Case for Cotton

[HolyToledo12]

Cotton is our best PG thus should be our starting PG next year.

1) He is our best shooter of the PGs. Trey will likely shooter better and Nieto is known as non-shooter.
2) He pushes the ball which Trey never does and Exum didnt do. Nieto also pushes the ball.
3) He is a good passer/creator. Trey biggest weakness is he is not a creator whatsoever but Nieto is supposed to be a good creator.
4) He is a defensive liability like Trey bc lack of size but he has superior speed to Trey which helps him get more steals. Nieto has decent size but will likely struggle defensively as all rookies do (except long arm freaks like Exum).
5) Toughness! This kid isnt afraid to get into the lane and get to the line which Trey doesnt do whatsoever. Nieto has yet proven he can finish in the lane.
6) He is a talker/leader while Trey and especially Exum dont do while Nieto is yet to be seen

I was one who could not believe Isiah Thomas out of Washington didnt go in the first round and not get drafted until the last pick of the draft. Cotton is truly a back up PG on a championship contender but on the Jazz he is by far our best PG right now. I think we got the right coach who plays players that earn their playing time. Lets hope skill and quality of play is favored by coach over draft status and contract status!

[Winglish]

I like Bryce Cotton as well. I don't think he's NBA starter material, but he's a helluva lot more fun to watch than Exum and Burke. I like how Cotton pushes the pace on offense.

[KqWIN]

The big problem with his game that he has tunnel vision. He gets his mind set on one thing and goes for it instead of trying to make read. A lot of that has to do with his size which doesn't allow him to see over the defense. If he drives to the basket he's most likely going to put a shot up regardless of if it's a good on or not.

I do prefer him over Trey, but Trey is going to get the starting job by default. The reality is that contract status and draft position do matter. I don't like it, but that's just how it is. They're going to give every chance to seize this opportunity because they've invested so much into him.

[Stern Fixer]

^ Well said and also like the case made by the OP. Still I think that he's more of a playmaker than Isiah Thomas is. He's such an energy guy, and explosive creator that he's also a great 6th man type ala Isiah. Hate to predict which out of the three will ultimately start for the Jazz or if Exum will be available towards the end of the season to further complicate the matter. But I do love having this kind of a problem and think we have more upside amongst these three/four players than most can imagine.

[Reckless]

May be downplaying his ability but I just don't see him as a starting PG in this league, more see him as a Ronnie Price type player off the bench. BTW a lot of things you said may be true but only because our current PG situation is a disaster.

[Catchall]

I'd like to see what Raul Neto can do as a starter for 20 games. We don't have anything else better going on right now... I think he's got better vision and pace than Trey Burke. He can't possibly run fastbreaks any worse than Trey.

[Winglish]

I'd like to see what Raul Neto can do as a starter for 20 games. We don't have anything else better going on right now... I think he's got better vision and pace than Trey Burke. He can't possibly run fastbreaks any worse than Trey.

But Neto does shoot the 3 ball worse than Trey (embarrassing). And his pick and roll defense is pretty bad from what little I have seen (not knowing whether to go under or over picks and making a bad choice as often as not).

Neto does have exceptional court vision, though.

[Paper Face]

I think Neto is a mole from Brazil sent to the NBA with the express purpose of degrading NBA pont guard play.

I don't think his shooting will improve at all playing with the Jazz. I think his shooting will plummet like a vulture dying mid-flight above the grand canyon, and I think his turnovers will go up exponentially playing against NBA guards.

I think the two best qualifiers for Neto's PG play this year will be "sorrow" and "anguish".

Regardless, let's hope for the best!

[KqWIN]

Article on Bryce. I think he has a shot, at the very least, there's less evidence of him being terrible than there is with Trey.

http://saltcityhoops.com/organic-cotton-how-bryce-might-be-utahs-best-fit-at-pg/

[perkinfor3]

Raul Neto has me intrigued.