George and Collier Will Have to Carry a Lot of Water This Year

The backcourt situation in Utah has gotten complicated fast. Trey Alexander was stretchered off a summer league floor in mid-July. Jamir Watkins tore his ACL and is almost certainly gone for most of 2026-27. Two guards, gone before camp opens, on a team that already finished 22-60 and needed every healthy body it had.

What's left is Keyonte George, Isaiah Collier, the No. 2 pick, and not much behind them. George averaged 23.0 points and 6.1 assists last season and is clearly the engine. Collier was efficient and productive in his own right. But the Jazz were thin at guard even when everyone was healthy, and the additions since — a former UNC forward, a Wisconsin wing prospect — are depth signings, not solutions. Walter Clayton Jr. logged minutes last year and is in the mix, but he's unproven at this level of responsibility.

The wrinkle is that the front office is no longer pretending to be patient. Trading Cody Williams for Josh Green last Saturday was a real signal — they want a wing who can guard someone now, not one who might in three years. That's a reasonable thing to want. But wanting wins now while your backcourt is held together with tape is a tension that doesn't resolve itself on paper.

My read: the next few weeks of camp will tell you more about this team than the entire offseason did. George and Collier have to stay healthy. If one of them misses time, Utah is leaning on players who haven't proven they can handle the load. That's the actual risk heading into October.