Austin and Danny Ainge will never let the chaos of the NBA draft get to them. The Jazz executives have now made top-five picks in two years in a row with players who reportedly didn’t work out for the franchise in the pre-draft process.
On Tuesday, Utah selected Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick instead of Duke forward Cameron Boozer, who went third to the Grizzlies. Last year, the Jazz took Ace Bailey with the fifth pick after he didn’t work out for the team in a bizarre pre-draft process. Peterson now joins Bailey as a key member of the young Utah core along with Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George.
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While Peterson only worked out for the Wizards, who took AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick, the Jazz visited him in Ohio ahead of the draft, a trip that president of basketball operations Austin Ainge had glowing reviews about according to Chandler Holt of KSL Sports.
Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer were the clear top three in this draft. The choice among them seemed difficult for the franchises at the top of the draft, however, with pros and cons for each top prospect.
Why the Jazz went for Darryn Peterson over Cameron Boozer
The new Jazz guard is debatably the most talented player with the highest upside amongst the three. Utah bets on the talent that could give them a top-10 player in the league one day if everything goes right. Peterson ia already a high-level scorer who can make shots at all three levels. He can play on and off the ball and brings elite rim pressure, making him a seamless fit in any offense.
He averaged 20.2 points per game and shot 38.2% from three-point range on just under seven attempts per game in his sole season with Kansas.
Boozer was seen as the safer play as a hard-nosed forward who can score near the rim, stretch the floor and even serve as an offensive hub if needed with his new team. He was extremely productive with Duke as he averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 39.1% from three on lesser volume. He could very well become the best player from his draft class, but Peterson’s higher upside as a scorer plus Utah’s already deep frontcourt with Jackson and Markkanen made the franchise bet on the talent.
That’s not to say Utah’s bet on Peterson can’t go wrong, however. The last two months of his season with Kansas were strange, as he struggled with cramps and saw his explosiveness take a dive after missing time at the start of the season. But he has a real chance to become a premier scorer at the next level, which the Jazz need alongside the existing core to take a step forward and compete in a loaded Western Conference.
"Keyonte [George] and I will be one of the best backcourts in the NBA,” Peterson said of his fit with Utah via Holt and KSL Sports.
As optimistic and confident as that sounds, he’s absolutely right. Despite another odd and unconventional pre-draft process, the younger Ainge is all in on Peterson’s fit with the franchise both on the floor and in the locker room.
“He’s a really talented player, he’s a really hard worker,” he said of the pick Tuesday night via KSL Sports. “He’s got culture fit, talent fit, game fit with our organization. And we think he’ll be a huge part of us in the short term and the long term. We’re really excited to have him.
“Had the chance to talk to him a minute ago and he’s super pumped.”
The pre-draft chaos didn’t end up mattering for the Jazz with the pick of Bailey last year. And the Ainges just proved that talent wins out above all else once again by bringing in the draft’s most intriguing young player.
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