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The Utah Jazz clearly have plans of competing for the immediate future. They have solid roster construction with guys like Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ace Bailey on their squad. All they need now is a lethal scorer who can carry their offense when sets are broken by opposing defenses. Thankfully, they have the second pick in the NBA Draft and a certain prospect plays sort of like Damian Lillard — Kansas Jayhawks' Darryn Peterson.
Peterson set to have Lillard's qualities in latest NBA Draft comparison
In the latest NBA Draft comparison by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Jeremy Woo, the Jazz were projected to spend their second pick on Darryn Peterson. When looked at closely, he does fit the roster led by Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George well. The Jazz get a lethal scorer from all three levels on the court while also having a great supporting cast who sets the offense well for him.
With these attributes, it came to no one's surprise that his NBA Draft comparison was also an insanely talented scorer in Damian Lillard. This means that Jazz fans get to expect someone who contributes nearly 20 points a night in their rotation. It was not just the Portland Trail Blazers star who got compared to Peterson. ESPN also found that he plays very similarly to Devin Booker.
"The smoothness, the pace, he's under control all the time. Like Devin, he knows how to get to his spots on the floor," ESPN wrote.
A lot of woes will come when someone gets compared to Booker and Lillard. Both of them suffered from great scoring inefficiencies throughout the early parts of their careers. They were also labelled as ball hogs before finding the right rosters that mesh well with their style of play. Eventually, Booker and Lillard were able to figure themselves out. The Phoenix Suns reached the NBA Finals back in 2021 because of Booker's style of play. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers also got to the Western Conference Finals due to how Lillard orchestrated their offense.
Peterson will experience nearly all of these same woes but his ceiling is higher. Aside from having NBA Draft comparisons to Lillard and Booker, his floor seems to be Jamal Murray. So, Jazz fans will be happy to know that his style of play translates well into the level of the association.
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