Why did you guys draft Kanter?

[PMONSTER]

I'm not trying to troll on this board but I was wondering why you guys decided to draft Kanter. I like Favors and I believe he will be a multiple all-star. He may not be Dwight (but I believe he can be) but he can be a lesser Dwight and that is still a piece to a championship puzzle. Then I see you guys draft Kanter and the first thing I think about is that you guys need to develop Favor's jumpshot now and he's not even done working on his inside game.

Did you guys draft Kanter because he was best available? (he was)
or
Can these guys play together right now?

also what are you guys going to do with that "good" problem you have with.......
Jefferson, Millsap, Favors, Kanter, and Okur?

[hoops4life]

He is big and athletic. They are really hard to come by. If he pans out, he could be a huge difference maker. Pairing him with Favors (both who are really young) could anchor the team's frontcourt for the next 10 years. So, I would say that it is a mix of him being the BPA and that him and Favors can play together.

Kanter is still a bit on the undercooked side and needs some seasoning. Hopefully, Jefferson can help him out a bit. Kanter can come off the bench for the next two years. When Jefferson's contract is up after those two years, the Jazz can take a look and see if Kanter is ready to take on the starting role.

I assume that we will play all of them. I doubt that Okur will play any significant minutes this coming season (no matter how much I really wish he could). I don't think any trades will happen with them, unless something comes up that blows our socks off.

[Fido]

I think he is BPA and will have a bit of time to develop behind veterans is not a bad arrangement. If all these guys push each other for playing time it will do nothing but help everyone. Moves can always be made if necessary.

[reapaman]

People are in awe of his "potential" and all that stuff. Plus most GM's wanna go with who they "think" is the BPA with a pick that high in a draft.

I on the other hand think he's gone before his rookie contract is up (Burks too). From what I seen of Kanter, he is much rawer than people realize he is and gonna need more time and patience to develop than we could reasonably give him. He was oviously getting by on his superior physical tools and being a bit more develop than most of guys he faced in the youth league which won't be the case in the NBA.

I would had rather had picked Jonas if we were going bigman but whatever.

[DelaneyRudd]

Favors and Kanter is the future, while Jefferson and Millsap are likely to be dangled as assets. Okur is nearing the end of his carreer.

[The59Sound]

People are in awe of his "potential" and all that stuff. Plus most GM's wanna go with who they "think" is the BPA with a pick that high in a draft.

I on the other hand think he's gone before his rookie contract is up (Burks too). From what I seen of Kanter, he is much rawer than people realize he is and gonna need more time and patience to develop than we could reasonably give him. He was oviously getting by on his superior physical tools and being a bit more develop than most of guys he faced in the youth league which won't be the case in the NBA.

I would had rather had picked Jonas if we were going bigman but whatever.

I donno. Everything coming out of the Jazz camp is that he proved to be more developed (his low post game and physicality, in particular) than anticipated, and they don't typically blow as much smoke as some other clubs.

[Xsy]

Kanter was the BPA. The only other option was Knight, and a lot of people didn't feel he was a Jazz point guard.

[Jazzfan12]

If the season is lost or if Kanter barely plays this season, then Valanciunas was also a major option to pick.

[jazzfan1971]

I thought Kanter was the obvious pick.

The 3rd player in what I saw as a 3 man draft. Right now he's an unknown though. That could play for or against him really.

His being an unknown might let a top 5 player in the league slip to #3. It also might let a top 300 player be drafted #3.

As with most things the truth is probably in the middle somewhere. (I'll guess he's a 2nd tier center when it's said and done)

I can't wait to see him play for Turkey though, see what we drafted with my own eyes in a high level competition situation.

[nghedman]

Okur had an achillies tendon injury btw. Very hard to come back from. I doubt as many others do that he will ever be the player he was when he left.

Milsap and Jefferson are another story. Both of them could start for most of the NBA teams out there, so it is a good problem to have. Of course a team will want a sub for a rotation or ...god forbid another injury. Of the two I think Jefferson is more versatile and I think the Jazz are leaning toward Jefferson game in our system over Milsap, but Milsap has more of a "worker" attitude, any team would love to have, Milsap also can somehow get rebounds like Barkley did, he grabs them from guys 4-6 inches taller then himself, awesome player to have and of course he can score 10-20 points a night if he gets the ball in his hands.

[nghedman]

oh one more thing.

The Jazz need an outside shooter so I would be surprized if they didn't trade Milsap or Jefferson for an equal caliber SG/SF that can play defense and shot the ball very well from the three.

Pay attention to what the Jazz do with AK that will be a telling sign of the direction they will go. Will they sign him or let him go to a higher bidder. The jazz just might want to keep the money to resign someone else latter. Or if they want to keep AK's defense then that tells another direction they will angle towards. I guess they could also trade AK and Milsap for someone like stephan curry or maybe get Wesley Mathews back.

[The59Sound]

Okur had an achillies tendon injury btw. Very hard to come back from. I doubt as many others do that he will ever be the player he was when he left.

