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Already Being Counted Out?
Posted by: Patrick on March 17th, 2013
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Just a short month ago, the Jazz were talked about as they had already secured their playoff spot.. Now they are starting to talk about us as if we have missed the playoff train.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1570756-theyll-make-the-playoffs-but-these-nba-teams-cant-win-a-series
Is this true Jazz nation? Are we to the point that we are ready to watch the balls drop in hopes for a top pick in the Lottery? Are we looking toward free agency in the attempt to rebuild for next season and for years to come? They say we arent in rebuild mode, but you have to wonder. We only have 6 people under contract next season. 7 if you count Murphy’s ungauranteed Contract. That leaves another 7 positions to fill. I thats not a rebuild then what is?
Who do you want back of the players who could be leaving? Al, Paul, Earl, Randy, Jamaal, Mo, Demarre, and last our D League call up Travis are all those who could leave or we could bring back. Personally I dont see Earl or Jamaal coming back. Al, well if he doesnt appear to play well with Derrick, than I dont see him coming back either. Why would you bring a guy back who makes the future worse? That leaves you wondering about our call up as well. If we are checking out a player who plays like Alec, then could Alec be on the trade market come draft time? So many questions, and still several months before we will know the answers.
Speaking of the draft, who should the Jazz focus on? In years past we have always taken best available. In the past we usually had a pretty full roster. This year seems different, we have positional needs, some of which could be filled through the draft. So if we draft at 14 and 18 do we take Mason Plumlee and Rudy Gobert just because they are best available as NBA Draft Net would have you believe? Or do we fill positional needs?
http://www.nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft
Where will we be drafting at? GSW seem to be tanking are actually only a game away from Possibly giving us the 16th pick in the draft. If we had 14th and 16th, that could be good, but then do you draft for position or need. My dream draft picks this season would be Otto Porter and Trey Burke. Lets look at why. Guys we have under contract for next yr.
PG
SG Hayward, Burks, Murphy
SF Ma Williams
PF Kanter, Evans
C Favors
Lets add my picks:
PG Burke
SG Hayward, Burks, Murphy
SF Porter, Williams
PF Kanter, Evans
C Favors
Get lucky and find a way to Muscala or Wolters and your looking pretty good in a couple yrs.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/56909/otto-porter
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/56670/trey-burke
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/46309/mike-muscala
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/46740/nate-wolters
Bring back Millsap and Carroll then look at the roster.
PG Burke,
SG Hayward, Murphy
SF Porter, Carroll, Williams
PF Millsap, Kanter
C Favors, Kanter
Now your saying where is Burks? Could he be the trade piece to get you a Porter, or Burke? Would you let him go to gill that with a young talent that could take us places? Is that why we are trying out Travis Leslie?
So if we are being counted out, does that mean we start wondering what we will look like next season? Its sure to be much different. I didnt even cover free agency yet, and other possible trades that could come up by the next trade deadline. Marvins expiring contract will certainly look good to someone, so I dont expect to see him finish next season with us, if we can find a piece to grow with our young core. What do you guys think?
Replies: 7
Views: 425
7 Responses
I suspect the Jazz are going to keep DMC, Foye, Mo and possibly Paul. DMC and Foye are cheap enough and productive enough that they remain useful and don’t do any harm financially when it comes to getting any other pieces that fit the roster. We probably need Mo to come back next year, on a slightly cheaper contract as we can’t afford to lose the only useful PG we have, he can either play back up next year or be our main guy if can’t find anything better. As much as may want to see Favors and Kanter be handed the reins as C and PF next year, they will need someone to show the way or play alongside them at times next year and it might be better to give Millsap a 4 year contract and look to trade him on in two years rather than testing another vet in the Jazz system. We know what we get from Paul, and less time spent trying to get a replacement there could be more energy spent finding a PG, SG and maybe a new SF. With Al allowed to move on for a larger contract than the Jazz are willing to pay Corbin can look to design a new offense that uses the attributes of every position in the roster over the summer.
