Your Top 5 Big Board for the Jazz

[Catchall]

Lay out your top 5 picks for the Jazz in this upcoming draft, as well as anyone else you would consider for the 5th pick.

[Inigo Montoya]

My list is not very interesting and very expected. Maybe it will change after the lottery when I'll start digging into the prospects a bit more:

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Ace Bailey
4. V.J. Edgecombe
5. Tre Johnson

Not saying all of them are going to be stars but at least it's possible to see star potential.

[bkohler]

Working top 5 right now:
1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper (maybe a little more questions than you want at #2 but the flashes are still worth betting on)
3. Ace Bailey
4. VJ Edgecombe
5. Khaman Maluach

Higher on VJ and Maluach than consensus. Honestly think this class might end up being deeper at the top than people realize once these guys get into NBA systems.

[Catchall]

I have it as:
1) Cooper Flagg
2) Dylan Harper
3) Ace Bailey
4) Tre Johnson
5) VJ Edgecombe, with a passing glance at Kon Kneuppel and Noa Essengue, but Kon isn't athletic enough to have super high upside, and Essengue's handle doesn't look to be good enough to beat guys off the bounce.

** I think Flagg and Harper have the potential to be franchise-defining talents.
** I think Bailey and Johnson are potentially elite off-ball scoring options, so essentially 2nd-option guys.
** I see Edgecombe more as a 3rd-option guy. If you look at the way Colin Sexton scores, for example, Sexton beats guys with effort and scores at the rim, he has a mid-range pull-up jumper, and he can make 3s with his feet set. At this stage, Edgecombe looks similar to Sexton offensively. He'll beat people with his athleticism to score at the rim, he has a mid-range pull-up, and he can make 3s with his feet set. However, he's not yet an elite self-creator. Then defensively, he should be impactful, similar to, say, Josh Okogie or Larry Hughes.

[Catchall]

Working top 5 right now:
1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper (maybe a little more questions than you want at #2 but the flashes are still worth betting on)
3. Ace Bailey
4. VJ Edgecombe
5. Khaman Maluach

Higher on VJ and Maluach than consensus. Honestly think this class might end up being deeper at the top than people realize once these guys get into NBA systems.

I don't know what to do with Maluach. I could see him have an impact similar to Mark Williams in Charlotte if he's fully engaged. His physical tools are similar to Rudy Gobert, but Maluach doesn't seem to have Gobert's competitive drive and desire to impact nearly every play. I see Maluach going in the 7-10 range.

[Inigo Montoya]

Is Mark Williams better than Kessler? Is it worth it to draft Maluach when the Jazz already have Kessler, or to trade Kessler and hope Maluach will be as good? I'd pass on Maluach for the Jazz, just doesn't seem like a good fit unless they plan or setting back the rebuild by a few years.

[bkohler]

I just don’t think the Jazz are in a place not to take the BPA and I think Maluach is the fifth best prospect. I’d take him and deal with Kessler and his fit later.

[WinterSoldier]

I Have
1. Flagg
2. Bailey
3. Harper
4. Maluach
5. Fears

I like Harper and would be happy if he landed on the Jazz. I just don't see the same ceiling with him that I see with Bailey and Flagg. I tend to follow a youth value statistic I read where the younger the prospect the higher percent chance of star potential.

[babyjax13]

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Tre Johnson
4. Ace Bailey
5. Jeremiah Fears

In contention for #5: VJ Edgecombe

I have Maluach far from being the 5th best prospect in the draft. I think there is a clear top-6 and I don't have much disagreement with ordering 3-6 in any way. I am also pretty hopeful about Traore and don't have him far behind VJ and Fears.

[Inigo Montoya]

I just don’t think the Jazz are in a place not to take the BPA and I think Maluach is the fifth best prospect. I’d take him and deal with Kessler and his fit later.

