Royce O’Neale: Utah Jazz Season In Review

Apr 13, 2020, 4:47 PM | Updated: Apr 24, 2020, 3:39 pm

Royce O'Neale - Utah Jazz - Charlotte Hornets...

Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) laughs while talking to teammate Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during a Hornets’ free throw as the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets play an NBA basketball game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Utah won 109-92. Courtesy of Deseret News.

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BY BEN ANDERSON, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NBA is in a standstill as a result of the coronavirus outbreak that has sidelined professional sports across the globe. With 18 games left to play in the regular season for the Utah Jazz, and a date with the postseason on the line, it’s unclear when or if the season will return.

With game action in a holding pattern, it’s an ideal time to look at each player on the Jazz roster and how they have performed this season. Have they exceeded or failed to meet expectations, have they improved their game, remained steady, or seen a decrease in their level of play. Finally, how will they impact the team when games return, whether that’s to finish the 2019-20 season, or to begin the 2020-21 season.

The order of player evaluations will be done by jersey number, starting with the team’s lowest, and working to the team’s highest number.

Royce O’Neale – 23 – Small Forward

Stats: 6.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg: .439/.389/.735

Despite a tumultuous season for the Jazz overall, Royce O’Neale has seen one of the steadiest seasons on and off the floor for any player on the roster.

After moving on from big man Derrick Favors in the offseason, the Jazz were desperate to find replacement rebounding and defense in their starting lineup. Despite playing the smaller of the two forward positions, the Jazz turned to O’Neale to help make up for the drop in production.

Fans, give a big welcome to the @utahjazz new center Royce O'Neale. #TakeNote #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/Vt6FUb8ry8

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) February 29, 2020

Bojan Bogdanovic, who replaced Favors in the starting lineup doesn’t provide the physical the team lost when they moved Favors, making O’Neale an ideal replacement in the Jazz first unit.

As a result, after starting just 20 games through the first two seasons of his career, O’Neale has started in 55 of the Jazz 64 games this season. After a temporary move to the bench, O’Neale was brought back to the starting lineup, highlighting his value on the roster, even if his statistical output won’t open many eyes.

O’Neale is the team’s best perimeter defender, regularly defending the opposing team’s best offensive player. From Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, O’Neale has one of the most versatile defensive skillsets in the NBA, even if he’s not a traditional lockdown defender.

Additionally, the forward has developed into a threat beyond the three-point line, those his .389 shooting percentage from deep comes on relatively few attempts. O’Neale averages just 3.3 attempts per game from downtown, a number the Jazz would like to see increase if he could maintain his respectable shooting percentage while finding more consistency.

Great read by Donovan Mitchell…Royce O'Neale…CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/jY2vNkHhwe

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 26, 2020

O’Neale shot a combined 45 percent from three in October, November, and December, but has since seen that percentage drop to just 33 percent since January 1. Splitting the difference on a consistent basis would help to make the forward one of the best 3-and-D options in the league.

Despite the shooting slump, O’Neale has shown hints of a developing offensive game. Though he isn’t a particularly adept ball handler, O’Neale is a threat in transition as a powerful finisher at the rim with developing playmaking skills, as evidenced by his career-high 2.5 assists per game.

Perhaps it is these improvements that sparked the Jazz into giving the forward a four-year $36 million contract extension in January, locking the forward into the team’s rotation for the foreseeable future.

Royce O’Neale explains how he and the @UtahJazz came to their agreement on his contract extension, and why he chose to stay in Utah. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/6BOsd06o1b

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 19, 2020

O’Neale lacks the breakout scoring performances likely reveals a lack of potential as a future scoring threat. The forward’s best scoring out this season accounted for just 15 points as the third-year forward has reached double-digit scoring totals in only 13 games this season.

However, O’Neale’s ability to perform on the defensive end despite a lack of touches offensively is a valuable skill for a team that features high usage offensive weapons like Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic. O’Neale’s unselfish nature is a benefit to that team overall, though further improvement in his limited offensive touches would be a welcome development.

Based on the number of starts so far this season and his return to the starting lineup after coach Quin Snyder tested bringing O’Neale off the bench, it’s fair to say O’Neale has surpassed what would have been reasonable expectations for the year. No stat may better illustrate O’Neale’s value than the team’s 3-6 record when O’Neale comes off the bench, and the 38-17 record when he’s in the starting lineup.

Dunk of the Night: Nov. 8th

👉 Royce O'Neale of the @UtahJazz pic.twitter.com/QG8eTbJBB7

— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) November 9, 2019

Entering his prime with an average salary of $9 million over the next four years, O’Neale should be considered a solid asset for the Jazz moving forward, though his role as the most underpaid player on the roster may cause fans of the team to examine his production more closely than when he was on a minimum salary contract.

As long as O’Neale can remain in the top eight rotation players for the Jazz over the next four seasons, he’ll have easily earned his contract. If O’Neale falls out of favor, his mid-level salary should be easily movable to a team looking for improvement defensively on the perimeter.

Overall, O’Neale has not only established himself as a legitimate NBA player, but also as an important facet of the Jazz going forward. O’Neale is also a low drama player in the locker room with a well-documented friendship with Mitchell off the floor, further adding to the success of his season.