RealGM

We have invited your former player Morris Almond to our Las Vegas Summer League roster and with a gaping hole on our roster at SG, we are hoping he can make our training camp roster.

Would any of you knowledgable Utah Jazz posters be kind enough to provide a scouting report on Almond as well as explaining why coach Jerry Sloan was reluctant to play him.

Thanks in advance...

IMHO lacks the body of an NBA player. Has the skill, just not the body. Will be better off playing in a lesser league.

He isn't much of a role player, and that is his problem. He isn't necessarily selfish, but he is a scorer and needs to feed off of other players to be successful. I agree with JF. Almond scored like crazy in the d-league, but had a hell of a time getting off shots in garbage time. He should go to Italy.

We've never seen him play, so who knows.

BEEEGGGGGGGG your front office to take him and start him at SG and play him 40 minutes a game!!!......... (Note: Maybe this comment I made should have been posted in the "New York Watch Thread. The race for the 2010 #1 pick." stickied thread)....

Pros: Excellent shooter, scores in bunches. Decent rebounder for his size, closer to a final project then most young scorers. Good free-throw shooter.

Cons: Never showed he could play in a team setting, doesn't pass the ball well. Not athletic enough to be a good defender on the NBA level, doesn't get the to rim. Didn't seem interested in adapting to the team system, didn't see a lot of comradery with teammates. Seemed to pout.

I think the Jazz were looking for a guy to come and be plugged into their system and have him fill the role of a spot up shooter who doesn't get in the way of anyone else. I think, and to know fault of his own Almond wanted to be more then that and didn't want to settle into a role. D'Antoni seems to have the ability to get a lot out of players, and Almond is capable of putting up big numbers.

It has to be telling however that the best scorer in NBDL history was benched for long stretches in his only finals appearance. He'll need to comfort in where he is before he'll ever contribute. His best way to show he is valuable is to score the ball, but most teams aren't looking for a guy who wants to shoot his way into the league.

Almond is made for your guys system. Some guys just need steady minutes to prove they can play. Morris never got that here. I cant wait to see how he plays. And I really think that he will excel for you guys. Good luck Morris.

"Mobey" is only concerned about "Mobey". He can't understand why there was no Nike puppet of him. His teammates hated him in the d-league (would leave for dinner without telling him) and he is uncoachable which is just about the worst thing you can say about a C player. But hey, hopefully he sticks and our lottery chances increase with your pick.

Good athlete who can give you a solid offensive threat if you give him minutes and allow him to develop. Quick release on his hit shots, can shoot of the dribble or catch and shoot well. Has the ability to take the ball to the basket although I haven't seen him finish with much authority. Very poor defense but has the potential to be decent. Seems to have a selfish streak in him which could become a problem if it gets out of hand. Horrible hands when catching the ball from when I've seen him play minutes in the NBA. Has no left handed game at all, loses the ball a lot whenever he is forced left but has probably developed since I last saw him play.

Thanks fellas...

I disagree with a lot of Jazz fans. Actually he has a GREAT NBA body. He is long, with a wide frame.

Mo just didnt get a chance on the Jazz. A lot of people just expected him to show them too much in the garbage time that he got. He never played a minute for the Jazz that was not garbage time. He has incredible scoring instincts. The dude has set records in the DLeague in scoring. He would be a very servicable NBA player in the right situation. I think he would be a great pickup.

Before OKC drafted Harden, I thought that would be a perfect place for him.

His first pre-season in Utah, he was playing with a lot of confidence and really looked good. I wanted a Brewer-Almond rotation after watching him there. He looked leagues better than Gordan Giricek and CJ Miles at the time. Than when the season rolled around, Sloan did not play him. Which is typical of Sloan. He usually makes his guys fight through that before he will play him. Well he has a tendency to shatter a lot of players confidence. He has done that with a lot of players.

Some have been able to rebound really well. He benched Deron Williams after a great first few weeks of the season, just to see what Deron would do. Deron played awful for a while after that. Deron rebounded. Ronnie Brewer also rebounded well. Others have not. Thats what happens with Sloan.

Give Almond a really good look. He might surprise you.

He certainly plays small.

So the general consensus is that while he's a very skilled offensive player with a shooter's touch and natural instincts as a scorer, he lacks the approach of a team player and is a bit of a me-1st type of guy.

2010 wrote:So the general consensus is that while he's a very skilled offensive player with a shooter's touch and natural instincts as a scorer, he lacks the approach of a team player and is a bit of a me-1st type of guy.

He can score when the offense is based around him is what I have seen. But he isn't good enough to have an offense based around him and therefore he will struggle until he "gets it."

jazzfan1971 wrote:IMHO lacks the body of an NBA player. Has the skill, just not the body. Will be better off playing in a lesser league.

IMO this guy's frame doesn't look to shabby to me

His body isn't his problem. There are guys with worse bodies that succeed in the league. He just isn't very good.

i guess if his role's going to be "instant offense" a la Eddie House, he should be to stick in NBA tho right?

He couldn't make it on a Jazz team that was desperate for a shooter and instant offense off the bench.

I completely disagree again. Part of the problem is that the Jazz decided to invest a lot of money in CJ Miles and so CJ's development was a higher priority. In the time that Mo actually got to play last season he seemed to try very very hard on defense. Sloan even said as much. He just couldnt crack the rotation with Ronnie, Kyle, Harpring, and 16 mill man CJ Miles.

He has potential still. He just never had a chance here. I am excited for what he can become with a far less deep Knicks team.

I think if the Jazz were that excited in him, and new they had a possibility of losing Korver this off season they would have kept his contract.

The fact that they were actively trying to trade him and couldn't get anything done says a lot to me.