Al Jefferson to Jazz for 2 1st round picks and a TPE

[The Skyhook]

How does Kahn still have a job?

[the_warden]

I can see us looking back in 5 years and saying, "wow, we were really wrong about Kahn."

I can also see him being a punchline, as he currently is.

[Nate505]

Desperation move by the Jazz since they lost Boozer to the Bulls.

Yeah, desperate to grab a skilled big guy whose averaged 20/10 in this league.

[slick_watts]

Desperation move by the Jazz since they lost Boozer to the Bulls.

Yeah, desperate to grab a skilled big guy whose averaged 20/10 in this league.

You could say the same about Antoine Walker.

[ComeAtMeBro]

Kahn's the league's biggest bich.

Anyways, Jefferson gets hated on too much. There aren't really any better players in the low post right now than him(in terms of manuvering and getting post moves). The fact he's moving from C to PF will help him tremendously. And the fact that he has Deron Williams and a system that's far more appreciative of his skills than Jonny Flynn and the triangle offense.

Kahn and Rambis are the worst GM-Coach combo in the league. Makes me question why they were hired, and I seriously believe there are some people on this board that could do a SIGNIFICANTLY better job at the helm.

[Nate505]

They were absolutely dreadful WITH Al Jefferson, can't really get worse without him. Pau Gasol was the centerpiece to a borderline playoff team when he got dealt and was also a much better player, not comparable. Al Jefferson to the Jazz is a mediocre move which I don't understand. Why sign Milsap as a Boozer replacement then go out and trade for another replacement? Looks like a desperation move, but it won't help.

An average move? What would have been a great move that would have been realistic? And why sign Milsap? Maybe because getting a guy who has great production in your system at 8 million a year who doesn't really get hurt is a fairly smart move. Even if he doesn't start he still tends to get about 30 minutes a game.

[ComeAtMeBro]

Only positive out of this is that Minnesota got Memphis' pick. I feel that'll be a mid-late lottery selection.

[Nate505]

Desperation move by the Jazz since they lost Boozer to the Bulls.

Yeah, desperate to grab a skilled big guy whose averaged 20/10 in this league.

You could say the same about Antoine Walker.

Yeah.

Other than the fact that one guy shot 41% for his carer, and the other shoots 50%.

[microfib4thewin]

I read that last year 75% of Boozers baskets were asissted whereas only 45% of Jefferson's were. Read into that what you want.

Jefferson is an isolation post scorer who was force fed possession on a bad team while Boozer does his work primarily on the pick and roll. Not much to read into.

Couldn't it also be argued that Boozer had a top tier PG feeding him the ball in a system designed to feature the 4 and once Jefferson arrives in Utah his assist per basket numbers will go up dramatically?

The problem is even though Big Al has played with a terrible backcourt his skillset doesn't allow him to take advantage of a good playmaker the way Boozer or Amare could. He's not a perfect compliment to a good PG because his off the ball ability, whether it be moving without the ball in his hands, perimeter shooting, or executing the pick and roll, are not really that great.

I'd still say the Jazz made a good trade, but there are definitely question marks on whether it will help them.

[slick_watts]

Yeah.

Other than the fact that one guy shot 41% for his carer, and the other shoots 50%.

There were 41 players in the league 6'9" or taller who took 10+ FGA/g. Al Jefferson was 18th among them in FG% right around Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Considering he makes no three pointers and hardly gets to the line, I wouldn't consider this a big feather in his cap.

[ComeAtMeBro]

The problem is even though Big Al has played with a terrible backcourt his skillset doesn't allow him to take advantage of a good playmaker the way Boozer or Amare could. He's not a perfect compliment to a good PG because his off the ball ability, whether it be moving without the ball in his hands, perimeter shooting, or executing the pick and roll, are not really that great.

I'd still say the Jazz made a good trade, but there are definitely question marks on whether it will help them.

You make a good point, but I'd want to see it in action. As far as I'm concerned and correct me if I'm wrong,the PGs he's worked with are Delonte West, Rajon Rondo, Marko Jaric, and Jonny Flynn.

By virtue of Sloan's coaching, and their system, I think Al will really flourish. I think Al goign to PF in ANY system would help him. And I feel if Al would move from the triangle to ANY other system, it would help. The fact that both are happening is ideal for him, then to know he's coming in with a premiere playmaker and X & O's coach. I feel Sloan will do good for Al.

