The Utah Jazz are going to have a new look in the 2022-23 NBA season, as they officially entered rebuilding mode this offseason.
With Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert no longer in Utah, the team is entering a new era.
Collin Sexton is set to be one of the faces of that new era, as he’s under contract with Utah for the next four seasons.
He’s a really solid building block for a team that’s starting from scratch like Utah, and to sweeten the deal, the 23-year-old recently said that he’s 100 percent healthy after suffering a torn meniscus last season.
Collin Sexton said he isn't sure how the deal with the Jazz came about, his agent and the teams put the deal together. Said he just took his agent's advice to stay ready. Said he is 100% healthy now.
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) September 13, 2022
Sexton’s meniscus injury derailed his 2021-22 campaign, but now that he’s healthy, he’s surely looking forward to having a statement season.
No Shortage Of Motivation
Sexton is going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder in the 2022-23 season.
The youngster didn’t get the offer he wanted from the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, and it took months for him to finally land with a team.
Sexton really had no business being a free agent for as long as he was.
Without a doubt, he’ll use that as motivation to show the league what type of player he can be.
Last season was an odd one for him, and it seemingly caused a lot of fans to write him off to some degree.
Prior to his season-ending injury, he appeared in 11 games for the Cavs, and he averaged a career-low 16.0 points per contest.
But that figure is deceiving, primarily because he wasn’t asked to carry as big of a load as he was in previous seasons.
For example, in the 2020-21 season, he averaged 35.3 minutes and 18.4 shot attempts per game.
Last season, those averages dipped to 28.7 minutes and 13.7 shot attempts per game.
It wasn’t his fault that his role slightly decreased — it was merely a product of the Cavs taking a step forward in their rebuild and spreading usage out to other players.
So, as a result of Sexton averaging just 16.0 points per game and then losing his season to injury, his stock took a hit.
But the former first-round pick is still packed with potential, which he put on display two seasons ago.
He averaged 24.3 points per game on efficient shooting clips (47.5 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from deep) in the 2020-21 season.
That’s the type of player Sexton is capable of being, and he’s probably very excited to remind the league of who he is this season.
A Fresh Start
The Jazz have already shipped away their two biggest stars, and they still have a handful of other pieces they can trade away if they want to.
"The sense around the league is the Jazz at least feel they have deals for [Bogdanovic, Conley, Clarkson] if & when they want them where they would return a 1st round pick for each… The Jazz are not in any hurry to make decisions."
– @ramonashelburne 🤔pic.twitter.com/jSxGoThQ5V
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) September 12, 2022
If Utah continues to trade away key players, Sexton may end up being the star of the show in Utah.
But regardless of what happens with the rest of the Jazz roster, he is going to have a chance to grow as a player and perhaps become an All-Star.
If Utah’s rebuild moves along quickly, Sexton could find himself playing on a playoff-contending Jazz team before his four-year deal expires.
NEXT: Jazz GM Shared A Simple Reason For The Franchise Reset