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SALT LAKE CITY — With the No. 12 overall pick of the first round of the 2015 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz selected Trey Lyles from Kentucky.
Lyles is an interesting pick, and it's a little bit hard to figure out how he'll perform at the NBA level because of how much he played out of position at Kentucky. He showed an ability to be a cohesive part of an offense, and perhaps his best ability is to make the right play.
The Jazz also like his size, which gives him potential defensively. If he, like Rodney Hood and Dante Exum, takes large strides as a defender under coach Quin Snyder's tutelage, then he could be a real plus player at the NBA level.
But he's also pretty vanilla. He's not overly athletic, isn't a fantastic shooter now, and is a pretty iffy defender. It's difficult to see him becoming an All-Star in the league. At best, he's a complementary starter in my mind. But that's a good outcome for the Jazz, looking at the tepid history of the No. 12 pick in the draft since the lottery was instituted.
I've heard the comparison to Terrence Jones, the Houston Rockets' power forward, from some in the Jazz's front office. He'll need to learn how to shoot, just like Jones did, in the NBA in order to have that sort of impact on a team.
Lyles may need to learn some geography quickly, though. When asked what impression he has of Utah, he said "I've been to Utah a few times for different camps, and of course working out with the team. It's a very small town, but it's a nice town, and it's very close knit. They support the team out there, so I'm thankful for that." Shades of Karl Malone, when he was drafted in 1985.
That being said, he liked the idea of joining the young Utah Jazz, saying "They have a young team, so I think I'll be fitting in perfectly." He also mentioned that he had met Alec Burks in a basketball camp when he was younger; Burks was actually his camp counselor.
Lyles also has at least one fan in Salt Lake City: Walt Perrin, the Jazz's vice president of player personnel.
"I'm pretty high on Trey," Perrin told KSL's SportsBeat on Sunday night. "I think he's going to be a good NBA player — my own, one-man's opinion."
More information will be released as it is made available.
Contributing: Rod Zundel, Jeremiah Jensen
