I am wondering if Utah will start Ace Bailey at SG as a rookie. I'd love to see them go out and get a legit starting SG like Quentin Grimes in free agency. However, if they do not ... they appear to have 2 main options:
(1) Go small with two small guards. I Collier and Keyonte George would be the likely starters in this scenario.
(2) Go big and play with two SFs alongside one guard. I Collier the guard. Cody Williams and Ace Bailey the SFs.
G: Isaiah Collier
G: Ace Bailey
F: Cody Williams
F: Lauri Markkanen
C: Walker Kessler
That would be a fun team. Lot of size. Lot of speed. A lack of ball-handling and passing outside of the PG position though. A lack of outside shooting 1 through 3 also.
Still a good young corps to build around. Give them playing time. Let them grow. See what they have to offer.
Keyonte George is 6?4. He?s the same height as Grimes. I?d expect the starting lineup to be Collier, George, Bailey, Markannen and Kessler. Clayton Jr, Sensebaugh, Williams, Flipowski, and Nurkic off the bench.
Yeah but K George is skinny. He is lightweight. He can't defend SGs. He needs to play PG defensively to stay on the court. He is around 190lbs. He is like Anfernee Simons. Too lightweight to defend SGs / needs to play PGs defensively.
Q Grimes has muscle. He is 210lbs. He can defend SGs. Which is good because he doesn't have the handles to play PG.
I?d expect the starting lineup to be Collier, George, Bailey, Markannen and Kessler. Clayton Jr, Sensebaugh, Williams, Flipowski, and Nurkic off the bench.
The guy I forgot all about in Utah was Taylor Hendricks. After that long layoff with injury. I forgot he was even on the team. He was looking good as a rookie. A challenger for the backup PF slot.
Someone good is going to be missing out on playing time. T Hendricks, Filipowksi, Nurkic, maybe Cody Williams. That frontcourt is crowded.
Sensabough is going to have a tough time. He is too slow to play guard. Now they got these 2 young SFs they just drafted in the lottery in back-to-back years ahead of him. He might need to move on to get an opportunity somewhere else. He sure was putting on a show in SL. Maybe someone will step up and put in an offer for him.