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

[erudite23]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

[slick_watts]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

On what planet is Al Jefferson a top 15 player?

[funkatron101]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

It depends on what the Wolves turn the TPE into now. Perhaps they can get Iggy at the trade deadline if the Iggy/Turner combo doesn't work out?

C: Darko/Pekovic
PF: Beasley/Love
SF: Johnson/Beasley
SG: Iggy/Webster
PG: Flynn/Ridnour

looks pretty solid to me.

[Basileus777]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

On what planet is Al Jefferson a top 15 player?

It's amazing how people see Jefferson's box score and think he's some great player.

[Ming Kong!]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

On what planet is Al Jefferson a top 15 player?

Maybe he means like talent wise, which I wouldn't completely agree with, but the Jazz system is so beneficial for PFs and PGs that he could easily become a top 20, top 15 I think is in Jefferson's potential, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, lets see healthy and how much the injury really set him back. I'm hoping for 11rpg and 1.5-2bpg. Points, I would expect a minimum of 16ppg from him, wouldn't be surprised with 20ppg, but Millsap will likely hold back some production from him, and lets not forget that Deron is due for about 20ppg.

[Sothron]

If Jefferson can go back to pre injury production and activity on defense then the Jazz just made a steal.

[slick_watts]

The Jazz system is beneficial to PF's like Boozer and Millsap who move without the ball, make the extra pass in the paint, hit the mid range jumper and are agile rolling to the basket. Al Jefferson isn't known for any of that. He gobbles up possessions going one on one. He's a good one on one player and will score half the time, but he doesn't do anything else for an offense. He makes none of this up on the defensive end...

[Ming Kong!]

Al Jefferson to Utah is going to be viewed very similarly to Gasol to LA.

Jazz just got a top 12-15 NBA player for a few scraps.

On what planet is Al Jefferson a top 15 player?

It's amazing how people see Jefferson's box score and think he's some great player.

Wow dude, you make him out to be a scrub. It's going to be easy for him to get his with arguably the best PG in the NBA (take your pick Williams or Paul). The boxscore does not lie about his rebounding production, 11rpg three years straight prior to his injury is no lie, and he averaged about 1.5bpg in that same stretch. That's nothing ELITE, but hey, it's a big to be aware of. In the end, the Jazz didn't lose Boozer for NOTHING, which is what matters most to us. I personally feel the Jazz have a better front court for next year.

[tsherkin]

What made the Boozer/Williams pick n roll so devastating was Boozer's ability to knock down the mid range game while Jefferson really struggles to make a basket outside of 10 feet

Boozer tends to make around 43% of his shots from 10-15 feet and about the same from 16-23 feet. He's a very good mid-range shooter and a good perimeter shooter. Not as good as Dirk or Horford, but still very good. Jefferson doesn't have range PAST 15 feet, but it would be horrendously incorrect to say he has no range past 10 feet.

From 10-15 feet, Jefferson's made 38-42% of his shots on up to 4.1 attempts per game. Most of the shots a big will take peeling off of a screen he just set will be in the 13- to 17-foot range. Jefferson will be fine in that respect, in my opinion. He may not be quite as effective as Boozer, but the other side of the coin is that he's about 100% more valuable as a post iso scorer. Boozer had a few moves and could be pretty effective but Jefferson is an exceptional talent at getting off good, high-percentage looks in the post. He doesn't draw a lot of fouls, but that'll go up a bit with more PnR opportunities and his solid FG% will continue to be valuable. Plus, given that the Jazz usually have a ton of good shooters around, he'll have more space to operate with, especially if they elect to play him at the 4 and bring Millsap off of the bench so that they can use Okur to space the floor more effectively as they did with Boozer.

I don't think this is a bad move at all. The Jazz just replaced what they lost in Boozer... a 20/11 guy who can score well in the post and has at least a competent mid-range jumper. He doesn't have Boozer's range, but who cares?

[miggs]

The Jazz's number one concern was the Lakers, and Jefferson gives the Lakers problems, while Boozer was completely ineffective versus the Lakers.

How does Jefferson give us problems??? Jefferson is good enough to put up a fight but not enough to give us problems. It just means we won't be pounding your front court as bad. I'm happy to see Utah pick up Al tho, it'll be great to have a solid C and FINALLY to let Millsap start. I love watchin Millsap play. Kid's got mad heart and he's developing really nicely for your guys. It seems as if the Nuggs are gonna fall in the cracks now with Utah and San Antonio gettin stronger and Oklahoma City with another year of maturity.

[funkatron101]

The Jazz's number one concern was the Lakers, and Jefferson gives the Lakers problems, while Boozer was completely ineffective versus the Lakers.

How does Jefferson give us problems??? Jefferson is good enough to put up a fight but not enough to give us problems. It just means we won't be pounding your front court as bad. I'm happy to see Utah pick up Al tho, it'll be great to have a solid C and FINALLY to let Millsap start. I love watchin Millsap play. Kid's got mad heart and he's developing really nicely for your guys. It seems as if the Nuggs are gonna fall in the cracks now with Utah and San Antonio gettin stronger and Oklahoma City with another year of maturity.

