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Hot Tubbing with D-Will
Posted by: Ben S. on February 25th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Hmmm….what to write about?
Drama? Can you imagine the drama of next season (assuming there is a season) between Deron, Jazz brass, media and fans that would have taken place if he stayed here to play out the last year of his contract? All we would need is a hot tub and we could call it a reality show. Look how tired Carmelo’s situation had become. The speculation would drive me insane. It will be interesting to watch D-Will go through it now in NJ.
Defense? This trade really makes the Jazz a better defensive team. Devin Harris is a quick defender who does a good job of staying in front of his man and he recovers well. He fights hard through pick-n-rolls (kind of like Deron used to do) and takes pride in his “D”. Derrick Favors adds length and athleticism to the front-court which will be nice down the road against tall front lines like the Lakers.
KOC? I’ve been hearing a lot of criticism aimed towards Kevin O’Connor and the Jazz front office. In my estimation KOC is batting around .500 in the 12 years he’s been here. Not good enough you say? I looked at each team around the league and in the same time period, I could only find 3 other teams with General Managers who I think are doing a better job than O’Connor considering who they work for and the resources they have: the Spurs, Thunder, and Celtics. The difference between those teams and the Jazz? The Spurs purposely tanked it one season in order to get Tim Duncan with the #1 pick. Would Jazz fans put up with a stunt like that? San Antonio also lucked out with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili; non lottery picks that became all-stars. The Thunder were able to build their roster only because they were absolutely horrible and non-competitive for years. Hence, they were able to acquire multiple top 5 draft picks. The ping-pong balls bounced their way when they were able to get the #2 pick instead of the #1, or else it would have been OKC who ended up with Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durrant. And don’t forget, Danny Ainge was only weeks away from getting fired when he was able to make the trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett with all the lottery picks he accumulated during the Boston Suck-Party in the late 2000’s . O’Connor might be the only GM crafty enough to get rid of John Amaechi. I still can’t believe Houston took that guy off our hands. A nice enough guy, but he looked and played like 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. Keep that in mind before you complain about Kevin O’Connor.
The Trade? I already miss #8 but I think this trade was a no-brainer. The Jazz essentially are getting 4 lottery players for one. D-Fav, D-Har, D-raft picks will be more valuable than D-Will in the long run. The majority of whether this trade turns out to be positive or not hinges on Favors. If he pans out, it is a brilliant move by the Jazz. If Derrick can’t live up to his potential, we better hope one of the draft picks turns out to be special.
New Guys? At only 19 years old, it’s going to be fun to see what kind of player Derrick Favors becomes. Under-acheiver like Darko or Kwame? Bubble all-star like Nene or Al Horford? Superstar like Garnett or Amare? MVP like Karl Ma…..ok, I’ll settle down. I think Jazz fans will like Devin Harris. Him and Deron have had some battles over the years and I’ve always been impressed with how hard he plays and how fast he is. We can’t expect him to be the offensive playmaker D-Will was but I’m excited to see him in Utah.
New Jersey? Now that Deron is in New Jersey, how many of us are going to have to buy a new jersey?
Head Coach? When Coach Sloan called it quits, Tyrone Corbin was essentially promoted from Jerry’s assistant to Deron’s assistant. Now, because of the trade, he can rightfully take his place as head coach of the Utah Jazz.
The wrist? When was the last time D-Will fell down and popped back up without grimacing or holding his wrist? It’s been years. I know he’s dinged up and I’m not doubting his toughness. His frustration with the injury was real. However, I’m betting after the first few spills he takes with the Nets he will jump back up and shake it off like a running back does on every play. Give him a week, however, and he’ll fall back in to his “wrist-holding” routine.
All Star Weekend? The game was competitive and actually included a little defense. The players shoes didn’t disappoint. Dunks really don’t have a lot to do with the dunk contest any more. My two favorites: Ibaka from the free-throw line and Griffin with the elbow hang. James Jones better enjoy his year as the 3-point shootout champ because next year Jimmer is coming for him.
Jimmer? I can’t wait to watch BYU vs. SDSU on Saturday. Aztec fans have been camping out to get tickets to the game in Cox Arena which seats around 12,000. If my math is correct, that means there will be approximately 24,000 middle fingers aimed towards the Cougars, 10,000 anti-mormon protesters, and 6,000 STD’s floating around the stands. I expect a good game between two great teams, although I don’t think either team is one of the 10 best in the country. Prediction: Jimmer has a rough game and only scores 30. Cougs win by 2.
Replies: 8
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8 Responses
Boston suck-party, har-har! Also good point on the ratification of Corbin. Hear, hear.
I really wonder what Corbin is going to do with all the athleticism and length he has now between Evans and Favors. Utah could probably sell tickets to a jump contest. I don’t think the Jazz have ever had two young guys with that kind of athletic ability.
Could this point the way to a faster paced game? Oops and running the court? Crazy shot blocking and monster dunks? In Utah?? Stay tuned..
Agree that unfortunately the trade had to be done even though I hate to see a talent like D-Will leave. Glad the Jazz dared to be proactive after seeing Denver, Cleveland, Toronto, etc get burned.
I’ve been saying D-Will is the 3rd best PG and barely holding off Westbrook, even though I was a big fan and it was painful to say. Funny how most Jazz fans defended D-Will as best PG to the death, and now many of those same fans are saying he wasn’t a leader and CP3 and others were better. Just proves how tough it is to be rational when also a fan.
Devin Harris, Jeremy Evans, and Derrick Favors. Now that’s some fast break action I’d like to see.
If we had the same issue with D-Will, they couldnt top the headline Melo-drama, could they.?
Denver did that to themselves. They knew Melo wanted out, they made the choice to drag it out.
I have been saying the same thing about D-Wills wrist. They take a long time to heal and sometimes they are never the same.Favors can now settle down to a team that wants to keep him.When Jersey played here a couple of weeks ago I was impressed with both Favors and Harris. I think with this addition the Jazz will surprise a lot of people.
They are gonna be fun to watch. I’m not sure how many games they win this year but by mid-season of next year I hope we’re reading about how the Jazz are rollin. Or we’ll be reading about millionaires battling each other for a few extra bucks while the fans get jimmered out of a season.
Be careful what you say about Amaechi or he’ll call you out in his next book.
I couldn’t agree more. But looks like we were wrong about D-will’s wrist. He had to leave the game tonight after hurting it again. However, I was impressed with his game tonight but his injury is obviously changing his shot. Hope he can work it out.
And I’m not buying a new jersey until New Jersey gets new uniforms. Like the team, their gear has been ugly for years.