexton was dang near 14 shots a night last year.

So to sum it up, old veterans needed shots, new veterans do not.

It works better without losing the leadership element or worrying about putting the ball in anyone's hand except those within the flow of Will Hardy’s system.

Not to mention, Utah has a lot of prove it type of players.

The Jazz have multiple guys who are unproven and young without a clear path forward in the association.

Niang enters the scene as someone who was given nothing and had to earn his keep.

A two-way player to start his tenure in Utah, Niang stayed the course, kept his head down and went from appearing in 9 games played in 2017 to 59 the next season to 66 his 3^rd year in Utah while averaging double digit minutes for the first time in his career.

He knows what it’s like to be counted out or slept on.

He knows what it takes to find success with odds against you.

And he knows how to seemingly improve his game each and every year.

He may not be a star or a dominant player, but if some of the younger Jazz players can learn about the “minivan” way, their careers can only improve.

So in my opinion, this a solid acquisition for Utah and one that makes more sense than people are giving it credit for.

Let the Minivan lose in the streets of Salt Lake City once again.