Personally, I don't have Maluach as the fifth best prospect and have several players ahead of him but even if he were the fifth best prospect on paper, I don't think the gap from other prospects is that large that it would justify taking him and not a different player at a position of need when the Jazz already have Kessler. This isn't a MJ situation we're dealing with here.

[bkohler]

I just don’t think the Jazz are in a place not to take the BPA and I think Maluach is the fifth best prospect. I’d take him and deal with Kessler and his fit later.

Personally, I don't have Maluach as the fifth best prospect and have several players ahead of him but even if he were the fifth best prospect on paper, I don't think the gap from other prospects is that large that it would justify taking him and not a different player at a position of need when the Jazz already have Kessler. This isn't a MJ situation we're dealing with here.

That is fair. I can definitely see the argument that the gap between picks 5 and 9 is not big enough to make a strong “best player available” case. Personally, I think bigs are a bit underrated in most draft discussions, which pushes them up a bit on my board. On the flip side, I think smaller guards tend to get overrated, and that shapes how I rank the next few guys. I have Kon at 6, and I think he has a pretty high floor, but I still have him a notch below the top five.

[Daddy 801]

Haven’t watched enough tape to have a strong opinion yet. But I am pumped that even worst case scenario it sounds like we can get a good player.

Listened to Locke today and the hard numbers for Tre Johnson were really good.

I have no desire for the Jazz to draft a big man who isn’t a stretch big man. I don’t care if he is better or not than Kessler. Unless we’re talking about the next Shaq it isn’t worth it in today’s NBA. Just my opinion.

[bkohler]

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Tre Johnson
4. Ace Bailey
5. Jeremiah Fears

In contention for #5: VJ Edgecombe

I have Maluach far from being the 5th best prospect in the draft. I think there is a clear top-6 and I don't have much disagreement with ordering 3-6 in any way. I am also pretty hopeful about Traore and don't have him far behind VJ and Fears.

Curious about your view on Fears, I just can’t get past his poor three point shooting. All the finishing at the rim in the world won’t help if teams can sag off you like crazy. Also, another small guard for the Jazz?

[Inigo Montoya]

Haven’t watched enough tape to have a strong opinion yet. But I am pumped that even worst case scenario it sounds like we can get a good player.

Listened to Locke today and the hard numbers for Tre Johnson were really good.

I have no desire for the Jazz to draft a big man who isn’t a stretch big man. I don’t care if he is better or not than Kessler. Unless we’re talking about the next Shaq it isn’t worth it in today’s NBA. Just my opinion.

I've listened to that episode and I think that way he's measuring things is wrong. In fairness to him, he said he didn't know much about any of those players and that he hadn't watched them but it's still no excuse.

For example, he's using iso scoring percentile to determine athleticism, and that's just a bad way to measure that. I haven't looked up the numbers but I'd bet Doncic is a pretty good iso scorer and yet athletic is the last thing he is. Based on the iso scoring percentile, Locke deduced that Tre Johnson has elite athleticism, when a simple look would suffice to know this isn't the case.

[Daddy 801]

Haven’t watched enough tape to have a strong opinion yet. But I am pumped that even worst case scenario it sounds like we can get a good player.

Listened to Locke today and the hard numbers for Tre Johnson were really good.

I have no desire for the Jazz to draft a big man who isn’t a stretch big man. I don’t care if he is better or not than Kessler. Unless we’re talking about the next Shaq it isn’t worth it in today’s NBA. Just my opinion.

I've listened to that episode and I think that way he's measuring things is wrong. In fairness to him, he said he didn't know much about any of those players and that he haven't watched them but it's still no excuse.

For example, he's using iso scoring percentile to determine athleticism, and that's just a bad way to measure that. I haven't looked up the numbers but I'd bet Doncic is a pretty good iso scorer and yet athletic is the last thing he is. Based on the iso scoring percentile, Locke deduced that Tre Johnson has elite athleticism, when a simple look would suffice to know this isn't the case.

