Since the Utah Jazz started tearing things down and rebuilding in the 2022 NBA offseason, the organization has stacked up a young group that still looks pretty enticing. Even after sending out a few of those pieces over the past several months - including the trade that moved Cody Williams to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Josh Green - Utah still has a core of players 25 and under worth watching closely.
Right now, the Jazz have six key players on the roster who are 24 or younger. With the 2026-27 season still ahead, it’s a good time to sort through that group and see how the pecking order shakes out.
At the bottom of the list is Kyle Filipowski, who still profiles as a useful frontcourt piece for Utah. He’s been a strong offensive connector and took a step forward defensively as recently as last season, which is enough to keep him in the mix as a rotational big the Jazz can count on over the next few years.
Still, he lands here because he doesn’t have one clear calling card that separates him from the other names on this list. If his 32.5% mark from three this past season climbs, that would go a long way toward changing that.
Kessler has a defined job in this rotation: backup point guard, reliable finisher at the rim, and one of the team’s better passers. That role alone puts him in the top five.
The problem is the rest of the package. He’s shot under 30% from three in each of the last two seasons, and his defense hasn’t been strong enough to balance it out.
Unless he gets much better in at least one of those areas, it’s hard to see him as a sure postseason fit or a locked-in part of the Jazz’s long-term core.
Brice Sensabaugh brings something much cleaner to the table. He has been a dead-eye shooter from deep, knocking down more than 36% of his threes on over five attempts per game over the last two seasons.
That kind of floor spacing matters, especially with Sensabaugh settling in as a steady piece of Utah’s second unit. He can slide into different wing looks and provide plug-and-play value, but he’ll need to make a leap defensively if he wants to become a true young three-and-D option.
That improvement could also set him up for a major payday next offseason.
The No. 3 and No. 2 spots could be swapped, but Ace Bailey lands just behind Peterson here after a rookie year that put him in the mix for All-Rookie First-Team honors. What really stood out was how much better he got as the season wore on.
That late-season surge gives Utah a real reason to be optimistic heading into his second year. If Bailey keeps growing as a scorer from all three levels and becomes a more dependable, versatile defender, his No. 5 pick from last year’s draft will start to look even better.
Darryn Peterson comes in second, and that says plenty about how much young talent Utah has added. He already has a case to be the best incoming rookie in the league and could very well be in the Rookie of the Year conversation next season.
Peterson checks a lot of boxes: he can help on both ends, has a path to becoming the team’s primary scorer, and fits neatly alongside the player ranked ahead of him. At 19, he could climb this list fast.
For now, though, nobody tops Keyonte George. After last season, there’s no debate.
George is coming off a career year in his fourth season with Utah, putting up career highs with more than 23 points and six assists per game. More importantly, he looks like a player who has moved beyond “promising prospect” and into “future cornerstone” territory.
He’s become a more dependable playmaker and true point guard, sharpened his offensive efficiency, emerged as one of the league’s better finishing guards, and made noticeable defensive improvements. Right now, he’s the clear No.
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That leaves Utah facing one of those roster questions good teams eventually have to answer: when does a veteran still fit the bigger picture, and when is it time to make room for the next phase? If the Jazz continue pushing toward a winning structure, they may want a stabilizing voice in the mix, with Jusuf Nurkic among the names who could fill a similar role. The decision is less about sentiment than timing, and it says a lot about how Utah plans to balance development with the demands of actually winning. [Read more 🡒]
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The Jazz are still treating Keyonte George like someone they want around for the long haul, even if the contract picture around him has changed. Utah passed on extending him this past summer because of salary cap and tax apron constraints, a decision that fits the broader way the front office has been managing its books while trying to keep room for the players it believes in.
Jake Fischers reporting only sharpens the pressure on George, because a max deal does not appear likely in the current financial climate. Utah has already made moves with an eye toward preserving flexibility, including trading Walker Kessler and Cody Williams partly to help manage space, so Georges next contract will be tied directly to what he does on the floor and how much impact he can prove he has. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans May Hate What This Three-Team Trade Really Means
A proposed three-team deal involving the Mavericks, Jazz and Kings has the kind of moving parts that usually make front offices pause and fans argue, and this one is built around familiar roster needs on all three sides. Dallas would land Malik Monk along with future second-round picks, Sacramento would get Caleb Martin, and the broader idea is to shuffle useful rotation pieces into places where they fit a little better.
For Utah, the appeal is tied to the frontcourt market and the search for a player who can help stabilize the middle of the floor. The framework has the Jazz giving up future draft compensation as part of the exchange, which is the sort of price that always raises the question of whether the upgrade is worth it, especially in a deal where each team is trying to justify its own side of the ledger. [Read more 🡒]