Only 2 options....Utah Jazz draft options

Can we expect another pick like this?

  Wow!  That may be an understatement for both Jazz fans and NBA fans as a collective after last nights Draft Lottery.  The Cleveland Cavaliers with a 1.7% chance of securing the #1 pick, did so for the 3rd time in four years and for a second consecutive year.  We could go on and on about conspiracy theories and the lottery being rigged, but I won't.

  The only statement I will make on this is that Cleveland is a smoldering dumpster fire of an organization and its unfortunate that poorly run franchises continue to win the lottery.  They fire a coach, then turn around and rehire him after he was fired by his previous team after 8 games.  They sign players to hefty contracts (Andrew Bynum) and then pay them to walk.  Lastly, they clearly under-develop talent.  Kyrie, Trystan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett and now you can add this years first pick to that list (if they don't trade it....it would be the only smart thing they have done....)  We can comfortably call the Cleveland Cavaliers the modern day L.A. Clippers.  #SAD!

  Ok, enough of that.  Lets take a look at (in my opinion) the only 2 options the Utah Jazz really have with this draft.  Lets preface this by saying that there is a general consensus that there are 3-4 sure fire players.  Those being Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid (if the back checks out) and Dante Exum.  Well as luck would have it, the Jazz are sitting at #5.  If the consensus is that these are franchise corner stone players, its unlikely that teams in the top 4 are going to trade out of those spots without getting a current top 10-15 player in the league.  So as far as the Jazz are concerned moving up is highly unlikely.  So that brings us back to our only two options.

Option #1- The Jazz keep the #5, #23 and the #35 pick and use them according to best available and need.

  As currently constructed the Jazz have Derrick Favors, Alec Burks, Trey Burke, Enes Kanter, Jeremy Evans, John Lucas III and Rudy Gobert on guaranteed contracts for next season.  Gordon Hayward is a restricted free agent and Diante Garrett, Ian Clark and Malcolm Thomas are all team options.  The Jazz clearly lacked depth last season particularly at the wing position.  While Richard Jefferson was a nice vet, he didn't give you much other than that veteran presence.  Brandon Rush gave you nothing.  Ian Clark and Malcolm Thomas barely saw the court.  The Jazz had depth with the front court but it was inexperienced depth, young and raw talents.

Option #2- The Jazz keep the #5 pick, but get aggressive and package the #23 and a current asset to move up in the first round.

  The Sacramento Kings have already come out and said that they are looking to move the #8 pick.  They are said to want an impact veteran, someone that can help them make that jump and develop with their young core.  There will be other teams besides the Kings that have 2 first rounders like the Bulls or the Sixers that may look to save cap room for the pending free agent class.  Plays like this would give the Utah Jazz an opportunity to grab a couple of high level players that could come in and contribute right away.  Radio voice of the Utah Jazz, David Locke, said that he really likes the talent pool in picks 15-20.  An example that I am personally fond of, would be to select Marcus Smart with the #5 pick and then package the #23 and Alec Burks or Gordon Hayward for Sacramento's #8 pick.  Giving the Utah Jazz the choice between Doug McDermott or Aaron Gordon (according to Draft Express).  All three of these players have a high probability of coming in and contributing right away. Smart and McDermott would be a perfect compliment to the current roster and to each other.  Smart and Gordon along with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert would make for a scary good defensive unit.

  In my opinion, these are the to best and most feasible options for this young Utah Jazz squad.  I like where the Jazz are at currently.  I like the pieces they have to work with and love their financial flexibility.  I would hate to see the Jazz package any of their picks for a good or mid-level player and sacrifice the flexibility they have worked so hard to establish.  These two options allow this young team to continue to develop together and have the ability to make a splash in free agency or in the trade market.  But I am not a GM and not Dennis Lindsey......

Can the Bigs Keep Rolling?

  Tonight the Utah Jazz taking on the Ailing Sacramento Kings.  The Jazz are coming off a big win against The Washington Wizards Saturday Night.  The Jazz played with a lot of energy and closed out the game with the young core of Burke, Burks, Hayward, Favors and Kanter.  Enes Kanter and Alec Burks had big games for the Jazz. Kanter finished with 24 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts and only 1 turnover.  Alec Finished with 15 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts and no turnovers.  These are the kind of games that the Jazz need from these two players.  While Alec has been consistant for the last 2 months this was another bounce back game for Kanter. 

  The best part of this game was the fact that Kanter and Favors got some extended run together.  This is exactly what the Front office is needing to see from these to young players.  While it is a small sample size, the two seemed to work well together.  This morning on David Locke's Tip off podcast, there was the discussion of playing the 2 bigs together.  David brought up the point (which I have mentioned in the past as well) that if you are going to play 2 bigs together that one of them needs to be a good passer.  Exapmles of which could be, the Spurs, the Griz, the Pacers, the Blazers, all have very good passing bigs.  While this is something that still needs to be developed by Kanter and Favors I believe it is possible.

  Tonight will be interesting to see if the Jazz attempt to play the two of them together again.  The Kings may run two bigs with the likes of Aaron Gray, Jason Thompson, Quincy Acy and Carl Landry.  If the Kings deploy one of these front lines, look for the Jazz to give it a shot.  This is what we need to find out, for the future, if Kanter and Favors can play together.  Looks like the Jazz are on the way to finding out if that is possible.  GO JAZZ! 

Jazz taking on new look Kings and Rudy Gay tonight...

