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Non Jazz fan living in Utah, here. Very intrigued by the Jazz's future. Trying to make sense of it and trying to come up with scenarios that place the Jazz back in the hunt consistently.

Firstly, this current Jazz roster reminds me of that of the Chicago Bulls, before they landed Rose. The Bulls had a lot of young talent, some of it panned out, some of it didn't. That is very likely to happen to the Jazz. Like the Bulls, the Jazz lack a star and I don't see a future star (star = All-NBA candidate) on their roster.

To illustrate the comparison, here are the parts that the Bulls had, pre-Rose:

Kirk Hinrich
Ben Gordon
Loul Deng
Tyrs Thomas
Joakim Noah
#7 pick (ended up being #1, via lottery)

comparable in talent to:

Hayward
Burks
Favors
Kanter
Milsap
Al
#8-10 pick (hopefully)
#11-14 pick

What next? What do you see happening, what do you want to happen, where do you see the roster in 4 years?

There is an obvious need for a PG, and an obvious log jam at PF/C. Unfortunately, I don't see any great PG options in this draft. How much does a "good" or above average PG improve this roster? How much does a shooter help the roster? Do Kanter and Favors pan out? To what extent? If not both, which?

The SG spot has been an issue, but it could end up being a positive with Burks. Although, likely, an upgrade will be needed. Beal and Rivers are two solid options that the Jazz could have a chance to look at. If I were the Jazz, and could land both (depending on what else is there, obviously), I would do it.

Again, for obvious reasons, the Jazz are an intriguing team to keep an eye on for the next 2-3 years; so many different scenarios. I think the Jazz are relatively close to being a Memphis (when healthy) caliber team. But can they take a step beyond that?

I would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks, guys.

Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing the Jazz make a trade w/Det for Gordon. I think Hayward could play PG on O and SG on D. IMHO that would take care of the Jazz's lack of 3pt shooting and put the ball in Hayward's hands which would help him.

The Baby Bulls needed a focal point to become title contenders. They got Rose.

I think the Jazz will need something comparable. We have some great supporters, but they need a top 10, maybe top 5 player that is going to stick around.

jazzed77 wrote:Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing the Jazz make a trade w/Det for Gordon. I think Hayward could play PG on O and SG on D. IMHO that would take care of the Jazz's lack of 3pt shooting and put the ball in Hayward's hands which would help him.

Meh. Gordon's best days are behind him. He can't be the first option on a team and the Jazz aren't at the point where they need that veteran scoring guy off the bench -- certainly not at his price tag.

Jazz need to keep adding pieces, throwing guys together to see what works and what doesn't. In that sense this year has been a success, because I think we and the coaching staff have learned a lot about the guys on the roster.

The Bulls got Rose + Boozer + Korver + Brewer + Thibs... yeah that aint happening to us.

Luigi wrote:The Baby Bulls needed a focal point to become title contenders. They got Rose.

I think the Jazz will need something comparable. We have some great supporters, but they need a top 10, maybe top 5 player that is going to stick around.

The Bulls got great coaches, Rose is second to the coaching staff as reasons to why the Bulls have been great the last two seasons.

I agree that coaching helped the Bulls. But Rose was already a 20 ppg player and the obvious focal point before Thibodeau got there. As I see it, Thibodeau came into a great situation for growth, and made the most of it. Great personel decisions all around for Chicago, from players to coaches. But I think the first option is more important than the coach in the NBA.