The Utah Jazz were dealt a huge blow earlier this offseason when their point guard, Dante Exum, tore his ACL and required surgery that would keep him out for this entire season. Since the injury the Jazz have been reportedly looking for a point guard via trade or overseas including Garrett Temple and Marcelo Huertas but neither of those plans panned out. Now it is being reported that the Jazz are content to let the point guards currently on the roster battle it out for playing time, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Laker Tribune.
Exum took over as the starter in the middle of last season even though his offensive game wasn't very good because he was their best option defensively. Utah's starting lineup has plenty of scoring options without the point guard filling it up so they will likely give the spot to the guy who sees the floor the best and can defend opposing point guards.
The three options currently on the Jazz roster are Trey Burke, Raul Neto, and Bryce Cotton. Burke is the most likely of the three players to get the first crack at starter's minutes because he is entering his third season in the league and has started 111 games over his first two seasons. Burke is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign where he averaged the same amount of points as he did his rookie year (12.8) but his shooting percentages went down (37 percent from the field, 32 percent from three.) At his best Burke is a dynamic scorer who could put points on the board in a hurry but he struggles defensively.
Neto is a guy the Jazz really like because they believe he will be a plus defender in the NBA and he is also the best passer of the group. Neto will be entering his rookie season in the NBA but has played against top competition overseas so the Jazz don't view him as a regular rookie. The 23 year old Brazilian may be the guy they ultimately go with in the long run because he likely fits in with the rest of their starting lineup the best.
Cotton is the most athletic player of the Jazz point guard group and he impressed Utah a lot in his short time with the team a year ago. Cotton played in 15 games for the Jazz and averaged 5.3 points in just 10.6 minutes per game while making 42 percent of his shots from the field. Cotton is the least likely of the three to get big minutes but he has surprised a lot of people so far and who's to say that can't continue.
The bottom line is that the Jazz have a major question mark at the point guard spot. The rest of the Jazz roster is solid but the point guard position could make or break their season. Burke will likely begin the season as the starter just because of familiarity but in the long run Neto seems like he is the guy that has the best shot to run the show and replace Exum.