I also believe they will try and make some sort of deal that ends up with them getting a higher pick in the draft so that they have a better guarantee of getting someone they really want rather than someone in the 14 – 18 range. That might mean turning 2 picks into 1, or doing a sign and trade and giving away a pick plus maybe Al or Paul to get a a top 4 pick. Do the likes of Charlotte really need yet more young players with potential or would they prefer to get a lower pick and a veteran that can score that can maybe help them grow from their fodder run in the NBA ladder?
If the Jazz want a better chance of getting the type of player they need rather than just taking the best available player left they they need make some sort of play that is similar to what got them Deron Williams a few years back.
National media wants a Spurs/OKC vs. Fakers. Kind of looks that way now.
Hawks want to move Horford to the position he likes at PF. Al would love to be closer to home in Atlanta. Korver could be part of the trade also..
Would love to see the Jazz trade up..
Millsap’s wage compared to output makes resigning him a stupid move. He wants double figures in salary and he simply isnt worth it
Disco:
Al Jefferson 17.4 ppg, 9.1 reb, 1.2 blk 15 mil
David West 17 ppg, 7 reb. 10 mil
Boozer 15.6 ppg, 9.1 reb, 15 mil
Ilyasova 12.5 ppg, 6.8 reb, 7.9 mil
Kris Humpries 5.5 ppg, 5.9 reb, 12 mil
Paul Millsap 15 ppg, 7.4 reb, 2.5 ast, 1 blk, 1.3 st 8.6 mil
Paul millsap at 10 mil is not a bad price. Tell me who we can bring in for that price and get that much performance every night. Even if his shot is off he is doing the other things. Your not a Boozer fan are you?
Paul 20.65 per
West 20.50 per
Al 20.48 per
Erson 17.99 per
Boozer 17.29 per
Kris 13.17 per
Tell me which is the stupid buy vs output. Guessing your wanting to keep Al, who doesnt seem to perform will with Favors.
OK, I’ve had my say Disco, who would you bring in. Remember, we need another solid big, and we need to keep our salary up to make the minimum.
Supposing we do offer Millsap a double figure offer for 4 years, there’s no reason that we have to keep Paul for all 4 years after his contract is signed. We only have to look to Colorado for a way to use our players and contracts. If there is nothing obviously better out there that wants to sign on in Utah, sign Millsap now to the contract he wants. Then get want you need out of him performance wise whilst Favors and Kanter grow into their new expanded role with the absense of Jefferson next year, and then when both players are ready to be the the 1 and 2, trade Millsap for another need.
Thats similar to what Denver did with Nene and Affolo, signing them to long term contracts only to let trade them within a year. They then moved good, but not great players onto teams that needed veteran experience. They got McKee to play as a backup, and got themselves inserted into a the howard deal and walked out with Iguodola.
Whats the alternative, we let Millsap walk away for nothing and then sign up another big in his place that might not like the system, the coach, or the players. We know what we get from Millsap on a night to night basis. He’s used to playing here, and under the right circumstances is a very tradeable asset, but as long as teams think they can get him for nothing they aren’t going to offer what he is truly worth.
Personally I think we should have been exploring a deal with Charlotte that involves a sign and trade Jefferson and a first round pick for their first round pick, which should be a top 4 pick. For a moment as fans we might be all might be shocked and horrified that Jefferson was here for another few years, but if the reality was it was just a smart play to get a top 4 pick in this draft and we had the chance to pick up Smart, McLemore, Noel or Porter depending on how the balls dropped we’d all be breathing a sigh of relief and probably very excited about our future.
Both the Bobcats and the Wiz should get high draft picks. Making Wall and Walker available. Could do a three way making it possible to pick up some nice pieces..The first five picks look pretty good.
How about a blockbuster with Hawks getting AL, Korver and pieces to Jazz and Smith involved to another team.
Also if you break down the player of the game Sap is up there with the leaders.Jazz should resign him with a loaded front contract so when the younguns get ready to sighn again the money will be there..
After the impact Wall had on Washington after coming back from his injury I can’t believe for a minute that he will be available for a trade until the day he decides not to sign on again. No franchise gives up a player of that ilk until the day of reckoning comes and thats not going to be this year. As for Walker i’m not sure I rate him as a quality PG. He’s ok but he’s nothing special and his ceiling doesn’t look to be that high.