Darryn Peterson received his first standing ovation from a partisan Jazz crowd when he led his team onto the court for warm-ups prior to Saturday’s game in the Salt Lake City Summer League, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Fans reacted in similar fashion a few seconds after tipoff when Peterson maneuvered through Atlanta’s defense for an easy layup.

Todd notes that it wasn’t a designed play, but Peterson eyed a defender he could beat off the dribble, then exploded past the help defense for his first two points in a Utah uniform.

“Just a read,” Peterson explained. “I seen a bigger guy come out on me so I tried to just attack him.”

The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft provided plenty of thrills for fans who packed the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah. A little more than a minute later, he brought the crowd to its feet again with a chase-down block of fellow rookie guard Kingston Flemings. He also continued the scoring onslaught, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting and sinking 4-of-7 attempts from long distance.

Peterson admits being inspired by the chance to face Hawks big man Zuby Ejiofor, whose St. John’s squad eliminated Peterson’s Kansas team from the NCAA Tournament.

“That was my first game since the last game of March,” Peterson said. “That was also on my mind, because Zuby was on the other team, and they beat us on that game winner … so, was happy to get the win.”

There’s more from Utah:

• Jazz guard Keyonte George has received permission to serve as an assistant coach for a July 9 game against Washington in the Las Vegas Summer League, Todd states in a separate story. Agent Jason Ranne confirms to Todd that George got the go-ahead from the NBA as long as he’s not compensated and it’s just for one game. It’s believed to be the first time that an active player will work in an official coaching capacity during Summer League.
• Jazz officials knew they would eventually be presented with a pricey offer sheet for center Walker Kessler, Todd adds in another piece, so they acted proactively by agreeing to trade the restricted free agent to the Lakers for a parcel of future draft picks. She notes that matching an offer in the range of $36MM per year would have left Utah right against the tax threshold with little flexibility for future moves. With George eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer, Todd says the team was heading for a scenario where it would only be able to keep him or Kessler.
• Ace Bailey has been “eating and lifting” since the season ended and plans to incorporate his new-found strength into his game, per Jason Batacao of The Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz are asking Bailey to become more of a two-way player, and Summer League provides his first chance to show progress toward that goal. “Summer League is time to put those benchmarks into action,” assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “Now it’s time to do it on the court and see where you’re at, and hopefully where he’s at is an improvement in all those areas.”