How "In love" are you with this team?

[Jazzercise]

Hey all,

I've been a huge Jazz fan for quite some time now, and I was just wondering if my thoughts on this team parallel others on these boards. I personally am not all that "in love" with the team this year. I know it has been only two games, but it seems as though they seriously lack the talent, athleticism, and tenacity to become anything more than they are. I think it is seriously time to purge the roster (coach and gm included), in order to start this team in a different direction. I seriously get SOOOO tired of watching AK, Memo, and Boozer loaf their asses up and down the court. It is time get get things going in a new direction. When is the last time we've seriously had a capable two who could get things done on his own? Seriously? Brewer and co. look so inept and uncomfortable at even dribbling the ball on their own that every time I watch I cringe. I will always be a Jazz fan, but the moves that KOC, Sloan, and co. keep making (more importantly NOT making) seriously question my abilities to root for this team. I digress.

[FJS]

I don't have a lot of faith here... but yesterday I watched a few points of light.
Fessenko played solid in D and O, and Kosta did a good job (not great). The guy grabbed 5 offensive rebounds vs a tall frontcourt.
If we can play them and they can't produce we can take a next step. Brewer did almost eveything ok. His shot is falling. Williams didn't play his A game (altough he played really well in the first).
I would like to see Fess or Kosta in C with Okur at PF how it work.

[Jazzercise]

I want to believe in this team, I really do. However, no one currently on this team (positions 3-5) have shown me anything, even a small flash of brilliance, that has me optimistic for the future. That is the moniker of this team, they play within the "system" which gives them a chance of winning. However, the system particularly defensively has been broken for some time now. I'm just sick and tired of watching the opposition driving into the lane for a layup with no resistance from our front court.

[tankster]

I'm just sick and tired of watching the opposition driving into the lane for a layup with no resistance from our front court.

Then take the opportunity of talking to our BACKCOURT players and tell them it's time to get in front of their man and stay there!!

[Neon Black]

Here's what I'm thinking. If Koufos/Fesenko develop anywhere near their potential (which seems pretty high) then we would be able to draft a solid wing with the NY pick who can defend laterally, handle the ball and make big shots.

[QuantumMacgyver]

Does anyone see the Jazz not coming to terms on a deal with Brewer as a sign that they are goinf to be looking to trade Boozer for a wing? With the draft stacked with PFs I think it seems like all the pieces are coming together to reveal a new wing in Utah by the end of the year. I really like Brewer but his shot is a liability and if we can get a solid wing like Rudy Gay I'd do it. The way D-Will and the rest of our offense plays is dependent on players being able to shoot from the arc.

[loserX]

Does anyone see the Jazz not coming to terms on a deal with Brewer as a sign that they are goinf to be looking to trade Boozer for a wing? With the draft stacked with PFs I think it seems like all the pieces are coming together to reveal a new wing in Utah by the end of the year. I really like Brewer but his shot is a liability and if we can get a solid wing like Rudy Gay I'd do it. The way D-Will and the rest of our offense plays is dependent on players being able to shoot from the arc.

As much as I like Brewer and want him on this team, I don't blame the Jazz at all for playing it this way. He will be RFA next year...and look at how RFAs did this past offseason. For the most parts their incumbent teams got to have their way with them, contractwise. Not extending Brewer just leaves our options open; if we make a move and don't need him, fine. If we don't make a move and do need him, the odds are still pretty good that the market will dictate favourable terms on our part. I don't think it necessarily portends a specific Boozer trade.

[erudite23]

Yeah, just look at this year's RFA crop. It was a desert landscape for those guys, so next year when the cap drops 5-7m, it's likely going to be a LOT worse. I have no idea what Ronnie was accepting, but unless he blows up this year and puts up something in line with 18/5/3 with 55% FGs/30+% 3pts/80+% FTs, then he made a serious mistake. I'll bet the Jazz were offering somewhere in the neighborhood of 5m per, which would be a nice deal for him. I highly doubt he gets any attention in nexts years FA period. Unless he plans on playing for the QO, his agent made a mistake.


As for the OP, my answer would have to be "not a whole lot." Based on the way Deron has played for 6 of the first 8 quarters, and assuming that the 2nd half in which he only put up 4 and 2 was just a minor blip, it looks like we are about to waste one of the great PG seasons in NBA history on a good but not great season. There are definite issues with the team, and I have some serious problems with our lackadaisical attitude defensively, but the idea of "cleaning house" is so ludicrous as to be laughable. KOC and Sloan have both done an impressive job dealing with a very difficult situation. With the NYK pick and a few nice young, promising players in conjunction with a great player like DWill, this team just needs some tinkering. We have the type of roster where if we can just get that one piece, the guy that brings it all together, this team could make the leap. Unfortunately, it looks like that peice is a defensive big who can block shots and rebound, and those are few and far between.

[Soul Patch]

The idea of blowing this team up is ludicrous. From everything I've heard Miles was on track to be the missing piece in our backcourt. He played some PG in training camp so he's comfortable handling the rock, he's got a great shot, and has shown the ability to drive in the lane, though he does seem a bit reluctant to do so. Fes and Koufos are good bigmen prospects. We need a veteran presence to change the attitude in the locker room.

[CAE15]

I want to see this team when the shooters get back in Miles and korver then if were not doing what we need to then sure maybe think about moving some guys. Stick it out with AK for this year and then he is a huge expiring contract. I think the Jazz are doing what they did with millsap, let brewer find out what hes worth then match the offer unless its ridiculous.