Yeah, I wouldn’t use iso as athleticism either. But if I remember right all of Tre’s measurements were good. And the guy who fills in for Locke had an episode with a guest and they both were talking about how much they liked Tre. Said he could be a Harden type initiator.

I’m just finding ways to be positive because the odds are we jump down to 3-5. And it makes me happy there is at least some optimism that picks 3-5 are still good.

[Inigo Montoya]

Haven’t watched enough tape to have a strong opinion yet. But I am pumped that even worst case scenario it sounds like we can get a good player.

Listened to Locke today and the hard numbers for Tre Johnson were really good.

I have no desire for the Jazz to draft a big man who isn’t a stretch big man. I don’t care if he is better or not than Kessler. Unless we’re talking about the next Shaq it isn’t worth it in today’s NBA. Just my opinion.

I've listened to that episode and I think that way he's measuring things is wrong. In fairness to him, he said he didn't know much about any of those players and that he haven't watched them but it's still no excuse.

For example, he's using iso scoring percentile to determine athleticism, and that's just a bad way to measure that. I haven't looked up the numbers but I'd bet Doncic is a pretty good iso scorer and yet athletic is the last thing he is. Based on the iso scoring percentile, Locke deduced that Tre Johnson has elite athleticism, when a simple look would suffice to know this isn't the case.

Yeah, I wouldn’t use iso as athleticism either. But if I remember right all of Tre’s measurements were good. And the guy who fills in for Locke had an episode with a guest and they both were talking about how much they liked Tre. Said he could be a Harden type initiator.

I’m just finding ways to be positive because the odds are we jump down to 3-5. And it makes me happy there is at least some optimism that picks 3-5 are still good.

I like Tre, just saying that if we're basing some of our opinions on what Locke says, we just need to be aware of the flaws in his methods and reasoning (and the simple fact that he says he hasn't watched any of the players he's talking about). Looking at the numbers and saying that Johnson is an elite athlete is doing a disservice to his entire premise because it's easy to use our eyes and see that this isn't the case. Johnson is an average athlete and his main weakness is that he isn't great at getting close to the basket. He can flat out score from anywhere but he's essentially a jump shooter, so my main worry about him is his efficiency at the next level and if he'll be able to create offense that isn't jump shots. Harden could penetrate and get to the line at an absurd rate with a ridiculous handle, and could really playmake and pass, so I don't think the comparison is apt.

And while it would suck if we fall to 3-5, we'd still get a good player so it's ok to be positive. It's just that the other guys aren't as sure of a thing as Flagg and Harper.

[HadAnEffectHere]

1. Flagg


2. Harper


3. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

3-5 is really hard as this part of the draft sucks.

3. Tre
4. Fears
5. VJ

[babyjax13]

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Tre Johnson
4. Ace Bailey
5. Jeremiah Fears

In contention for #5: VJ Edgecombe

I have Maluach far from being the 5th best prospect in the draft. I think there is a clear top-6 and I don't have much disagreement with ordering 3-6 in any way. I am also pretty hopeful about Traore and don't have him far behind VJ and Fears.

Curious about your view on Fears, I just can’t get past his poor three point shooting. All the finishing at the rim in the world won’t help if teams can sag off you like crazy. Also, another small guard for the Jazz?

Happy to!

1. I think there is a big drop-off after Johnson but that isn't consensus at all (and I like the rest of the guys and get why people will disagree). If I had to visually represent my big board here it would be something like...

Flagg

Harper

Johnson



Bailey

Fears
Edgecomb


Traore


2. I think Fears can shoot. His form looks nice most of the time, and he is very good from the line (also on long 2s). But he is really physically underdeveloped because he is a year younger than most of the elite Freshman. So you have a kid who is skinny and needs to add strength playing against much more physically developed guys. I think the places you see that most are at the rim, and from range (harder to get your legs under you, I think, when you are getting beat up all game). He draws a lot of fouls, he has good touch, he is lightening quick ... I think there is a solid starting point guard in there as a modal outcome, but I see some outlier potential on offense for him to be really great.

