Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Trey Lyles

Mar 22, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) reacts to a call during the first half against the New York Knicks at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

After a promising rookie year, Trey Lyles saw his production stagnate. How should the Utah Jazz look back on his sophomore season?

Drafted in 2015 with the 12th overall pick, Trey Lyles has now been through two seasons with the Utah Jazz, with different perceptions surrounding his performance in each of them.

As a rookie, he was seen as a potential starter and core piece moving forward for a team on the rise, while his second professional season raised doubts regarding this status.

Playing in 16.3 minutes per game, Lyles averaged 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 36 percent shooting from the field in 2016-17.

You can see that, when compared to his rookie year stat line, his performance was remarkably similar this season, with the drop-off coming in terms of efficiency.

Per Game Table
Season	Age	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	eFG%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2015-16	20	17.3	2.4	5.5	.438	0.6	1.6	.383	1.8	3.9	.461	.494	0.7	1.0	.695	0.7	3.0	3.7	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.8	1.4	6.1
2016-17	21	16.3	2.2	6.2	.362	0.9	2.9	.319	1.3	3.3	.400	.436	0.8	1.1	.722	0.7	2.6	3.3	1.0	0.4	0.3	0.9	1.4	6.2
Career		16.8	2.3	5.8	.400	0.8	2.2	.343	1.6	3.6	.435	.465	0.8	1.1	.708	0.7	2.8	3.5	0.9	0.3	0.3	0.9	1.4	6.1

Of course, numbers taken at face value don't tell the whole story about Lyles' contributions during his second season. He also had to contend with other factors that made production more difficult, such as a more crowded depth chart or a lower margin for error as a result of his team's success.

We'll look at Lyles' strengths, weaknesses, and his status with the future of the Jazz in order to get a clearer picture of how we should look back on his 2016-17 season.

Feb 6, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) is defended by Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) in the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths

One of the main reasons Lyles was so attractive to the Jazz and other teams as a draft prospect was his physical profile. At 6'10" and 234 pounds, he has ideal size for the modern power forward position, and his 7'1″ wingspan only adds to the appeal.

For his size, Lyles is very fluid and moves well up and down the court — so well that he even played small forward at times during his one season at the University of Kentucky.

The potential for him to develop into a more potent stretch-4 or small-ball center is certainly there, although he hasn't yet put this potential to use.

His rookie year, Lyles shot 38 percent from behind the arc on 1.6 attempts per game. He has the ability, once he's hit a couple of shots, to put the ball on the floor and attack closeouts, particularly against bigger defenders.

Although he isn't as comfortable executing complex defensive schemes as you would hope, Lyles shows the potential for being able to switch onto opposing guards in screen situations without surrendering easy buckets.

He's still very malleable in that the Jazz could take his development in a number of directions depending on what fits the arc of their team the best.

Jan 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) during a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz at Target Center. The Jazz defeated the Timberwolves 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Weaknesses

For as many things as Lyles could become given his physical profile, he has yet to realize any of them in terms of on-court production. He shot just 32 percent from behind the arc and 40 percent inside it, and had the fourth-worst net rating on the Jazz roster.

Further examining his shooting reveals a more concerning fact. Lyles shot 33.1 percent on wide-open three-pointers, compared with 33.3 percent when he's tightly contested, according to NBA.com.

This paints Lyles as an inconsistent and fundamentally unsound shooter, and on 2.9 attempts per game, his sample size is large enough to where this cannot be ignored.

In college, he was able to use his footwork and quickness to score effectively in the post, but he's been met with much more resistance in the NBA.

According to Synergy, Lyles went to post-ups on just 5.4 percent of his possessions, scoring 0.6 points per possession in the process.

That puts him in the seventh percentile leaguewide.

On defense, Lyles hasn't proven himself to be effective in many ways either.

He blocked just 20 shots on the season and proved hopeless in defending combo forwards when playing against a small-ball lineup.

With no specialties or calling cards to speak of, Lyles grades out as average or worse in just about every duty he's tasked with. As a big man that doesn't block shots, stretch the floor or play good defense on smaller players, there just aren't that many of his kind left in the league.

Dec 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles (41) looks to pass as he jumps out of bounds against Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) in the second quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Moving Forward

Lyles has two years left on his rookie deal, which includes a club option set to take place in 2018-19. After that, he'll become a restricted free agent, assuming the Jazz provide his qualifying offer that summer.

He's under team control for a long period of time should the Jazz wish, so it's definitely in their best interest to develop and include him into their long-term plans.