The Utah Jazz will open up Vivint Arena once again tonight for Salt Lake City Summer League. Summer League in SLC is always a blast but this one is especially fun because fans get a chance to see some of the Jazz’s young prospects in action for the first time in a while because of the pandemic.

Fans would have liked to see Jared Butler play but he will likely not suit up for the Jazz until Las Vegas Summer League because of some complications with the trade to bring him to the Jazz.

Regardless, the Jazz have a lot of prospects that need to have a big showing to prove their value. Prospects for Jazz fans to focus on today include:

Udoka Azubuike

Azubuike missed a good part of last year with a terrible ankle injury that kept him out for a good chunk of the year. Azubuike was lucky that the ankle injury wasn’t as bad as it initially looked and did return to the Jazz before the end of the season. Whether it was from the injury, lack of experience, or Quin Snyder just choosing not to, Udoka got almost no time on the floor. A good showing from Azubuike would go a long way for the Jazz to know if they have a rotation level big on their hands or if they need to sign one this offseason.

Jarrell Brantley

Brantley is going to be with the Utah Jazz at minimum one more season. He needs to have a solid outing in SLC Summer league as well as in Las Vegas. His ability to dominate inside is important but the Jazz likely want to see a more consistent outside shot and more consistency on the defensive end.

Elijah Hughes

Hughes is one of those players that has a huge variance in what his contributions to the team could be. Because of the shortened G-League season and not getting playing time because the Jazz decided to play Matt Thomas over him, kept him out of games. Matt Thomas is gone and Hughes has a chance to show what he’s got. There have been flashes of an impressive offensive game in Hughes’ short garbage time stints with the Jazz and some fantastic signs from the short G-League showcase last year. Can Hughes show a better ability to defend? If he can, the Jazz might have a nice rotation player on their hands.

Trent Forrest

Trent Forrest showed some nice things last season and seemed to have Quin Snyder’s confidence when Mike Conley didn’t play. His jumpshot needs serious work but what he did with the ball in his hands was nice. Can Forrest show an improved shot and an ability to impact the game off the ball? Snyder’s system is a shared system so he might need to show that if he wants to see playtime now that Jared Butler is on the team.

Juwan Morgan

The Utah Jazz did not extend a qualifying offer to Juwan Morgan which makes him a free agent. This could mean the Jazz want to sign him to a longer term deal, or it could mean they are not interested. It does say something that Morgan is playing on the Summer League roster. Can Morgan show the Jazz reasons to get him a long term deal? He showed an ability to be on the floor in playoff games, Summer League should be something he dominates.

Game Info

When: Jazz Blue vs Grizzlies 5:00 PM MT, Jazz White vs Spurs 7:00 PM MT

Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City

TV: KJZZ 14

Radio: The Zone Sports Network

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Utah Jazz PR