Rim-protecting giant Jonas Aidoo and defensive specialist Jaelen House join Utah’s training camp, bringing elite G League production and collegiate accolades to a crowded Jazz roster battle.
The Utah Jazz have spent plenty of time this offseason reshaping the top of their roster.
Friday brought a look at the other end of it — and two very different ways to earn a longer stay.
Utah announced the signings of center Jonas Aidoo and guard Jaelen House, adding a pair of players with legitimate developmental cases ahead of training camp. Terms of either deal were not disclosed.
Aidoo already gave the Jazz a pretty convincing preview.
The 6-foot-11, 240-pound center appeared in seven Summer League games for Utah, averaging 9.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and a ridiculous 3.3 blocks in only 19.7 minutes per game while shooting 59.5% from the floor.
And there were flashes beyond the averages.
Aidoo finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks against Oklahoma City before posting 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against Chicago. For a player trying to force his way into the conversation at center, the formula is pretty simple … protect the rim, rebound everything and finish the opportunities that come his way.
Aidoo showed he can do all three.
He also appeared in 30 games for the Greensboro Swarm last season, averaging 5.4 points while shooting 56.1% from the field and helping Greensboro win the G League championship.
Finding NBA minutes in Utah is another challenge entirely.
The Jazz already have a deep collection of frontcourt options, so Aidoo enters camp with plenty of competition. Still, 3.3 blocks per game in fewer than 20 minutes is the kind of production that earns another look — especially from a player Utah has already seen up close.
House brings almost the opposite profile.
At 6-foot and 165 pounds, he is not going to overwhelm anyone physically. His case comes with the ball in his hands … and with the pressure he can create on both ends.
House averaged 17.3 points and 6.2 assists in 24.8 minutes across 32 games for the San Diego Clippers last season. He followed that with 15.7 points and 4.2 assists over 18 games for the Beijing Royal Fighters, shooting 45.6% from 3-point range.
Whether that shooting carries over across a bigger sample remains to be seen. The creation is already there.
So is the defensive résumé.
House was named the media's Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year during his final season at New Mexico and earned All-Defensive Team honors from the conference's coaches. He finished his New Mexico career with 224 steals, second-most in program history, while becoming the first player in Mountain West history to lead the conference in steals three straight seasons.
Of course, Utah's young guards are not exactly waiting around for someone to take their minutes.
Keyonte George just landed a five-year, $157.5 million extension, Darryn Peterson arrives as the No. 2 pick and Isaiah Collier remains another young piece of the backcourt.
That makes House's path difficult — but it also makes his ability to create, shoot and make life miserable for opposing guards pretty important.
Neither Friday signing needs some grand declaration attached to it. Aidoo and House are fighting for opportunities near the bottom of a roster with plenty of competition already in place.
But there is a difference between filling out camp and bringing in players with a clear way to make themselves useful.
Aidoo can erase shots around the rim. House can create offense and pressure the ball.
Now comes the harder part:
Proving those traits are good enough to stick.
