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Who’s That Guy We Traded Last Year?
Posted by: Jimmy on December 13th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Oh yeah, it was D-Will.
What was your reaction when Deron was dealt last February? Did you curse KOC? Did you regrettably relinquish hope for winning in the future? Did you fear that the Jazz were entering a full-on rebuilding mode?? If so, you may appreciate this video of Utahns who felt largely the same.
Me? I wasn’t worried.
Now, I’m not saying I thought we were going to pick right back up and storm into the playoffs; after all we had already hit a losing skid and lost Coach Sloan at that point in the season. But I recognized the value we were receiving back for Deron, and I knew that we had stopped the spread of a cancer that was hurting the team.
We were also receving a potential future superstar (and #3 pick) in Derrick Favors, and a replacement starting PG in Devin Harris. Harris had been an All-Star only two seasons earlier. And last but not least, we were receiving two first round picks (one turned into Enes Kanter!) Sounds pretty good for one guy who was a year away for skipping town.
So now here we are on the cusp of a new season. I must say, it has turned out much the same as I so optimistically predicted way back in April. We have re-tooled by drafting Enes Kanter (I whiffed on that, but then again I didn’t know we’d end up with the #3 pick) and Alec Burks (who was on my list.) We’ve shored up the PG position by re-signing a very happy Earl Watson, and are looking to add depth and athleticism to the SF position by pursuing Josh Howard (again, he was on my list.)
It seems like we could be on the verge of what Charlie Sheen refers to as “winning.” Have we not, therefore, reason to rejoice, O Jazz Nation?! We certainly do!
I for one cannot wait to get back to the excitement of watching our talented youngsters develop and watching our vets hold their own against the league’s best! Okur looks to be back, Millsap is set to deliver as always, Al and CJ are in better shape than ever, Raja is confident he’s regained form and Devin Harris will have a new defensive edge. What a great time to be a Jazz fan!!
Now, who’s that guy we traded last year?
Replies: 13
Views: 573
13 Responses
I cannot wait to see our team play this season either. Hopefully many of the guys meet expectations, at least the realistic expectations. If so, it will be very good indeed.
As far as how I felt when that other guy was traded, well I can say that I was happy then, and even more so now. Don’t get me wrong, I liked DWill and think he is a very talented player. He gave me some good memories. I just felt then and more so now that we are better off without him.
I was happy to see the trade go down, obviously it was hard to see things happen like they did. but I couldn’t stand seeing Deron walk around with his bad attitude and turn into the self centered unloyal guy that all the all-stars are becoming.
Once I saw what we got in return I had ZERO regrets however and felt a little vindicated for sending Sloan out the door like that. His path of distruction was starting to become wide and obvious. I hope Deron learned from that experience and found it humbling, but its doubtfull with his “Sterns is a big bully, all successful people are” comment.
Its sad when someone making 15 million a year plus endorsements has far less loyalty than someon like Earl Watson that shows HUJE loyalty to the jazz and us fans on a fraction of what D-will makes. D-Will take some lessons from Earl cause he’s got class.
Now getting back more talented peices and making the transition to a new coach and basically nearly a whole new team I too am very excited to see what comes. We have the peices to turn heads, its now time to go towork and get those peices to gel working like a machine.
GO JAZZ!
Totally agree with you guys.
Sloan was getting tired, and I think it was time to go, but there was no doubt that there were problems in the locker room. I think our team now is full of guys who are unselfish and committed to winning.
I’m really hoping Millsap can play through whatever role he’s put in, because he would be a HUGE 6th man. Also can’t wait to see how Gordon holds up (if he can be a consistent, quality player) and how Raja rebounds. If those two can really deliver, our team could be the deepest in the league and one of the best.
For now, I LOVE our leadership (Al spent 6 months STRAIGHT working out in Santa Barbara) and I love the attitude of our coaching staff.
Don’t forget we can also possibly pick up Golden State’s pick that came with the D-Will trade as well. As long as its not 1-8. So ideally, it would be 9
In a loaded draft, that could be a really good player.
Oh i digress. Top-7 protected. So we want GS to get the 8th pick.
