The Utah Jazz didn’t have to live through the Jalen Duren drama this summer, and that’s already a win. Detroit dragged its situation out before finally settling on a five-year deal worth $200 million give or take, while Utah moved much faster with Keyonte George and got its business done before things could turn messy.
That matters because the Jazz were staring at a similar kind of fork in the road. Walker Kessler was in the same general neighborhood of extension talk, but his path went in the opposite direction from Duren’s and was wrapped up surprisingly quickly.
Utah also had the option to play hardball with George, especially since he’s less proven than Duren. Instead, the Jazz chose not to test how ugly things could get if they waited.
There was real risk in letting it linger. If Utah had made the playoffs and George turned in the kind of lackluster postseason that complicated Detroit’s situation with Duren, the whole thing could have become a headache. The Jazz avoided that by getting George’s next contract settled before it had a chance to snowball.
And they got him back for less.
George’s deal is five years and $157.5 million, a difference of $43 million from Duren’s agreement. That’s not a tiny gap.
It’s especially notable when you consider that the comparison is awkward by nature - George is a guard, Duren is a big man, and those are as different as apples and oranges. Even so, the question of who is the more valuable player is very much on the table.
Not the better player. The more valuable one.
If George ends up proving more valuable to Utah than Duren is to Detroit, the Jazz will have landed another major win. They’ll be paying significantly less per year than the Pistons will owe Duren, and that kind of cost difference can matter in a big way.
There’s also the simple matter of George wanting to be here. No shots at Duren - congrats on getting the bag, truly! - but George signing early says plenty about how he sees his future with the Jazz.
He could have waited and used the same approach next offseason, yet he wanted the matter resolved now. That’s the clearest sign of all that he wanted the money and the long-term home in Utah, both at the same time.
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