After advancing past the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season, the Utah Jazz had high expectations heading into the summer. However, a lot of the excitement surrounding the Jazz went right out the door when Gordon Hayward did, as he inked a deal with the Boston Celtics in free agency.
That being said, Utah still rosters some undoubtedly interesting young talent. Guard Alec Burks has been bogged down by injury issues in previous seasons but the Jazz hope he can hold down some of the scoring duties with Hayward’s departure.
Today, Utah got good news regarding the status of their combo guard as Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Burks is now back to 100% ahead of training camp:
Just been told Alec Burks is healthy and should be 100 percent good to go for training camp with no restriction. As of today.
— Tony Jones (@tribjazz) September 1, 2017
While Hayward wasn’t the only exceptional piece for Utah, he was a large part of the team’s offensive productivity and his departure left the Jazz without a go-to scorer to compliment the defensive prowess of Rudy Gobert.
If Alec Burks and fellow young wing Rodney Hood could play up to their vast potential, the loss of Hayward and also guard George Hill will turn out to be more bearable than anticipated.
The key for both is just staying healthy and on the court, as Burks has been in and out of the lineup in recent years thanks to various knee ailments. The talent is there to make an impact and the most recent news about Burks has to be encouraging for Jazz fans.
