Utah Jazz fans have spent the last three years watching young guards audition for a role that nobody has actually filled. Darryn Peterson made it very clear in two summer league games that the audition is over. The No. 2 overall pick is the guy.
Peterson dropped 28 in his debut. That was impressive on its own. Then he came back and put up 25 points and 12 assists in his second game, and that is the number that should have the entire front office breathing easier. The scoring was expected. The playmaking is the reason Utah took him this high.
Jazz brass wanted a lead guard they could build the offense around. The Kansas star gave them a preview of exactly that. He controlled tempo, hit the pull-up, got to his spots off the bounce, and dropped dimes in transition that looked like a five-year vet running a two-man game.
Utah has been hunting for a real point guard since Donovan Mitchell walked out the door. Collin Sexton was a stopgap. Keyonte George was a swing. Nothing stuck. Peterson looks like the answer, and he looks like it earlier than anyone expected.
The polish is what jumps off the screen. Most rookies are trying to figure out where to be. Peterson is already telling teammates where to be. That is a completely different level of understanding, and it does not usually show up in July for a 19 year old.
Peterson might be the best combo guard to come out of this draft class. He can play on or off the ball. He is a real threat from three. He can guard both backcourt spots. That is a starter-level toolkit before he ever sees an NBA training camp.
The AJ Dybantsa comparison is going to follow him for the next fifteen years. Dybantsa went first. Peterson went second. Every game they play against each other is going to get treated like a heavyweight fight, and the ESPN opening night slot on July 9 already told us how the league sees it.
Utah’s rebuild has been messy. Danny Ainge has been collecting picks like they were baseball cards, and there have been plenty of nights over the last two seasons where fans wondered if any of them would turn into a real star. Peterson answered that question in two games.
There is a version of this where Peterson forces Utah to accelerate the timeline. If he keeps producing like this into camp, Ainge might actually get serious about veteran additions instead of stockpiling more assets. Contenders take a look at a roster around a real lead guard in a hurry.
The Kansas tape said Peterson could score. Summer league said he can score and run a team at the same time. Those are two very different scouting reports, and Utah just found out theirs is the better one.
Some rookies are going to be paced this season. Peterson is going to be featured. Will Hardy has coached enough guards to know what a keeper looks like, and there is no world where a coach limits touches on a guy who is dropping 25 and 12 in July.
The Jazz nailed this pick. Not just a solid selection. Not just a promising piece. A franchise guard, on a rookie deal, in a Western Conference that desperately needed a jolt from someone. Utah has been waiting a long time. They finally have their guy.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
