Ace Bailey has arrived in Salt Lake City as a member of the Utah Jazz, and he is expected to have a massive impact on the team from the jump. With Utah coming off a league-worst 17-65 record, Jazz brass made the bold decision to select Bailey with the fifth overall pick, and later paired him with another dynamic scorer in Walter Clayton Jr, who helped lead the Florida Gators to the NCAA men’s basketball title. Although the Jazz feature young guards in the backcourt, their most established player is All-Star big man Lauri Markkanen, who is a talented floor-spacer and averaged 19 points per game on 52.1% shooting from the field.
Utah features the duo of Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George as its primary point guards. George was a five-star recruit from Baylor and impressed as a rookie, although he was moved to the bench where he shined in an off-ball role, averaging 16.8 points per game as a sophomore. Collier has grown into his own as the starting point guard, with his uncanny passing ability on full display. He had multiple games with 10 or more assists, leading up to him passing John Stockton’s franchise rookie record of 415 assists in a season.
The Jazz have recently made a big trade, shaking up their lineup. Starting shooting guard Collin Sexton, who was coming off a season where he averaged 18.4% and shot over 40% from downtown, was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for center Jusuf Nurkic.
Jordan Clarkson led the team’s second unit last season, posting 16.2 points per game and shooting 36.2% from three-point range. Ace Bailey will likely move into the starting role at shooting guard at some point during his rookie season, with Clayton Jr. entering the rotation at point guard behind Collier and George.
Lauri Markannen has been the team’s starter at small forward, with John Collins establishing himself as Utah’s starting power forward, averaging 19 points per game last season. At center, Walker Kessler has taken over the center position, averaging 11.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Behind them, Kenyon Martin Jr. and former Duke star Kyle Filipowski hold the reserve power forward and center spots. However, with the addition of Nurkic, Kessler may be on the move, potentially to the Lakers or another contending team.
With the trade of Sexton to Charlotte, the most likely option would see Collier at point guard and Bailey as the team’s starting shooting guard, with Markannen, Collins, and Kessler playing the three taller positions. Perhaps Clarkson would initially start, but the expectation would be that Bailey would find his way into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. Although Markannen’s more natural position is at power forward, with Lauri standing seven feet tall, having Collins in the lineup would likely keep Markannen at small forward, Collins at power forward, and Nurkic as the new starting center.
Rutgers fans can see Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey make their debuts for the Spurs and Jazz in the NBA Summer League. The Spurs will get things started early in the California Classic Summer League with matchups against the Heat, Lakers, and Warriors from July 5-7, while the Jazz will battle the 76ers, Grizzlies, and Thunder in the Salt Lake City Summer League over the same three-day period. Harper and Bailey will face off at the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, as the Spurs and Jazz will clash on July 14th at 8:30 PM on NBATV.