The Utah Jazz remained busy over the weekend during their trade endeavors, making not just one, but two deals to make some minor shifts around the roster.
Among those deals was the one to bring in 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino of the Los Angeles Lakers, a small component of the mega three-team deal including Utah and the Dallas Mavericks. His move out of LA provides another opportunity to get his footing in the NBA on a roster where he could carve out a solid role for himself.
And it seems like a few of Hood-Schifino's new teammates have familiarity with him as well. Jazz guard Keyonte George spoke about Utah's addition on Monday after a narrow loss to the Indiana Pacers, and it's safe to say he's a fan of the move.
"I first met him in North Carolina at a CP3 camp, and we kind of just knew each other from then on," George said. "I wouldn't say we're tight, but when he gets in the building, it's going to be a great relationship... "Tough guard, he can score at all three levels. It's going to be fun to have him in the building."
George and Hood-Schifino started their NBA career in the same draft class in 2023. George landed with the Jazz at the 16th-overall pick, while Hood-Schifino landed one selection after at 17th-overall. Less than a couple of years later, the two are now on the same squad in Salt Lake City.
Hood-Schifino has had a bumpy start to the first two years of his career. He played 23 games during his tenure with the Lakers, averaging 1.7 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in just five minutes a night. This season, the second-year guard has only gotten 14 minutes on the floor.
As he comes into a new situation in Utah, Hood-Schifino should get some extended looks in the backcourt to try and generate some staying power ahead of this offseason. The Lakers declined his third-year option last offseason, leaving the 21-year-old to be an unrestricted free agent later this summer.
Before the former first-round pick hits the open market, he'll have his chance to at a tryout for Utah across the second half of this season -- teaming up with a familiar face in Keyonte George in the process.