Note: Rondo wasn't Rondo at the time. But a rookie, even more raw than the '08 championship rondo.

[Pai Gow]

I personally cannot wait to see Millsap and AL on the floor together, they are so different offensively I think DWill will have a so many options on the pnr that he'll be the assist leader this year

[tsherkin]

The problem is even though Big Al has played with a terrible backcourt his skillset doesn't allow him to take advantage of a good playmaker the way Boozer or Amare could. He's not a perfect compliment to a good PG because his off the ball ability, whether it be moving without the ball in his hands, perimeter shooting, or executing the pick and roll, are not really that great.

Paradox.

Big Al isn't a good off-ball player and wouldn't benefit from playing with a good PG... but he's never played with a good PG, so he's been forced to play a certain way that doesn't look so compatible with a real PG, so he can't possibly play with one... but he's never played with one, so...

There's certainly a good reason to question if he can, or at least if he can at a comparable level to Boozer/Deron, but I think it's hasty to say his skill set "doesn't allow him" to take advantage of a good playmaker when we've never had the opportunity to see what he'd be like next to such a player.

I wouldn't say it's bad, but I don't think the Jazz right now are better than they were this time last year. Three years, $42 million is a lot of money to spend just to tread water. I thought Millsap was matched to be a cheap Boozer replacement in case he leaves. At best, now, they are back to square one.

I don't think that they are back to square one because again, there is a skill set difference between the two that allows for a new dimension to Utah's offense to be exploited. We'll see, of course, but I expect that Sloan will do good things for Jefferson and that Boozer won't be quite as good in Chicago as he was in Utah (offensively, anyhow, and he may tail off on the glass next to Noah, though maybe not).

Either way, financially it's no big deal, because they're not burdened with a brutal contract compared to what they were paying or might have paid Boozer. And Al is younger, in any case.

I still think this is a good move; Utah manages to avoid crippling themselves offensively through Boozer's absence and they get a guy who doesn't have a brutal long-term contract. 3 years is not a long time at all. And $42M is overstated as an issue, especially in comparison with some other contracts being tossed around. Yes, he's averaging out at $14M/year, but look at what Haywood got, for example. He's being paid in the same range as Troy Murphy, Monta Ellis, Danny Granger, etc.

He's not overpaid compared to his contemporaries and he doesn't have a lengthy deal. How this can't be perceived as a good move (not epic, but solid) is beyond me.

The Jazz aren't tied down by it, aren't hamstrung cap-wise and never had a shot at Melo anyway (or a space for him in their offense), so trying to hang on to it in order to use it on the 2011 FA class was moot to begin with.

And like I said, I strongly feel Jefferson will look better away from the trainwreck that is Minnesota's offensive environment.

[JasonStern]

boozer, 2 1st round picks, 1 2nd round pick for jefferson isn't a good trade at all, especially for a small market team without a rich owner like utah that could really benefit from the rookie scale contracts. I admit it helped utah resign millsap, but utah still loses the best player in boozer. and yet everyone thinks utah did a great job because minnesota didn't get much for jefferson? I must be missing something here...

[jazzfan1971]

Someone compared him to Zach Randolph. Well, yeah. Except he can block shots, has heart, and has no off court issues. Oh, and is 3.5 years younger and paid 4.6 million less.

So, comparison has some flaws.

[RTM]

Someone compared him to Zach Randolph. Well, yeah. Except he can block shots, has heart, and has no off court issues. Oh, and is 3.5 years younger and paid 4.6 million less.

So, comparison has some flaws.

They both got DUI's. That's one similarity.

[hotshotschamp]

Al Jefferson isn't a great shot blocker a little over 1 per game. His defense is very bad, I mean very bad............

He is what he is, a low post player, who uses under the basket moves to score, has a nice array of moves. Hopefully he will do better than last year, where he really struggled.

As far as off court issues, he did get a DWI last year, which is nothing to sneeze at.

[96 Til Infiniti]

How long till T-Wolves start the Fire Kahn website?

[moss_is_1]

And people think the Grizzlies are stupid. Atleast the Grizzlies got Marc Gasol out of the deal and the flexibility to absorb Randolph's contract. Minnesota got flexibility to sign Luke Ridnour?

Minnesota is a freaking train wreck.

We got straight cap space and 2 picks. You got an okay player, and gave up a top 10 player.

[ahonui06]

How long till T-Wolves start the Fire Kahn website?

I thought it was already up and running.