Eric Walden: Handing out some Utah Jazz summer league report cards

Salt Lake City Summer League is over, and now the Utah Jazz are headed out to Vegas for another five games.

But first, let’s assess how some of the more prominent members of the team’s summer league roster (one sure-fire rotation guy, the rookies, perhaps an end-of-roster player or two, and the trio of two-way contract signees) performed in their games.

The grades are some combination of pure production and performance relative to expectation. So then, time to hand out some report cards — no parent/guardian signature required. In alphabetical order:

Ochai Agbaji

Very clearly, the second-year Kansas product was the team’s player with the highest expectations in Salt Lake City. And he showed myriad signs of fleshing out some of the leaner parts of his game. Still, not everything went swimmingly — offensively, he was mediocre as the on-ball initiator, and his shot simply wasn’t falling on higher volume; defensively, he was waaaaay too handsy. His entire Game 2 — 6-for-17, with 10 fouls, and a 0-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio — was a bit yikes.

Grade: B-

Vernon Carey Jr.

Could the trade of Damian Jones open the door for the former Duke star? I’ll confess, when he arrived, I didn’t really view him as having much of an NBA future. And in his fist game, he was pretty rough — 4-for-11 shooting, and a minus-14. Then again, he had an honestly good second game — 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, six boards, and some solid switching defense. But Thursday was again pretty meh.

Grade: B-

Keyonte George

It’s fair to say he’s been perhaps better than expected, given the concerns surrounding him coming out of Baylor. His shot selection was pretty restrained, he competed defensively, and he willingly set up teammates rather than calling his own number all the time. In terms of things to work on, he’s still not an ideal on-ball initiator, and he struggles to contain drives right at him.

Grade: A-

Joey Hauser

When you’e getting an opportunity because you’re regarded as an absolutely elite shooter (41.6% over his four-year college career, including 46.1% as a senior), struggling to make shots against summer league competition (he did hit a few Thursday) is not terribly encouraging. He avoids a worse fate here because he at least was active otherwise in Game 1, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Grade: C-

Taylor Hendricks

The No. 9 pick missing all three SLC games is a bit curious. He noted at his introduction that he’d tweaked his hamstring during a predraft workout, but on the day he was officially introduced, he said he felt “amazing” and that he’d just wrapped up an on-court workout. So there is no apparent reason for long-term concern — seems like the medical team is just being cautious for now. If he doesn’t play in Vegas, though …

Grade: Incomplete

Johnny Juzang

After sitting out the first game with an injury, Juzang was back for the second night, but once again displayed the problem that relegated him to a two-way deal to begin with, despite a decorated collegiate career — he just cannot get separation against professional defenders. That makes him largely limited to catch-and-shoot situations, and he’s simply not elite with that skill.

Grade: C

Micah Potter

Yes, it was fun to watch him roughing up the rail-thin Chet Holmgren. But then he just didn’t have enough offensive tools to capitalize as a result. As a 25-year-old two-way player, he’s simply a bit underwhelming: he’s not a consistent scoring threat, he offers no rim protection, and while he is a willing passer, he too frequently makes poor decisions.

Grade: C-

Luka Samanic

The lethargy at the end of the first game was bizarre, but there was zero sign of that by the next matchup, as he imposed his will offensively in a dominant first quarter. He was aggressive again against Memphis. You can see the improvement made in his ability to put the ball on the floor, and if his shot mechanics stay consistent, he’s an outside threat. If he can do a bit more defensively, he could potentially stick on the roster.

Grade: B+

Brice Sensabaugh

We knew when he was drafted that he was recovering from an undisclosed knee surgery, but that general manager Justin Zanik said the medical team expressed no concerns. When the Ohio State wing was asked during his official introduction if he’d be playing in Summer League, he was presciently noncommittal. We’ll see if he gets on the court in Vegas.

Grade: Incomplete

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