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Why the Jazz need a young Point Guard.
Posted by: Ryan Martinez on August 19th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.In the NBA the common Attitude is Win now, but with the Miamis, the LAs, and the Brooklyns of the league snatching up all the stars, sometimes teams need to go the win later route, made popular by the Spurs and Thunder.
The Jazz, while still in position to perform now, are in a good position for the future with Burks, Hayward, favors and Kanter. But the Jazz aren’t the only team with talented players under the age of 25 that are expected to be the future of the team, so let’s look at some teams with similar situations as the Jazz.
Charlotte: Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo
Cleveland: Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Omri Casspi, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller
Denver: Ty Lawson, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee
Detroit: Brandon Knight, Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye, Andre Drummond, Greg Munroe
Houston: Jeremy Lin, Jeremy Lamb, Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, Patrick Patterson
Minnesota: Ricky Rubio, Alexey Shved, Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams, Kevin Love
New Orleans: Austin Rivers, Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Robin Lopez
Philadelphia: Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Arnett Moultrie, Spencer Hawes, Andrew Bynum
Portland: Damian Lillard, Johnny Flynn, Luke Babbit, Nicolas Batum, J.J. Hickson, Meyers Leonard
Sacramento: Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans, Thomas Robinson, DeMarcus Cousins
San Antonio: Patty Mills, Danny green, Kawhi Leonard, DeJaun Blair
Toronto: Ed Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Landry Fields, Jonas Valanciunas
Washington: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely
and, Let’s not forget Oklahoma City: Eric Maynor, Russel Westbrook, James Harden, Perry Jones III, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka
So, that’s 14 teams in the league that have at least 4 guys under the age of 25 with the potential to become good players in the NBA. The interesting thing about all these teams however, is that except Toronto, everyone of the teams listed above has a point guard that fits in the category. IN order to keep up not only with teams such as the Heat, Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Nets, etc. as well as the teams on the rise above, it is important that the jazz get a young point guard to run with our Core Four…
Replies: 24
Views: 982
24 Responses
We cannot always find a John we have a Mo.
The Jazz staff need to find a way to work with MO not John.
The staff needs to adjust to his game a little bit.
If they do we will win.
They did not do that with Devin and he his a good point not great but good.
Work with and adjust to Mo and look for the next John.
The Jazz are going to have a great season.
Does anyone think that Alec Burks could make the transition to the point guard and play like Russell Westbrook. If that where to happen Jazz would just need a young SF and there starting lineup would be set.
As the Jazz needs to work with what they have, I think Burks has the potential to develop into a strong point guard. He has quickness, seems to handle the ball well, and can drive to the basket. He needs to develop his passing and his defensive skills if he is to handle the likes of Westbrook, Wade, Wall, etc.
Hopefully, with Tinsley and Watson still around, they will mentor him, along with Mo Williams and Randy Foye.
Also, let’s hope this will be a breakout year for Gordon Haywood at SG and SF. If he can play with confidence, this will go a long way in helping the Jazz.
Jazz on paper have one of the worst PG lines, with Watson as being the number 2 PG. He shouldnt even be the Jazz 3rd PG. But if the Jazz take a chance on Burks, that can pay off in spades. Why not take a chance?! There are 7 preseason games and 82 regular season, they really need to give Burks a serious shot at PG. And that would only be at backup PG, so no loss really. Burks on his worst day and Watson on his best day would still have Burks wwaayy better than Watson.
Foye and Burks should be the backup backcourt. They can both bring the ball up, which will give the offense different looks, thereby making harder to guard for. Burks could be the future PG of the Jazz, but we will never know unless we play him there.
Omar I do agree with you there. The very big questions I have in my mind are: 1. Would Burks want to work in the PG position and 2. Does the coaching staff want to use Burks in the PG postion? I also think that the Jazz should either trade for a good young point guard for the future or draft on in the next upcoming draft? Go Jazz
We lost a big opportunity when we passed up Goron Dragic in free agency this year. Young and Good
Like Ryker said, Jazz missed several opportunities to maybe trade or sign a FA PG, so now the Jazz really have little risk in playing Burks at the backup PG with high reward. Burks is a fearless, if the Jazz ask him to play center he do it. Burks never complained when he was getting DNPs, so I think he love playing PG. I think defensively hes a better on ball defender than running through screens which gave him some trouble. Plus him being 6′6 guarding PGs smaller than him will be a huge advantage, and give the Jazz a monster line up of length and athleticism. Burks and Foye can both play PG, so the pressure wont be there, so I see all positives by playing Burks at PG.
