Falling Stars: Checking in with the G League

After returning from an ankle injury, Hughes had an opportunity to show his stuff in the G League bubble. (via slcstars.com)

With the G League season coming to an end tomorrow afternoon when the Delaware Blue Coats face the Lakeland Magic in the Finals, now seems like a good time to look back on what we learned from the 2020-21 Salt Lake City Stars.

The 2019-20 Stars were a joy to watch and one of the best teams in the G League. They won the G League Showcase and had the second best record in the league when everything shut down. Head coach Martin Schiller won Coach of the Year honors and was able to get a job in the EuroLeague as a result. Jarrell Brantley received MVP votes and was first-team All-G League. Players like Trevon Bluiett and Mike Scott were complementary to the Utah Jazz’s two-way players Brantley and Wright-Foreman as well as the regular players who were frequently on assignment from the Jazz like Juwan Morgan, Nigel Williams-Goss, Miye Oni and Rayjon Tucker. Not only were the Stars good and fun but watching the team provided a lot of insight into the 2019-20 Jazz rookie class.

Unfortunately, none of that carried over to 2020-21’s shortened G League bubble season. Schiller moved on to Žalgiris Kaunas and Brantley stayed with the Jazz alongside his fellow two-way player Trent Forrest. Each team in the bubble was guaranteed 15 games and the top 8 would move on to play in a single-elimination playoff tournament. The Stars finished 4-11, the second worst record in the G League this year.

Still, with former NBA players like Yogi Ferrell and Malcolm Miller on the team, I was excited for the season and to get a chance to watch this year’s rookies develop.

The Stars began their season with a blowout loss to the Erie Bayhawks. The only players on assignment from the NBA were Jazz rookie Udoka Azubuike and Bucks rookie Jordan Nwora. Azubuike looked like a rookie with solid potential, especially on defense. It seemed clear that this year’s Stars team was designed to echo the Jazz with a strong rim-protecting/rim-running center surrounded by capable shooters and the team played best when Azubuike was on the floor. Azubuike was a -1 in a 19-point loss, best on the team. Regrettably, that would be the only game we got to see Azubuike as he suffered a severe ankle sprain late in the 4th quarter and remains out indefinitely. Watching the injury, it is fortunate that it was only a sprain. Former BYU standout Jake Toolson was also with the Stars in the season debut, but also suffered a season-ending injury and was later waived.

Without Azubuike, the Stars were forced to adapt. Romaro Gill was the only other rim-protecting big on the team, so the Stars played more small-ball than originally intended, and it didn’t work out well. Gill just doesn’t have the same upside as Azubuike and when the team attempted to play with him in the rim-protecting and rim-running role it didn’t work out great.

With Azubuike out and Nwora recalled to the Bucks, the Stars were fortunate to have Dallas Mavericks rookie Tyler Bey assigned to the team for the remainder of the season. Bey was a standout performer for the Stars through the season and the 2019-20 MWC Defensive Player of the Year showed a lot of offensive promise in his role with the Stars. In my opinion, he and Ferrell were the two best players for the team this season. Although his 3-point shot still needs work (.325 3P%) I think the Mavericks got a keeper. He played lockdown defense and was aggressive driving to the basket. Bey averaged 15.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 27 minutes per game.

The Stars lost 7 of their first 8, often in blowouts, with the lone win coming against the lowly Iowa Wolves, the only team to finish with a worse record. Finally in game 9, Jazz rookie Elijah Hughes and Mavericks rookie Josh Green were assigned to the team and the Stars were able to defeat the Austin Spurs. Hughes, coming off a lengthy injury absence, looked rusty but solid. Watching him shoot in college and in his NBA minutes, I don’t think there is reason to be concerned but he shot an abysmal 20.5% from outside in his five games played with the Stars this season. The biggest question mark for Hughes coming out of college was how his defense would translate after playing in Jim Boeheim’s zone defense for four years. I’m happy to say that his defensive instincts looked solid and I’m optimistic that he’ll be a plus defender in the NBA. Hughes averaged 14.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 26 minutes per game.

Green was the 18th pick in the 2021 draft and is nearly three years younger than both Bey and Hughes but of the three rookies who spent significant time with the Stars, I was more impressed by Bey and Hughes than Green. I often forgot when Green was on the court and he just didn’t stand out to me. His 3-pointer wasn’t falling and his inability to really shine in a G League setting gives me pause. Green averaged 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30 minutes per game. He shot just 17.6% on threes.

The Stars would go on to win only two more games and were mostly unremarkable. Trevon Bluiett, a 6’5″ guard out of Xavier, had been key to the Stars success in 2018-19 and 2019-20 as an outside shooter. After shooting 37.5% from deep in 2018-19 and 42.5% in 2019-20, Bluiett’s shot seemed to have abandoned him this season as he shot 28.9% on six attempts per game. It’s probably no coincidence that Bluiett’s best game of the season came in their biggest win of the season when they blew out the G League Ignite team¹ by 20 points. Bluiett hit 4 of 6 from 3 and scored 16 points in that outing.

Ultimately, I was disappointed in this year’s Stars season and not because of the win-loss record. The reason to watch the G League is to see prospects develop and to get a longer look at young players getting minutes they just can’t get in the NBA right now. Azubuike’s injury and Hughes’ late assignment to the team meant that there was very little opportunity to see that this year. More importantly, the Stars were designed to run like the Jazz, with the goal of giving guys a relevant development atmosphere in the same offensive and defensive systems as the parent club uses. Azubuike’s injury meant that the Stars were suddenly missing the essential piece for doing that.

Still, I highly recommend that NBA fans take the time to watch some G League games in the future. It’s no longer a place where outcasts are sent and receive a black mark on their future prospects. Instead it’s a place to watch future stars in the league shine, as was the opportunity with players like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green of Ignite. I legitimately enjoyed watching Bey and look forward to seeing him in the NBA. And there are players like that on every G League team, many of whom are already tethered to an NBA team and others who are just waiting for a chance to be called up.

When the 2021-2022 G League season begins, take the time to catch a game or two.