Counting Wings

O’Neale is part of a deep group of Jazz wings. (Bill Baptist via utahjazz.com)

The versatile, multi-positional 3-and-D wing is one of the most sought after positional archetypes in the NBA. When Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers, they became instant contenders because both players come close to the ideal concept of that archetype.

One of the questions about the new-look 2019-20 Utah Jazz is how they stack up in wing depth, especially considering potential matchups against players like Leonard, George and LeBron James. It seems that the Jazz front office is well aware of this potential hole and has looked to fill it.

The Jazz currently have the off-season maximum of 20 players on the roster. Of those 20 players, 13 are between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9 and could potentially play multiple positions. Three players will have to be cut for the regular season (15 main roster + 2 two-way players) and it looks as though all three cuts will come from that group. That still leaves 10 versatile, multi-positional players who are 6-foot-five or taller on the roster¹. While some have more 3 and some have more D, the Jazz are surprisingly deep on the wings.

Wing 1, Bojan Bogdanovic (6’8”): Bogdanovic was the marquee free agent signing for the Jazz this off-season and one of the biggest free-agent signings in team history. Bogdanovic shot .411 from 3 and averaged 20.7 points, 1.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds while leading the Pacers in scoring in the 43 games after Victor Oladipo was ruled out for the season last year. Sports Illustrated ranked him as the 52nd best player in the NBA while ESPN ranked him 48th.

Wing 2, Joe Ingles (6’8”): Ingles averaged 12 points, 5.7 assists and 4 rebounds for the Jazz in 2018-19 while shooting .391 from 3. He is a capable ball-handler and can defend multiple positions. Significantly, Ingles’ defense on George in the 2017-18 playoffs was key to the Jazz’s first round victory over the Thunder. Sports Illustrated ranked Joe as the 65th best player in the NBA while ESPN ranked him 62nd.

Wing 3, Royce O’Neale (6’6”): O’Neale has come a long way from being an unheralded EuroLeague player battling with Joel Bolomboy for the 15th roster spot back in 2017. He averaged 5.2 points, 1.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game for the Jazz last year while shooting .386 from 3. Royce is one of the league’s better defenders on the perimeter and can competently defend multiple positions.

Wing 4, Jeff Green (6’9”): Green’s 11-year career has been full of optimism and unmet expectations. Despite not meeting the heights expected for him, Jeff has had a good career. Last year he started 44 games for the Wizards, averaging 12.3 points, 1.8 assists and 4 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game while shooting .347 from 3. Green can also defend multiple positions and is a versatile scorer.

Wing 5, Dante Exum (6’6”): While Exum and the Jazz have generally treated him as a point guard, Dante made news on media day when he said “I’m trying to fight for minutes. If that’s at the one, that’s at the two, that’s at the three even, I’m going to accept it and I’m going to go in and try to star in that.” With Exum’s new openness to playing other positions and his ability to defend guards and forwards, the Jazz have yet another versatile wing in their toolbox. While his current rehabilitation and injury history make availability a valid question, those concerns are less pressing when thinking of him as potentially the fifth wing on the team.

Wing 6, Miye Oni (6’6”): A rookie out of Yale, Oni was the Ivy League player of the year during his Junior season in 2019. He averaged 17.1 points, 3.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds for the Bulldogs on .371 from 3. Oni impressed the Jazz front office during summer league, leading to him being the only draftee signed to a full NBA contract. He has continued to impress in the Jazz’s pre-season games and shows the potential to be a rotation-level player for the Jazz.

Wing 7, Stanton Kidd (6’7”): The Jazz have had prior success signing wings out of the EuroLeague and are trying to do so again with rookies Kidd and William Howard. Kidd played for the Jazz summer league team in 2018 and was impressive enough that the Jazz brass looked into signing him then. Unfortunately, the terms of his EuroLeague deal didn’t make signing him viable and the Jazz re invited him to summer league this year. His 2019 performance didn’t pop quite like the 2018 performance but he did enough to get a partially guaranteed contract this year and an opportunity to battle for the 15th regular season roster spot. Kidd averaged 6.8 points, 1.2 assists and 3 rebounds for Darussafaka Tekfen in 2018-19. Kidd is a competent defender but he has not been great from range, shooting .284 from 3 in 21.8 minutes per game last year.

Wing 8, William Howard (6’8”): Like Kidd, Howard is an import from the international leagues. While Kidd is a D-only wing, Howard could be described as more of a 3-only wing. At Media Day, Howard noted that the area he most wants to grow in is his defense. His three-point shot is not lacking. In combined EuroCup and LNB Pro A play last year Howard shot .376 from 3 while averaging 9.7 points, 2.3 assists and 1 rebound.

Wing 9, Jarrell Brantley (6’7”): Brantley was one of the Jazz’s three second-round picks in the draft this year. He averaged 19.4 points, 2.4 assists and 8.4 rebounds and earned All-CAA honors in his senior year at the College of Charleston while shooting .328 from 3. Brantley looks to have potential as a multi-positional defender who may be able to shoot from range. He is signed to one of the Jazz’s two-way contracts and should be able to develop with the Stars this season and provide minutes for the Jazz should the need arise.

Wing 10, Georges Niang (6’8”): Niang first joined the Jazz midway through the 2017 season on a two-way contract. He proved enough while playing primarily for the Stars that the Jazz signed him to a full contract in the Summer of 2018. Georges’ defense can be lacking and he primarily plays as a 4 but he is a sharpshooter from 3, averaging .410 for the Jazz on 1.8 attempts per game last year. Niang mostly lines up as a power forward for Utah, but If he can improve his defense and stay in front of both forward positions, Niang might be able to add multi-positional versatility to his game and be yet another versatile wing for the Jazz.

Wing 11, Emmanuel Mudiay (6’5”): Mudiay has always played guard so his ability to play on the wing is unclear. However, he is a large enough guard that he could potentially move up positions, much like Exum. Mudiay was the leading scorer for the Knicks after the All-Star break last year and averaged 14.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds for the season. Given the sheer number of wings who will be on the team it’s unlikely the Jazz will need to test Mudiay’s multi-positionality but it’s a nice luxury to have.

Wing 12, Kyle Collinsworth (6’6”): The Utah native and former BYU star joins the team after the Jazz waived another 6’6″ forward in Trevon Bluiett. Collinsworth signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Jazz, which indidcates that the plan is to have him around for training camp, likely with the intent that he join the Stars in the G League. But he is yet another tall versatile wing. Collinsworth spent a brief time in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks in 2017-18, putting up mostly unremarkable numbers in 480 total minutes played over 32 games. Last year Collinsworth spent his time with Raptors 905 in the G League where he averaged 8.8 points, 4 assists and 7.5 rebounds in 30 minutes per game for the 905 while shooting .322 from 3.

Wing 13, Juwan Morgan (6’8”): Morgan is also on an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning that the Jazz likely intend for him to play for the team during training camp and then hold his rights for the Stars. He averaged 15.5 points, 1.9 assists and 8.2 rebounds and earned All-Big Ten honors while shooting .295 for 3 for the Indiana Hoosiers in his senior year. 

In computer technology, there is a storage system called RAID, which stands for a “redundant array of inexpensive drives” that allows for enhanced reliability and performance by having multiple redundant storage drives in the system. Behind Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic, consensus top 100 players, the Jazz have assembled a RAIW system of wings. Green, O’Neale, Niang, Oni, Kidd and Howard are all on minimum or near-minimum contracts. Green and O’Neale have already proven themselves as rotation and near-starting caliber wings. Should any of the first four wings fail, there’s a system of potential quality wings right behind them ready to enhance the Jazz’s reliability and performance.