I wasn’t a fan of the trade at the time, not because I thought it was a bad move, but because I knew it made us worse in the present with no guarantee we’d get any better in the future. We didn’t know if Favors would pan out (technically, we still don’t know, though early signs are positive), or that we’d end up with the #3 pick in the draft and get Kanter.
Realistically, we’re a minimum of two years away from being a real contender, probably more… when last year’s team had showed early on that they were capable of contending with anyone (even though they went into a slump later on).
So I was disappointed that they would trade away the center piece of a decent playoff team in favor of a rebuilding approach. And even though the Jazz probably wouldn’t have truly been a legit contender last year, I didn’t want to wait through another rebuilding process. I guess it was just because I’m too impatient.
Well, this is the time to look ahead, not back. I was angry with Deron, because I felt he was holding back and not happy (and i was mad at any pro player who doesn’t take the time to get some break fall training. Never, ever hold a fall with your hands, wrists break/hurt way too easily. There are enough martial arts/aikido studios in SLC to teach that
).
Now I am excited about that young core of players and look forward to see them play and develop and maybe even inch into the play-offs (for some experience).
A spirited team defense is all I am going to need as a fan.
Oh, yes, I am going to miss Andreij, if they don’t get a deal done, yet.
I was pissed at the trade. Not because it went down but it proved ONE selfish egotistacle Brat could destroy a team. I loved dwill, but when you start thinking your better than the team, and know more than the coach, get out and get out now. Sloan was the jazz and for everyone thaat thinks it was time for him to go, get real. We saw how quickly this team came together in 05 with a bunch of puppies, and that was for one reason, Sloan. We need him now more than ever because tese young puppies need his mind.But sice he is not walking through that door then ill suck it up. I stil think we will trade Saap, Jeff, or Okur before the deadline. Because the 3 of them do not play alot of D and the young guys behind them apparently can, plus one of them could net us a good package. Personally i would keep sap. that hustle is hard to find.
Does that mean if we end up projected with the 8th and lower pick, or that GS is higher than 23rd in the league, and then we can get lucky and have the numbers fall our way again?
Sloan was a GREAT coach. But if he thought it was time to go, I’d have to agree. Coaches have to want it too.
Sloan, while he had a great system, also had shortcomings. Seriously, why did we run the same stuff year after year against the Lakers? Why not try something new there after 5+ playoff exits at their hands? Also, we were always terrible about defending the three pointer. We let way too many nobodies in the league have career nights against us. Our pick-and-roll defense was poor. Our own three-point shooting was way low as well.
And finally, I think Ronnie Price should have seen lots more time against the Lakers in the playoffs. Deron’s big but not necessarily speedy. And honestly, a CP3 or a JJ Barea (or a Ronnie Price type) showed they can shred the Lakers defense. Why keep going to Boozer and watching him get taken to town by Gasol/Bynum? Anyway, you can tell those series were frustrating to me. Sloan’s system seemed to work well against almost every team….except the Lakers.
@Gerald – I think the protection references the ACTUAL pick, after the lottery process is decided. So we don’t want GS winning the lottery for a 1-2-3 pick, because then they get it
Its top-6 protected in 2013 and 2014 and if we don’t get it by then, then we get their 2014 2nd-rounder and their 2016 2nd-rounder.
Hit the nail on the head KC with Sloan. I have always thought Sloan was a good coach but not a great coach. He was a 50-55 wins per year guy but couldn’t get the greatness out of players to bring things all the way home. I like Pop in San Antonio, he’s shown how you take a small market all the way. We were never going to see anything different doing the same thing over and over and over and over… Thats just crazy. People say if its not broke doen’t fix it, well if the goal is to just be a playoff team and watch LA pass us by each year then you’re right don’t fix it, but if th goal is to achieve what the fans want then you gotts change it up and get that RING.
Some of it comes back to Personnel. I think Sloan with Parket, Duncan, Ginobli and Robinson could have seen the same success as the Spurs. But sometimes you have to modify your game depending on the opponent, your own personnel, etc. That’s where coaches should shine. Sloan just seemed to go with the same approach against the Lakers, though. Why not do a 1-4 flat and let Ronnie Price take it to the Fish Flop? A little out-of-the-box thinking perhaps is what I thought Sloan lacked at times. Oh well. It’s the Corbin era now.