3. I don't think he is actually all that small for a point guard. Skinny - yes, really skinny. But he seems like a legitimate 6-3, maybe 6-4 and that is fine for where he will play.

[bkohler]

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Dylan Harper
3. Tre Johnson
4. Ace Bailey
5. Jeremiah Fears

In contention for #5: VJ Edgecombe

I have Maluach far from being the 5th best prospect in the draft. I think there is a clear top-6 and I don't have much disagreement with ordering 3-6 in any way. I am also pretty hopeful about Traore and don't have him far behind VJ and Fears.

Curious about your view on Fears, I just can’t get past his poor three point shooting. All the finishing at the rim in the world won’t help if teams can sag off you like crazy. Also, another small guard for the Jazz?

Happy to!

1. I think there is a big drop-off after Johnson but that isn't consensus at all (and I like the rest of the guys and get why people will disagree). If I had to visually represent my big board here it would be something like...

Flagg

Harper

Johnson



Bailey

Fears
Edgecomb


Traore


2. I think Fears can shoot. His form looks nice most of the time, and he is very good from the line (also on long 2s). But he is really physically underdeveloped because he is a year younger than most of the elite Freshman. So you have a kid who is skinny and needs to add strength playing against much more physically developed guys. I think the places you see that most are at the rim, and from range (harder to get your legs under you, I think, when you are getting beat up all game). He draws a lot of fouls, he has good touch, he is lightening quick ... I think there is a solid starting point guard in there as a modal outcome, but I see some outlier potential on offense for him to be really great.

3. I don't think he is actually all that small for a point guard. Skinny - yes, really skinny. But he seems like a legitimate 6-3, maybe 6-4 and that is fine for where he will play.

I do love that he’s young and had some awesome explosions this year, but he also shot 28% from three and 27% in high school. His handles awesome, reminds me of young Kyrie, but if you had Kyrie without a three that changes things. Also I’m always skeptical of heights listed by college teams and they’ve got him at 6’4, Donovan Mitchell was listed at 6’3.

I don’t think he’d be bad at all, just feels like if we draft him we should move Collier and Keyonte as well.

[babyjax13]

Curious about your view on Fears, I just can’t get past his poor three point shooting. All the finishing at the rim in the world won’t help if teams can sag off you like crazy. Also, another small guard for the Jazz?

Happy to!

1. I think there is a big drop-off after Johnson but that isn't consensus at all (and I like the rest of the guys and get why people will disagree). If I had to visually represent my big board here it would be something like...

Flagg

Harper

Johnson



Bailey

Fears
Edgecomb


Traore


2. I think Fears can shoot. His form looks nice most of the time, and he is very good from the line (also on long 2s). But he is really physically underdeveloped because he is a year younger than most of the elite Freshman. So you have a kid who is skinny and needs to add strength playing against much more physically developed guys. I think the places you see that most are at the rim, and from range (harder to get your legs under you, I think, when you are getting beat up all game). He draws a lot of fouls, he has good touch, he is lightening quick ... I think there is a solid starting point guard in there as a modal outcome, but I see some outlier potential on offense for him to be really great.

3. I don't think he is actually all that small for a point guard. Skinny - yes, really skinny. But he seems like a legitimate 6-3, maybe 6-4 and that is fine for where he will play.

I do love that he’s young and had some awesome explosions this year, but he also shot 28% from three and 27% in high school. His handles awesome, reminds me of young Kyrie, but if you had Kyrie without a three that changes things. Also I’m always skeptical of heights listed by college teams and they’ve got him at 6’4, Donovan Mitchell was listed at 6’3.

I don’t think he’d be bad at all, just feels like if we draft him we should move Collier and Keyonte as well.

I think we'd need to move both if we draft either he or VJ just to avoid the small backcourt (and honestly I don't love them w/Harper). I get the concerns, I think they are valid.