Jazz Position Battle: Predicting Who Starts at Shooting Guard

The Utah Jazz has a position battle at the shooting guard position.

Mar 6, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) and guard Collin Sexton (2) speak during a second quarter break in action against the Chicago Bulls at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz have options at the shooting guard position. The battle for minutes at the No. 2 spot will be a storyline to watch as we inch closer to the regular season.

Which players have the best shot to be the day-one starter? Who’s most likely to start the year on the bench?

Let’s examine the four candidates' chances of winning the starting job.

Jordan Clarkson

Mar 4, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) takes a jump shot over Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) during the second half at the Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

I don't think the plan was to have Clarkson on the roster heading into the 2024-25 season, but here we are. Utah front-loaded Clarkson's three-year contract last summer with the intention of making it easier to trade him this season. It appears that strategy hasn't worked, as Clarkson is coming off his worst season as a pro.

The former Sixth Man of the Year shot a career-low from the three-point line (29.5%), had the worst defensive rating on a team that ranked last in the league, and missed 27 games. Despite a down year, it's still plausible that Clarkson enters the year as the starter.

Clarkson's track record is good enough to increase his trade value with an excellent start to the season. The Jazz have shown in the past that players on the trade block will still get their minutes in an attempt to audition for a future exchange.

I don't expect Clarkson to be in a Jazz uniform at the season's end, but starting him on opening night could boost the perceived trade value that Utah needs if they want to net a positive asset back in a future exchange.

Bryce Sensabaugh

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (8) dribbles against Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Sensabaugh is a work in progress, but Utah should be prioritizing player development over winning games to start the season. The second-year pro out of Ohio State isn't Utah's best option if their intention is to win games, and that's just fine.

Unlike the two previous years of the past, the Jazz's veterans who aren't a part of the future should be taking a backseat to the youth movement in Salt Lake City. Utah's best draft pick since the rebuild started was obtaining the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 draft. That needs to change.

I expect Utah to take a similar approach that they did after last year's trade deadline. This means more minutes for players like Bryce Sensabaugh and Taylor Hedricks and less court time for Clarkson and John Collins.

Collin Sexton

Apr 5, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George (13) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

If Utah is going to put its best foot forward to start the season, then Sexton should be named the starter. Sexton put up fringe All-Star numbers in the 2023-24 season and is by far and away the most established presence at the shooting guard position on Utah's roster.

However, it's still unknown whether Sexton will be part of Utah's future. There's also the question regarding Sexton's strengths. Is his skill set better served as a starter or the No. 1 scoring option coming off the bench?

Sexton's fate could be determined by the Jazz's approach to starting the season. If winning games is a priority, then Sexton should get the nod. But don't be surprised if the Jazz manipulate the rotation in an attempt to improve their draft position in a loaded 2025 draft class.

Cody Williams

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cody Williams poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It's a long shot that Williams begins his career as a starter, but he's worth motioning to be Utah's shooting guard of the future. The Jazz Achilles heel at the guard positions has been a lack of positional length. Williams solves that problem with a 7-foot-1-inch wingspan

Utah is coming off a year where they were statistically the worst defensive team in the league. If Keyonte George is penciled in as the starting point guard of the future, then he's going to need a running mate that has some defensive prowess. Neither Clarkson, Sensabaugh, or Sexton fit the bill.

Even though Williams is likely out of the running to begin the season as a starter, there's a good chance he will win the spot by the season's end. Williams has the intangibles on the defensive end of the court that his competition lacks.

Prediction

It's going to be difficult to keep Sexton out of the starting lineup, considering what he did last year. Utah could decide that developing the younger players trumps everything this year. However, it's Sexton's job to lose, but I wouldn't be surprised if Williams takes over by year's end.

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