Justin Wright-Foreman, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
Utah Jazz Two-Way rookie Justin Wright-Foreman showed positive signs in the G-League during his first season as a professional.
The 2019-20 NBA season may indeed resume at one point, but the 2019-20 G-League season is over. It’s sad for Utah Jazz and Salt Lake City Stars fans, considering they had a minor league team good enough to win the championship.
Justin Wright-Foreman was a huge part of that team. The 53rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft signed a Two-Way contract and played in 36 games with the Stars. He looked a lot more comfortable compared to his showing during Summer League.
Going into the 2019 NBA Draft, Wright-Foreman wasn’t projected to be picked. He had clear NBA talent, but had to fix some glaring holes in his game. Most notably his defense and playmaking.
Thankfully for him, he got drafted by a team with some of the best player development in the league. It was a perfect landing spot for him, even though he played in just one NBA game. His development is going to be a process, but it may be worth it in the end.
During his college career at Hofstra, Wright-Foreman was a walking bucket, averaging 27.1 points during his senior season. He’s not going to be depended on to score that much in the NBA, so rounding out his game is going to be important.
Overall, I think Wright-Foreman showed a lot of improvement during his first NBA season. I’ll be eager to get another look at him in Summer League and see where he’s at. Before that, let’s take a look at his rookie season and see what went right and what went wrong.
Let’s get started!
Utah Jazz</a> and Salt Lake City Stars fans, considering they had a minor league team good enough to win the championship.</p>
<p><a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wrighju02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Justin Wright-Foreman</a> was a huge part of that team. The 53rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft signed a Two-Way contract and played in 36 games with the Stars. He looked a lot more comfortable compared to his showing during Summer League.</p>
<p>Going into the 2019 NBA Draft, Wright-Foreman wasn’t projected to be picked. He had clear NBA talent, but had to fix some glaring holes in his game. Most notably his defense and playmaking.</p>
<p>Thankfully for him, he got drafted by a team with some of the best player development in the league. It was a perfect landing spot for him, even though he played in just one NBA game. His development is going to be a process, but it may be worth it in the end.</p>
<p>During his college career at Hofstra, Wright-Foreman was a walking bucket, averaging 27.1 points during his senior season. He’s not going to be depended on to score that much in the NBA, so rounding out his game is going to be important.</p>
<p>Overall, I think Wright-Foreman showed a lot of improvement during his first NBA season. I’ll be eager to get another look at him in Summer League and see where he’s at. Before that, let’s take a look at his rookie season and see what went right and what went wrong.</p>
<p>Let’s get started!</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Positives </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82594" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1161558440.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1161558440.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1161558440-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Justin Wright-Foreman, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Cassy Athena/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Positives</h3>
<p>Offensively, Justin Wright-Foreman continues to look good. He might take a bad shot here and there, but overall, he gets to his spots and is smart and efficient. That end of the floor was never a concern.</p>
<p>Wright-Foreman averaged 17.3 points while shooting 46 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the free-throw line. His efficiency impressed me. It’s not easy being a smaller guard making the jump to the next, but Wright-Foreman looked like he’s been here before.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/gXtYdvm0Sd0?start=60&feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>He’s a capable three-level scorer, but Wright-Foreman will do most of his work from the three-point line and around the basket. Those are the shots that NBA teams are after. He’s got a smooth lefty release and a quick first step, allowing him to slip past defenders.</p>
<p>Wright-Foreman has a bunch of different moves in his bag, and now must show that he can still score at will against NBA players. I see him staying in the league for a while thanks to his electric scoring. That’s what he’ll be known for.</p>
<p>He can still improve his floater, ability to get to the free-throw line and finish over length, but overall, his continued offensive progression is something to be excited about.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Negatives </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82595" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1180330278.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1180330278.jpeg 3200w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1180330278-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Justin Wright-Foreman, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Negatives</h3>
<p>The glaring weakness with Justin Wright-Foreman is his playmaking. His point guard skills still need work. He’s never been a pass-first kind of guy, and that’s fine, but averaging more turnovers (2.6) than assists (2.5) as a point guard is a killer. As is finishing with more turnovers (92) than assists (91).</p>
<p>His defense, as I mentioned earlier, need some work as well, but he did look better on that end. He has long arms that certainly help him out, along with good speed and lateral movement. I’m not sure he’ll ever be a great defender, but he can be serviceable.</p>
<p>Wright-Foreman is capable of playing off-ball at times, but he’s going to have to improve his point guard skills in order to stick. He’s got plenty of people to work with over the summer, so look for him to improve in that area over the summer. This is the big thing with him.</p>
<p>With Wright-Foreman, a lot of it will simply come with time. He’s still learning a complex system and is only in his first year as a professional. The goal is for him to make tiny bits of progress with each game. Make the right reads, slow down and let the game come to him.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about Wright-Foreman’s defense, but the playmaking is a concern. I do know that he is an extremely hard worker, and I expect him to look a lot better over the summer and next season.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Final Grade </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-82613" src=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fthejnotes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1173882979.jpeg" alt="Utah Jazz" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1173882979.jpeg 1600w, https://thejnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1173882979-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Justin Wright-Foreman, Utah Jazz. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Final Grade: B</h3>
<p>I’m giving Justin Wright-Foreman’s G-League performance this season a B grade. He looked very good in areas we already knew he was strong in, but still needs to sharpen up in other areas. He’s worth the development, and overall, this was a positive start for his career.</p>
<p>When I look at the future for the Utah Jazz, the point guard position is in question. <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/conlemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Mike Conley</a> is aging and his contract will be up after the 2020-21 season. If he continues to progress, Wright-Foreman may have a chance to play himself into Utah’s future plans.</p>
<p>For now, though, he won’t have a major role with the big club. He’s only 22 years old and is still developing. Maybe it’s because he grew up in New York (where I was born and raised) and went to school in New York, but I’m rooting hard for Wright-Foreman. I love watching him play and think he belongs in this league.</p>
<p>The exciting guard will have a lot of eyes on him when/if Summer League opens during the summer. It will be a good venue for him to show off some added parts to his game.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="End of season awards, Utah Jazz edition" data-url="https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-season-awards/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> End of season awards, Utah Jazz edition </a> </div>
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<p>Be sure to check out how <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brantja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Jarrell Brantley</a>, Utah’s fellow Two-Way player, fared with his grade. You can view that <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/30/utah-jazz-grading-justin-wright-foremans-g-league-season/"https://thejnotes.com/2020/03/21/utah-jazz-grading-jarrell-brantleys-promising-g-league-season/">here. It’s safe to say that the Utah Jazz did a fine job with both of their Two-Way players this season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">