  The Utah Jazz head to "Sac town" tonight for a battle with the Sacramento Kings.  This will be a different team than the Jazz lost to on Saturday.  The Kings pulled off a 7 player trade, acquiring the rights to Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy.  Gay and Acy seem the most likely to get minutes for the Kings tonight.  This has also opened up an opportunity for BYU product Jimmer Freddett to get some increased minutes.  Jimmer was a DNP for the Kings Saturday night versus the Jazz.

  In the first game against the Kings, the Jazz were without the likes of Derrick Favors and Marvin Williams.  That stretched the Jazz thin and the did not have the size to battle with Cousins and Thompson.  Derrick Favors is said to be a game time decision.  Hopefully Favors is ready to go.  He has been a huge factor for the Jazz prior to the back spasms.  Favors offense is really developing.  He and Trey seemed to be getting into a rhythm and were playing really well.  Derrick was also showing off a nice little "pick and pop" ten footer, and we know what he brings on the defensive end.

  The last 2 games I have been impressed with Enes Kanter and his offensive game.  He is not hesitating on his 17 footer and is causing the defender to pull out on him.  Versus Portland he hit a couple of back to back jumpers, causing Lopez to close out hard.  Kanter blew by him for a dunk.  Its good to see Enes has the "green light" to shoot that shot.  He is a capable shooter with good touch.  This will pay dividends when Favors gets back in the line up.  This will help to spread the defense out some.  I would like to Enes pull the trigger on a 3pt shot or two also.  Pretty sure he does not have the go-ahead on that one yet, but I see no reason not to.  That is ultimately what the organization would like to see him develop some, so there is no better time than now to start shooting that shot.


  The back court of Trey Burke and Alec Burks have been playing fantastic.  Alec is averaging 17.4 pts over the last 6 ball games.  He has really benefited from the return of Trey, as well as, understanding his role on the team.  Alec is getting his points by doing what he does best, attacking the basket.  When he attacks he has incredible hang time and body control in the paint, allowing him to convert numerous 3pt plays.  Trey Burke has been as steady as they get.  I am not sure we expected him to be this good this early in the season.  He is getting a great feel for the offense and his teammates and putting them in a position to be successful.  Trey is learning quickly and is not turning the ball over too much.  He is playing with in the context of the offense and is being aggressive when the opportunity presents itself.

  Tonight's match-up is going to be difficult for the Jazz.  They do have an advantage with the fact that Sacramento is trying to work in a new player.  This may cause some confusion on the offensive end for the Kings.  The Jazz will need to take full advantage of the Kings lack of familiarity.  This trade make the Kings a very explosive team offensively, thus requiring a great TEAM DEFENSIVE EFFORT.  Watch the effort in the first 8 minutes.  If the Jazz are not getting after it (defensive glass, 50/50 balls etc) its going to be hard to get a victory on the road.  Time to fight and show some toughness.....GO JAZZ!

http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/jazz.pdf
http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/kings.pdf

To pay or not to pay.....

  Paul George and Demarcus Cousin, both players just received extensions on their rookie contracts.  Paul George signed a 5 year 90 million dollar contract.  Demarcus Cousins signed a 4 year 62 million contract.  Wow!  That's a lot of money for a media hyped average player and a complete knucklehead.  Do we really consider Paul George an NBA superstar?  He is a good defender and an average offensive player.  If you look at his numbers they do not justify this contract.  http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html#per_minute::none, http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html#advanced::none.  Don't get me wrong Paul George is a nice player but he is not a guy you build your franchise around and is going to LEAD you deep into the playoffs.

  Cousins, he is a whole different story.  A bad teammate, a shot chucker, terrible defender and a cancer in the locker room.  Does the guy have skills, definitely.  But again, do you want your team built around a guy that statistically makes you worse?  Per www.82games.com

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	2289	1676	57%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	106.3	108.0	-1.7
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	113.3	111.4	+2.0
Net Points per 100 Possessions	-7.1	-3.4	-3.6
Points Scored	4726	3493	+1233
Points Allowed	5031	3588	+1443
Net Points	-305	-95	-210
Effective FG%	49.2%	49.0%	+0.2%
Effective FG% Allowed	52.6%	50.5%	+2.1%
Assisted Field Goals	56%	54%	+2%
Assisted FG% Allowed	63%	64%	-1%
Own Shots Blocked	8%	6%	+2%
Shots Blocked	4%	5%	-1%
Rebounding
Offensive Rebounding	29.2%	30.0%	-0.8%
Defensive Rebounding	69.5%	67.8%	+1.7%
Total Rebounding	49.4%	48.9%	+0.5%
Stats
Free Throws Made	17	17	+0
Free Throws Attempted	23	21	+2
Free Throws Made by Opp.	18	18	+0
Free Throws Attempted by Opp.	23	24	+1
Turnovers, on Offense	15	13	-2
Turnovers, on Defense	14	14	+0
Net Turnovers	-1	1	+2
Fouls Committed	20	20	+0
Fouls, Drawn	20	19	+1
Net Fouls	0	-1	-1

  For fans of the NBA and especially Jazz fans this is BAD!  If these two players just received these types of contracts and you are an average or small market team and have the hope of holding on to your young stars, you better hope your teams front office is ready to pony up the dough.  This new CBA was supposed to help level the playing field some.  To help smaller markets keep their players.  Well Sacramento and their new ownership, and Larry Bird and the Pacers just blew up those thoughts.  I hope the rest of the league will be somewhat reasonable when it comes to signing players and stay with in the market value of such players.  Paul George will be making more that James Harden....Cousins will be making more that Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Kevin Love, all All-stars.  For the Utah Jazz's sake I hope Gordon and Derrick both understand how valuable they are to the franchise, but also realize that building a championship is not just about them and the money.  

Call it my "homer wish" maybe they can give us a "home town discount"!