The Utah Jazz are working towards the most important draft in team history this month and the selection will come down to either AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. On FanDuel, the odds of AJ Dybantsa going first keep rising and are now at -450. Every rumor seems to confirm this, and so it’s getting very likely that Darryn Peterson will be in a Jazz uniform on June 23rd. Knowing that, how would Darryn Peterson fit with the Jazz and their core of Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Keyonte George, Ace
Bailey, and Walker Kessler?
The first thing to consider is who would actually start? If the Jazz draft Darryn Peterson, they’ll be adding the most highly touted prospect in team history. With how lethal Peterson is shooting the ball both on and off the ball, along with his high-level defensive potential, it’s very hard to see Peterson not starting next season. So what would the starting unit look like with Peterson? Here’s what it will most likely look like.
G: Keyonte George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Lauri Markkanen
F: Jaren Jackson Jr.
C: Walker Kessler
The obvious tough decision here is what to do with Ace Bailey? Bailey showed some incredible potential last season with his shooting. His three-point shot looked better than anyone expected (34.4%), and his mid and short-range game showed some great signs (52.7% from 5-9 feet). The other element of Bailey’s game that showed great potential was his defense. Bailey moved extremely well defensively and rebounded the ball at a high level. If he can show improvement across the board and bring a higher level of defense, it’ll be hard to keep him off the floor. But it won’t be for Darryn Peterson’s position, it’ll more likely be for one of the forward spots. The biggest issues for Utah this coming season will be playmaking and defense. Peterson provides answers for both of those things, a big reason he’ll likely start. If the Jazz decide to make a big change to the starters, it might be Markkanen for Bailey. Although that’s unlikely to be something they’ll have to do for some time, at least next season.
The other thing to consider is that Utah will have a lot of versatility. The Jazz can throw a variety of looks at teams to take advantage of their weaknesses. For example, Utah is going to have a lethal 5-out lineup that will look like this:
G: Keyonte George
G: Darryn Peterson
F: Ace Bailey
F: Lauri Markkanen
C: Jaren Jackson Jr.
This lineup could be thrown into games to either build a lead or come from behind. I have no idea how opposing teams will stop the Jazz from scoring when they roll out this death lineup.
One thing is for sure: the best lineups the Jazz will use will all include Darryn Peterson. He’s the lethal weapon Jazz fans have been waiting for for a long time. He’s the type of tier-1, franchise-altering prospect teams tank for. So how does Darryn Peterson fit with the Jazz core? Easily. The question we should probably be asking is: how does this Jazz core fit what Darryn Peterson will bring?
