If you’ve just arrived in a time machine from June 2023, your jaw certainly dropped when you saw the Utah Jazz’s 2024 NBA Draft haul. The 3 selections who will call Utah their home for the foreseeable future—Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski—were all once projected top 10 picks in this year’s draft class.
For those of you who are unaware of current time travel technology (which I assume is most of you), you’re also likely impressed by the incredible 2024 NBA Draft Utah enjoyed. With their 3 picks, Danny Ainge and company secured prospects with fantastic potential—each at a draft position previously thought to be impossible.
And yet, here we are. All 3 players are on the roster and Utah got their guys without moving up in the draft.
For the Jazz, this draft is a dream come true, but for Collier and Filipowski in particular, falling in the draft soured their entrance into the NBA. For one reason or another, each of these players experienced a substantial slide to fall to Utah. So, how did we get here?
Great Expectations
Collier bobs and weaves to the rim against the flying UCLA defense.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Both Collier and Filipowski entered the 2023-24 college basketball season as projected lottery picks. Collier, who was the top recruit in his high school class, landed at USC where he arguably garnered more hype than his teammate whose name was literally LeBron James.
Standing at 6-foot-5 with broad shoulders and a brawny build, Collier has the frame of a football player but the grace and mobility of a roadrunner. In his freshman season, Collier displayed incredible body control on drives to the rim paired with a soft touch to finish tough lay-ins over and around taller defenders.
Seeing Collier contort and relocate as he finds the perfect shot angle to avoid the outstretched arms of defenders for a layup off the backboard is reminiscent of Zac Galifianakis in The Hangover doing calculations in his mind as he determines his next move.
“But if Collier is so good at taking it to the hoop, why don’t defenses just collapse on him?” I hear you asking from across the basket-verse. Well, he’s got a dangerous passing game in his holster should the situation call for it. With the Trojans, Collier flashed passing ability and court awareness that could (on occasion) make you instinctively mutter “whoa” from your couch. Collier hits cutters with greater accuracy than clone troopers executing Order 66.
Is Isaiah Collier the PG of the future?
Posting a 30% assist rate, Collier is good at finding cutters, and using his drives to find open teammates
Really excited to see what this looks like in a NBA setting pic.twitter.com/9ebdIxCHZ8
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) June 30, 2024
Filipowski was no slouch during his time in college, either. Slated as a top 10 prospect at the onset of his sophomore season, the 7-footer saw his draft stock slide ever so slightly during last season’s campaign, though not as far as his eventual landing spot in the second round.
The one they call “Flip” has been compared to former Jazzman (and possibly Ainge’s favorite, at that), Kelly Olynyk. An archetype of a player who can do a bit of everything for your team, but most importantly makes plays when his team needs it most. Just take a look at John Scheyer’s confidence in Filipowski’s playmaking ability during this play:
Kyle Filipowski really just might be taller Kelly Olynyk
Love that he averaged 2.8 assists and posted an 18.4 assists % which ranked in the 96th percentile
His passing and playmaking might turn into his greatest asset pic.twitter.com/OqEXgHHZs8
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) July 1, 2024
Filipowski shines brightest as a scorer, where he was highly efficient at Duke—hitting over 50% of his field goal attempts. His NBA Draft profile displayed great confidence in the big’s transition to the NBA game.
Filipowski seems like one of the safest picks in the 2024 NBA Draft among players widely projected to be in the lottery due to his high floor and elite basketball instincts. He has an excellent assist rate, has proven to be a solid shooter with a range that stretches beyond the three-point line and owns a decent offensive game near the rim, where his efficiency plays at his best. -RotoWire
Much like Collier, Filipowski’s free fall to the Jazz with the 32nd pick was completely unexpected by NBA analysts. Almost as if the basketball gods intervened with the draft results to repay Jazz fans for a lifetime of endless suffering.
Untapped Potential?
Kyle Filipowski was a major contributor to Duke’s success this past season, where he did a bit of everything for coach John Scheyer.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching[s] […] I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape. -Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes type to deduce that Collier wasn’t happy to hear his name as the 29th pick in the draft. Now, it’s easy to see his emotionless expression and jump to the conclusion that he isn’t happy to be in Utah, but for a young man who expected so much more as a projected top pick, it’s easy to sympathize with his disappointment.
For Filipowski, to be invited to the green room only to be passed up pick after pick until finally being selected in the second round was even more gut-wrenching to see.
These players fell in the draft for different reasons, but they both arrived in Utah. Flawed prospects can see their draft stock plummet, but in the case of these two, do their imperfections warrant this level of aversion from teams league-wide?
Collier’s lack of focus was, well, brought into focus by scouts evaluating his game. In his freshman season at the head of the USC offense, Collier dished out more turnovers than a frantic baker, coughing up possession an average of 3.3 times per game—19th most in college basketball.
Collier lacked interest when playing off-ball—both on offense and defense. Tunnel vision could be a problem for Collier, and his attitude spread throughout the USC roster en route to an incredibly underwhelming year. Possibly most notable among his flaws was his shaky jump shot. Hitting a passable 33% of his 3-pointers but struggling from the free-throw line has raised red flags about development in this area. For 29 teams, Collier’s upside felt too much like a gamble to trust in his development.
Disorder Off the Court
Kyle Filipowski’s off-the-court issues instigated his slide to the second round.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Kyle Filipowski’s personal life interfered with his introduction to the NBA, but we have nothing more to say about his circumstances than has already been said.
The big from Westtown, New York’s issues as a prospect have little to do with his performance on the court, so when the Jazz selected the 7-footer out of Duke, they made a statement that his personal life wouldn’t interfere with their plans for him on the roster.
Building a young core through the draft has been the top priority since the genesis of the Danny Ainge era in Utah. Much like Billy Beane’s philosophy for building a baseball team, Utah is rethinking what makes a player valuable for a young, up-and-coming squad. For the Oakland A’s, a player’s value was what they accomplished on the field. For the Jazz, looking at a player’s skill set and body of work indicates potential. In Collier and Filipowski, they found their guys.
So, with the draft behind us and free agency rumor season in full force, the Jazz will continue their rebuild. On paper, Collier and Filipowski provide tremendous value relative to their draft position. Whether they reach the potential that Zanik and the Jazz front office see in them will be clear in time.
Did the Jazz get the steals of the draft? Possibly. These players slid down draft boards for a reason. But if they flourish in Utah, plenty of teams across the league will be kicking themselves for passing up on players who flashed such immense potential.