[DelaneyRudd]

I have battered women syndrome.

[outerspacefella]

.... we would be able to draft a solid wing with the NY pick who can defend laterally, handle the ball and make big shots.

Not that such kind of dudes abound out there....

[outerspacefella]

...Williams didn't play his A game ...

IMHO he played his A game... he outplayed rival's PG position and he handled tha game in the fourth quarter with maturity, and that's what I want from him. Against Denver he put huge numbers, but he didn't handle the ballgame and wasn't able to outplay the rival's PG position (a thing that happens more than I really want to admit...)

[outerspacefella]

I have battered women syndrome.

That was a good one!

[outerspacefella]

I want to see this team when the shooters get back...

Gimme real shooters and real centers and I like Jazz chances to go all the way to WCF and may be, just may be, win the West. Without them the Jazz have no chance against Lakers, Nuggets, Mavs, Spurs, Blazers. That's how I see it.
I will enjoy every minute of it anyway...

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

I'll love this team no matter how badly we blow but as far as this years team goes I can't give you an answer until I can see everyone back and healthy. From what I saw CJ is going to develop into an awesome player and was on the verge of a breakout season this year, I really want to see how he fits/helps the team. Korver needs to come back as well since we still have no wings that can shoot with CJ being out too. I love this teams talent but hate the fact that we can't seem to meet our potential wether it be the teams potential as a whole or an individual player potential or even coaching. We should be a lot better than we have appeared to be thus far.

[HolyToledo]

I think the Jazz are one of more talented teams in the league. The problem is some changes are necessary but Jazz are too rigid of an organization to do anything. Simply..

Trade Boozer for a starting 3 or 2 (i.e. Hamilton);
Move AK-47 to bench so he can play some backup PF as well as some SF..start Millsap;
Be innovative on D switching AK-47 to PF position as much as possible so he can defend the basket.

It is such a waste to have AK-47 chasing someone like Melo instead of guarding some one like Kenyon Martin which he can cheat off on D to intimate drivers.

This team makes a championship run with these changes.

[erudite23]

If this organization traded Carlos Boozer for Richard Hamilton, I GUARANTEE within 12 calendar months you would be leading the charge--with plenty of support on this board and elsewhere in Jazz nation--looking for KOC's head for trading a prime-of-his-life star big guy for an over the hill scoring/shooting specialist with a horrible contract that would end up tying this organization's hands for the immediate future, just as AK's deal is about to end. That is one of the most out of control stupid suggestions and it somehow keeps getting burn here.

Rip is a player on the decline, who has seen his best days already and who has a bloated contract. Anyone hoping for him is simply hoping for this team to slit their wrists. Not that he wouldn't help us, but he would tie our hands in a way that would a) cost us Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver, b) force us to trade another asset and c) in no way compensate for our biggest weaknesses, namely defense and perimeter shooting. And that's not counting the fact that we're giving away a much, much better player for him. To give you an idea of where he's at in his career, here is Hollinger's player card on him for this season:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/ ... ayerId=294

Scouting report: Hamilton is the marathon runner of the NBA. He just keeps cutting off the ball until he runs his man ragged and ends up with an open look. While he has the stamina to play extended minutes, his thin frame can't necessarily absorb that kind of beating over the course of a season. That's why his minutes have been in the low-to-mid 30s the past couple of seasons and will probably sink again.

Offensively, he's a much better midrange shooter than long-range bomber, and he's pretty good at freeing himself off the dribble if cuts off the ball don't spring him loose.

At the defensive end, Hamilton defends point guards better than shooting guards. He's tall for the position at 6-foot-7 and moves well laterally, but anyone with a post game just kills him on the blocks because he's so light. He often switches assignments with Rodney Stuckey (and Chauncey Billups before him) because of their different builds.

2009-10 outlook: Hamilton will start at shooting guard while newcomer Ben Gordon comes off the bench, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Hamilton will probably play fewer minutes. There are only so many backcourt minutes to go around and Hamilton gets steamrolled by most 3s, eliminating a lot of smallball possibilities for a Stuckey-Gordon-Hamilton combination.

Hamilton's per-minute numbers were already threatened by his age, so combined with the likely dip in minutes, we could see his scoring average drop into the mid-teens. If so, it raises further questions about Hamilton's three-year, $34 million extension signed at the start of last season. While the Billups trade completely overshadowed it, this was a much worse decision. The Pistons overpaid a player who was just starting to decline and had zero leverage, and now they're stuck with him at an inflated number until he's 35. And just to keep him happy, they'll have him starting ahead of a better player.

Not really something we need right now. A Boozer for Hamilton move would be suicide, given the fact that this team is already way over the luxury tax this year and is counting on the salary relief Boozer's expiring deal will give them in order to avoid NEXT year's tax, I think it's pretty clear why the Jazz are not exploring that option. If we're going to get a vet that will prohibit us from re-signing Ronnie and Kyle, he better be young, worth his contract, able to nail a lot of threes and able to create off the dribble. Rip is none of those things.

[carrottop12]

Honestly, I'm way more in love with the Knicks right now then I am with the Jazz. I've seen this Jazz team for going on 4 years now, this Knicks team is fun to watch. They shoot a ton of threes, and lose a lot of games.

[seejaydeja]

I don't see how we're any better from last year. No key additions. Maynor was a nice pick, but not a gamechanger. This will be the year that we finally see who wins the battle of the backup center between Kouf and Fes, but honestly unless something crazy happens before the trade deadline, we're a second round out.

Now about that Knicks pick...