Milsap and Jefferson are another story. Both of them could start for most of the NBA teams out there, so it is a good problem to have. Of course a team will want a sub for a rotation or ...god forbid another injury. Of the two I think Jefferson is more versatile and I think the Jazz are leaning toward Jefferson game in our system over Milsap, but Milsap has more of a "worker" attitude, any team would love to have, Milsap also can somehow get rebounds like Barkley did, he grabs them from guys 4-6 inches taller then himself, awesome player to have and of course he can score 10-20 points a night if he gets the ball in his hands.

Millsap has a more versatile skill set in my view, but I think I see where you're going with that (Jefferson is able to play the 5, while Millsap can't).

[carrottop12]

If it comes down to millsap or Jefferson, and you're looking to keep talent on the team, the answer is obvious.

Jeffersons worst season as a full time starter was after an injury and he put up 17/9/2/1/1.

Paul millsap had the best year of his career and he averaged 17/7/2/1/1.

Not to mention Jefferson has about 4 inches on Paul. I love Paul millsap, but he really isn't in Jeffersons league.

[StocktonShorts]

If it comes down to millsap or Jefferson, and you're looking to keep talent on the team, the answer is obvious.

Jeffersons worst season as a full time starter was after an injury and he put up 17/9/2/1/1.

Paul millsap had the best year of his career and he averaged 17/7/2/1/1.

Not to mention Jefferson has about 4 inches on Paul. I love Paul millsap, but he really isn't in Jeffersons league.

Advanced stats tell a whole different story on those two guys. With Kanter and Favors around I'd pick Millsap over Jefferson.

[Jazzfan12]

Yeah, Millsap kills Al in scoring efficiency and +/-

[nghedman]

Yeah, Millsap kills Al in scoring efficiency and +/-

This is so so true and makes the decision of who of the "extras" they keep and who would be waisting on the bench and really needs to be traded for a much needed wing player.

Too bad they can't combine Jefferson and Milsap and get the best of both of them on the floor at the same time

[BarneyGumble]

I am hoping Al and Favors start, and Millsap and Kanter come off the bench. I am hoping we trade Millsap for some outside shooting help this season (if there is one) and that we trade Al's expiring the following season and officially hand the franchise to Kanter and Favors if they have developed.

[Kaner]

I think Kanter's offensive game and Favor's defensive potential will make for a very unique front court, once they are given they keys when Milsap and Jefferon are gone...they should just start Harris/Burks/Heyward/Favors/Kanter, that way they would likely get a high lotto pick to take a PG like Teague or Kabongo to complete the rebuild. Your team did that fast, they can be an OKC type team in a couple years, lots of young talent plus you guys have assets too, you're in a great position I didn't even notice until I started typing this haha. Should be a fun team to watch

[eLo]

I am hoping we trade Millsap for some outside shooting help this season

I hope that Sap will improve his long range sufficiently so we wont have to trade him for any distance shooter.

I want to say one thing about our frontcourt, im surprise that so many of you think that future belongs to Favors/Kanter, i mean no one can guarantee that Enes will overpass Big Al any time soon. Kanter is great prospect but Jefferson is no scrub either, he got one of best post moves in whole nba, his def last season was quite solid, for me it gonna take a while before Kanter take Big Al place and i wouldnt be surprise if Jefferson would stay much longer in Utah than many of you think (longer than expiration of his present contract)

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Ya, I think as Jazz fans we need to be careful with how much stock we put into Kanter and Favors. I've been one of the biggest fans of Favors even before he was a Jazz man but there is absolutely no guarantee he will be an all star and the same thing goes for Kanter (even more so perhaps). I think we're all so enamored with our youth that sometimes we forget to look at and appreciate what we have with guys like Al and Millsap...

Al Jefferson was one of the top 5 C's coming into the end of last season. The guy was a straight up monster. Had he been playing at that level the whole year, we probably would have been in the playoffs. He is going to be one of top C's not only in the West but throughout the whole NBA this upcoming season (assuming there is going to be a season). For a young kid to come into the league and try and replace him...that's a tough order to fill.

Millsap...ya, he is solid. We all know who and what Millsap is. Although, I would like to point out that he was one of our worse defensive player this last season. Ya, his size leaves a lot to be desired but the guy had some performances that were just legendary. The Miami comeback and even the Houston game...those kind of performances don't come from scrubs, those come from a big time player. He is more expendable due to his size but at the same time it's going to be hard to replace a guy like him because of his intangibles and fit for the team.

Those two guys...they are both very good players. Jefferson more so than Millsap perhaps but both are well above your average big man in the league. Heck, the front court combo of Jefferson/Millsap is better than more than half of the teams out there. So to say that Favors and/or Kanter are going to be replacing one of those guys or even both...man, that's a lot of expectations/pressure on a couple young kids who are really inexperienced and still developing. I just feel like we should be careful with our dreaming about a future front court of Favors/Kanter when we already have an awesome one in Millsap/Jefferson that shouldn't be overlooked.

But to answer the OPs' question...he was BPA and big men come at a premium. Also, if you're going to make a mistake (bust), make it a big one. You can't teach size. If he turns out to be terrible we can at least throw him in there to get a couple hard fouls on somebody (see Fesenko).