The NBA has shut down Keyonte George’s chance to join the Utah Jazz’s Summer League staff in Las Vegas.
After some buzz around George potentially serving as an assistant coach for Utah in its opening game against the Washington Wizards, league officials stepped in and made it clear that won’t happen. According to Deseret News’ Sarah Todd, the Jazz were told Wednesday that George cannot take on any official coaching role, whether he’s paid or not.
"The Jazz were informed Wednesday that George, the same as any other active player, will not be allowed to take on any kind of official coaching role, in summer league or otherwise, even without compensation," Todd reports.
Todd also noted that George is not the first active player to show interest in helping from the sideline, but the league wants the same standard applied across the board.
"George is not the first active NBA player who has wanted to join the coaching ranks on the sideline, even in a volunteer capacity, according to league sources, and the league wants to keep the rules consistent across the board."
The decision lands as a disappointment for the Jazz and for fans who were looking forward to seeing their young guard in a different kind of role on Thursday night. George had been expected to become the first player to take on a coaching position during Summer League before the league put the brakes on it.
Still, his presence around the team has been a constant all offseason. George has spent plenty of time around the Jazz facility, working with the Summer League roster and staff while continuing to grow into a bigger leadership role for the franchise.
That idea of George helping from the sideline didn’t come out of nowhere, either. During a Summer League practice before Utah’s games in Salt Lake City, he drew up a play that worked, and that moment helped spark the conversation about him joining the coaching staff for a game.
Those discussions briefly became real before the league ended them just as the Jazz were getting ready for their first of four games in Las Vegas.
Jazz Summer League coach Steve Wojciechowski praised George’s impact around the group, pointing to the way he’s stayed involved with the players and staff.
“He’s been great,” Wojciechowski said of George, via Deseret News. “He’s been at every practice, he’s helping our Jazz guys who are part of this experience this year with words of encouragement, the perspective of his experiences as a player... He’s been totally engaged, and that’s really, really exciting.
George may not be on the bench with a clipboard, but he’s still expected to be around the action in some form when Utah faces Washington, just as he was during the Summer League games in Salt Lake City.
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