Utah Jazz
1 Player who has been a disaster: Keyonte George
At this point, I'm truly concerned about the Utah Jazz and where they are in their rebuild. The Jazz doesn't look any better than last season and, specifically, their young core hasn't continued to improve. Right now, I'm not sure if there are any foundational pieces for the future aside from Lauri Markkanen. And there could be questions about Markkanen because of his own individual timeline as a player. If I had to point at one player who has been a disaster to start the season, I'd look to Keyonte George.
If you look at the counting stats, you see that George is averaging nearly 16 points and six assists per game. Sure, those are encouraging numbers. However, at the same rate, he's been incredibly inefficiently shooting the basketball. So far this season, George is shooting 32 percent from the field overall and 30 percent from 3-point range. If George is going to find long-term success in the league and, perhaps most importantly, emerge as a foundational piece for the Jazz, he has to be more efficient on the offensive end of the floor. These numbers are not what you want to see from a young, rising player.
Washington Wizards
1 Player who has been a disaster: Alex Sarr
I hate to continue to pile on young players but I don't think you can begin to discuss disappointing players on the Washington Wizards without mentioning Alex Sarr. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft is having a less-than-stellar start to his career this season. For the Wizards, it's almost been a disaster so far this season. Even though Sarr was always viewed as a player who needed time to develop, it's hard to be patient in the way the NBA works. Sarr has been thrown into the fire as a starter and I can't help if this will end up being remembered as a huge mistake for Washington.
In seven games played so far this season, Sarr is averaging 10 points, seven rebounds, and nearly three blocks per game. All great numbers. However, he's shooting just 35 percent from the field and 18 percent shooting from 3-point range. Those are simply non-sustainable numbers from a player who is widely expected to be the cornerstone of a rebuild. It's been a disastrous start for Sarr so far this season. Hopefully, he can have a strong next few months.