Jazz should have moved some pieces, like Al for instructions, to grab some future picks. Cuz I dont see the Jazz romancing CP3 and the likes, so Jazz future PG is Burks or in the next two drafts.
In an ideal world, Burks would excel at PG, GSW will win the lottery, Jazz draft Shabazz to be the backup 2.
Burks, Hayward, Marvin, Favors, Kanter start with Millsap and Shabazz off the bench, among other key players.
http://www.deseretnews.com/m/article/700221960
It’s gonna be a little tough at first for burks if he where to switch to point guard but I think with a little practice and getting more confortable he could easily the point guard of the future. Imagine this lineup Burks Hayward Williams Favors Kanter.
I have a vision then of:
Burks PG 6′6″
Hayward SG 6′8″
Williams SF 6′9″
Favors PF 6′10″
Jefferson G 6′11″
The Jazz big team. They are athletic and can run the floor. The Jazz would be competative. Go Jazz
opps, Jefferson C 6′11″
Jefferson is shorter then Favors.
@Omar. Randy Foye is going to run point in the second unit, not Watson. Burks is fast and can penetrate defenses, but he can’t shoot and refuses to pass. Not point guard material.
Burks is not a PG, Im not saying he cant be one, but seriously, he hasnt even played a whole summer league game at PG. At best he’d pretty much be Devin Harris, and that is at best. Omar is right about the lack of depth at PG but I’m not sure what the best realistic scenario is to improve this position.
I would take a Devin Harris (Burks at best) coming in as our second unit. No complaints from me with that! I think Burks has that special mentality where he doesn’t get discouraged easily, and he wont be intimidated. That makes it so he can thrive in almost any role as long as he knows what he needs to get done. I say give it a shot with him at PG, and SG.
I agree Burks wont be the “traditional” PG, but think about it in terms of Harden (Burks) and Westbrook (Foye): they can alternative bringing the ball up and setting the offense. Foye being a good spot up shooter will open up lanes for Burks in a P&R situation, 3 dribbles and hes at the rim. Harden is not a traditional end PG but hes fantastic with the ball in his hand, thats the kinda of PG Im thinking of Burks being, so more so in terms of a “scoring PG” which we see dominating the league right now running through a P&R situation.
Traditional positions are changing in basketball. Heyward was a point when he was younger. In college Burks team did not have a point but just two guards. You would not need a traditional point with a mix of Burks, Heyward, Foye,and Mo Williams. Let them just be guards..
Burks isnt fit for a pg sg fits him perfectly he can push the ball move well with out the ball and, make hard cuts to the hole perfect discriptionof an sg not a pg. Im interested to see what foye can do at the pg spot i think the kid has alot of talent and has the ability to run the pg spot
@silverwolf I like that lineup. I would go Favors at Center and Sap at #4 … Danger!
I cant wait to see Favors, Millsap and Marvin Playing together. Defensively they think so alike
@Jazzed…you forgot Hayward, he has turned into a very good defensive player also.
Oh definitely, another reason I love the Marvin pick up. putting Hayward at his natural 2 spot strengthens the Jazz defensively with his height advantage on other SG’s. The most exciting thing to me is. All 4 of those guys front the ball well, but each one of them have crazy wingspans and all 4 of them block shots well from behind on players driving to the hole. All 4 of them have very high defensive IQ and awareness. I dont think Hayward gets enough credit for his toughness. All 4 of those guys are tough minded and work their guts out on defense.
I like Burks alot and Al doesnt get enough credit for what he has overcome with injuries to still be this impactful on offense. Knee injuries is why he sucks on pick and rolls, not lack of will.
Burks has some talent , no doubt. honestly he has the tools to be a PG, but he doesnt want to be one. Marvin should be around for some time. Hayward is our SG and Foye is a damn good backup.
So I think the 2 guys to get traded possibly before allstar break for a top tier PG and draft picks; are Al and Burks.
Hypothetically if someone like Monroe got injured, the Pistons have 2 high calibur PG’s. Stucky with a bigger contract. If we could get Stucky and a 1st round draft pick (probably top 15 if they had a season like last year) from the piston’s would it be worth trading Burks?
Burks isnt going anywhere because hayward isnt a sg haywards an sf. He played alot better against small forwards then he did against shooting guards. Your starting line up if you the coaching staff is smart should be
Pg. Williams
sg. Foye or burks
sf. Hayward
pf. Favors
c. Jefferson
you get haywards full potential because he can play against players he plays better against. Burks gets to develope more by spilting time with foye. Favors deserves the starting spot he proven him self enough last season. You also get a get back up 4.
Pf. Milsap c. Kanter sf. Williams sg. Burks or foye and pg foye or watson.
it gives you dept and are young players can step up and get some experience