Three questions facing Utah Jazz ahead of 2024-25 season

The Utah Jazz made one big personnel move this summer: Locking up All-Star Lauri Markkanen on a long-term contract extension. Beyond that, the Jazz picked up three more intriguing young players and continued their youth movement.

Now that head coach Will Hardy is signed through 2026-27, here are three other questions for the Jazz this season.

Can Keyonte George be Utah's point guard of the future?

George made the All-Rookie second team in his first NBA season, averaging 13 points, 4.4 assists and 2.5 turnovers. That was a dramatic uptick from his college assist numbers as he delivered only 2.8 assists against 2.9 turnovers in his lone season at Baylor. At the same time, his three-point percentage held at a similar rate — 33.4 percent in the NBA, 33.8 percent in college — despite the NBA three-point line being further back.

George clearly has a ton of potential, though the end of the season saw his numbers take a dive in part because the Jazz were starting three rookies including Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh. But while George has proved he's an NBA player, Utah would love to see him prove that he's an NBA point guard.

The Jazz have a lot of options at the wings from veterans Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton to Sensabaugh and No. 10 pick Cody Williams, along with Markkanen. If George can successfully man the point and run the offense this season, the rest of Utah's roster could fall into place more naturally.

Will Taylor Hendricks grab the starting power forward job?

Hendricks was selected seven spots ahead of George in the 2023 NBA Draft, but he had a less impressive rookie season. While Hendricks has potential as a three-and-D player, thanks to his 37.9 percent shooting from deep, he didn't show a ton of consistency in his first year as a professional.

The 6-foot-9 forward was active defensively as shown by his 0.7 steals and 0.8 blocks in just 21.4 minutes per game. Hendricks may be a raw talent, but he's translated his size and athleticism into making an impact on the defensive end. What he needs to add is some offensive aggression. Hendricks has a decent shooting stroke, but he's very passive on defense as shown by his very infrequent trips to the foul line. Utah needs to see Hendricks, who won't turn 21 until November, stop shying away from contact.

If Hendricks can replace some of his fallaway jumpers and floaters with moves toward the hoop, he'll greatly help this offense. The potential for a Hendricks-Kessler pairing is huge when it comes to rim protection — but it will require more rim attacking from Hendricks.

Can the team find takers for its veterans?

It seems clear that Utah won't be pushing for the playoffs this season, which means that any veterans on the roster are trade bait. Clarkson, Sexton and forward John Collins all have two years left on their deals and none of the three look to be part of the next contending Jazz team.

Sexton might be the most appealing trade asset. Signed for $37.5M for the next two seasons, he dramatically improved his passing last season, jumping from 2.9 assists per game to 4.9. He shot nearly 40 percent from three-point range and 85.9 percent from the line. Advanced statistics loved Sexton. His offensive box plus/minus had him 3.8 points per 100 possessions better than an average player. For a contender, he's a perfect combo guard on the bench to provide instant offense.

Clarkson is owed just over $28M, but his shooting fell apart last season. Three years after he won Sixth Man of the Year, Clarkson isn't providing the same offense. If he starts the season hot, Utah may try to sell high. 

For Collins, his $53M price tag is pretty hefty for a player who seems to be a tweener between the power forward and center spots — not good enough on defense for center, not enough passing for a forward.

For Utah and team president Danny Ainge, the upside is that they have no pressure to sell. Their young roster doesn't have to get rid of salaries so for any trade, Utah will have all the leverage. Getting assets for these veterans could make a big difference when the rest of the roster grows up.