Expect Al to start at PF.

[tsherkin]

Jefferson does change the way the Lakers have to guard the post, though. Boozer wasn't really a double-team worthy isolation scorer. Jefferson is. Boozer was a much bigger threat playing kind of like Amare, moving off the ball, attacking from the PnR, that sort of thing. His main move in the post was a turnaround fadeaway that didn't connect all that often. He had some hook shots and stuff but nothing like Jefferson.

Don't know why the Jazz would look at Al as a C, though; that didn't work in Minny and won't work in Utah either... he just doesn't have the defensive chops to play that spot. Best to keep Millsap coming off the bench and run Al with Okur.

[Jazzfan12]

Okur's probably never starting again so I doubt Jefferson will start at PF.

[AQuintus]

Okur's probably never starting again so I doubt Jefferson will start at PF.

Fair warning then, a Jefferson-Millsap front court will probably be worse defensively than the Boozer-Okur front court.

[slick_watts]

Jefferson does change the way the Lakers have to guard the post, though. Boozer wasn't really a double-team worthy isolation scorer. Jefferson is. Boozer was a much bigger threat playing kind of like Amare, moving off the ball, attacking from the PnR, that sort of thing. His main move in the post was a turnaround fadeaway that didn't connect all that often. He had some hook shots and stuff but nothing like Jefferson.

Whenever I see Al play I see him take a lot of shots. He's a very talented post scorer with all the moves in the world but it's often that he'll just take that midrange jumper before the double team comes, or spin around / force a shot through the double team. This is reflected I think in his amazingly low free throw attempts for his career. He has the FTA of a Chris Webber even though he's supposedly a guy who's spending a lot of the time in the paint.

I don't know. Boozer's a smart offensive player who sets good screens, makes the right passes / reads in the paint, rolls to the basket effectively and finishes strong. Utah's system seems more accomodating of that type of PF (i.e. Millsap, to a lessor extent) than a grind it out, give him the ball and he'll score half the time Al Jefferson offense.

[AnDrOiDKing4]

Que Wolves fans saying how Kahn is a genius and he is on the 15 year plan or some ****.

[tsherkin]

This is reflected I think in his amazingly low free throw attempts for his career. He has the FTA of a Chris Webber even though he's supposedly a guy who's spending a lot of the time in the paint.

He also doesn't lean in a lot. He'll frequently bust a move on his defender and go for the clean hook shot instead of trying to Pierce it up and draw a foul.

I don't know. Boozer's a smart offensive player who sets good screens, makes the right passes / reads in the paint, rolls to the basket effectively and finishes strong. Utah's system seems more accomodating of that type of PF (i.e. Millsap, to a lessor extent) than a grind it out, give him the ball and he'll score half the time Al Jefferson offense.

I think that it's unfair to evaluate Jefferson just yet, though. Let him get into the system and get coached by Sloan instead of by Kevin McHale of Dwyane Casey or whomever and you'll see. Sloan either makes you work in the system or you don't stay very long. You don't think Sloan can get Jefferson doing certain things in his system?

I think Al is at least somewhat underrated because of the way he's been coached and the environment in which he's played, which hasn't been terribly talented or well-organized. Minny has been a farce of an organization for quite a while now, and doesn't figure to change just yet.

Utah, on the other hand, is a well-polished organization that has been successfully churning out playoff teams for over two decades, with like three postseasons missed in 27 years (with 8 semi-final appearances, 4 WCF appearances and 2 Finals appearances).

Almost all of which happened under the same coach. That kind of consistency and experience is going to be HUGE for Jefferson, coming into that type of environment versus the comedy of errors that is Minnesota.

[#1 pick]

This is the trade of the summer. It could be one of the trade of the decade just in terms of presence and impact. I could see Deron and Jefferson being linked together forever

Wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson went from one of the least efficient high volume guys to one of the most. He's going to have a ton of space and a great PG, as opposed to no space and no PG. Kevin McHale used to put up .65 TS% years because he had the paint wide open and Bird feeding him. Jefferson's going to have an open paint and Deron, and with a great coach and system too

Unbelievable move by the Jazz. Like with teams like the Spurs and Lakers always seeming to make the right picks like Blair and Ebanks, this is why the succesful franchises tend to stay succesful

Great post, ppl forget the triangle was a failure in Minny last season.

[ptown08]

Not really a steal by Jazz. Jefferson's value was so low this was about what he was worth. He is not a good defender, and primarily a low post scorer that goes 1 on 1 and doesn't pass out. Maybe these things will change, but I think you're basically adding Zach Randolph to your team. But I do hope this means the Jazz won't sign Wes Mathews!

[Jazzfan12]

Okur's probably never starting again so I doubt Jefferson will start at PF.

Fair warning then, a Jefferson-Millsap front court will probably be worse defensively than the Boozer-Okur front court.

I will be expecting it.