5-on-5: Utah Jazz

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3960HOOD
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5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#1 » by 3960HOOD » Thu Sep 1, 2011 4:31 pm

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-o ... -questions
They asked 5 experts some questions regard the Jazz some interesting answers and ill give my own.

1. Fact or Fiction: Dealing Deron Williams was the right move.
Fact, we have seen what has happened to Toronto, Cleveland, Denver. We got great value for a great player instead of being held hostage with little value or completely lose out in FA.

2. Fact or Fiction: It's time to say goodbye to Andrei Kirilenko.
Fact, I know we'd get him at a cheaper price but I want to see our young guys get more time and develop.

3. Who should start in the Jazz frontcourt?
Hayward, Millsap and Jefferson while also giving real good minutes to Kanter and Favors. I'd trade either Millsap or Jefferson to open up some minutes for the young guys too.

4. Fact or Fiction: Alec Burks will be better than Jimmer Fredette.
Fact, based on optimism and Burks upside.

5. Fact or Fiction: Utah has the brightest future of non-playoff team.
Fact, we could have a great future young front court with some additional pieces in the backcourt. We have a great foundation for a team and great future outlook.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#2 » by countrybama24 » Thu Sep 1, 2011 5:22 pm

1. Fact or Fiction: Dealing Deron Williams was the right move.

I think it was the right move even if he was staying, we just weren't ever gonna be able to find the defensive minded big men via trades that are needed to win a championship. Even if we were, we would have to sacrifice either (1) all our depth or (2) all our offense at the PF and C position.

I'm shocked they didn't ask what I find to be a much more pertinent question...

Fact or Fiction: The Jazz should deal at least two of Al Jefferson / Devin Harris / Paul Millsap for young talent.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#3 » by jazzfan1971 » Thu Sep 1, 2011 10:42 pm

Who are these folks answering these questions? They are terrible.

1 - Trading Deron Williams was the right move: How the hell would we know? We don't know what discussions Deron had with management. We don't know the likelyhood he was likely to bolt. We are guessing in an information vacuum. The best I have to go on, and it's paper thin, is that when someone asked Deron if it was true that he wanted to (something like) play in NY, his answer wasn't yes or no. His answer was to dodge the question by saying the source wasn't credible. To me that indicated that he didn't have long term plans in Utah. (paper thin, like I said, but, when tea leaves are all you have you read tea leaves) Given this opinion of mine that Deron had plans to move on, the Jazz made the correct move. Even if Deron had planned on staying, the last couple months he was here he just looked like he was dogging it to me. Not to mention him helping Sloan out the door. I was ready for him to go. I'm excited about the new guys. I think we'll need 3 more years to judge whether or not this was a good move on the court or not, but, it's got my vote as being a good bet by management given the situation.

Time to say goodbye to AK? Again, it depends. If he's cheap it's not time. If he's expensive it's time. I don't know what his market value is. I don't know if he's willing to 'give back' some of that money by taking less than he's worth. I do know that he's only good for about 30 games a year, the rest of the time he's just a guy limping around with a tweaked back or modeling a suit. I love AK, but, unless he wants to take a Korver like contract it's time for him to move on down the road.

Who should start? Man, I can't believe how wrong those pundits are. It's Jefferson and Favors. Millsap is the 3rd big. Kanter will likely struggle to get more than 12-15 min. But, it's even money that a trade is made. So, until we see the roster on opening day even this question is an unknown.

Burks or Fredette: I can't say. But, how is Millsap a slasher? If I had to bet I'd put my money on Burks he just has a lot more upside with his size, age, and athleticism. I wouldn't bet the house though, maybe a donut.

Brightest future: Yup, it's Utah. On paper it's the Clippers, but, if the Clippers were so loaded how come they couldn't make the playoffs last year? It's the Clippers. If you've been watching the NBA for the last 20+ years you know that bright future and Clippers don't belong in the same sentence. Fool me once shame on you, fool me 20+ times? No thanks. Oh and don't try to sell me that this isn't your father's Clippers. This Clipper team just paid Kyrie Irving to exchange 2 years of Baron Davis for 2 years of Mo Williams. This is still your father's Clippers.
"Thibs called back and wanted more picks," said Jorge Sedano. "And Pat Riley, literally, I was told, called him a mother-bleeper and hung up the phone."
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#4 » by d-will8 » Thu Sep 1, 2011 11:43 pm

1. As much as the Deron trade shocked me, I'd say it was the right move. I might feel differently in two or three years if Favors and Kanter aren't developing like we hope they do (which could easily happen), but right now I feel pretty good about being in the position we are rather than the one Cleveland and Denver were in (it worked out decently for Denver in the end, but they still had to deal with quite a circus and, in my opinion, they didn't get as good of value for Melo as we did for Deron).

2. I've always been an AK fan and I wouldn't complain if we re-signed him for a reasonable price (our defense could be awful without him, no matter how much potential Favors has on that end), but I just don't see how we can keep him and Millsap and find time for all the young guys, so I'd probably lean towards not keeping him.

3. Favors should start alongside Jefferson, but I'm guessing Millsap will get the nod. That would be unfortunate, considering what a disaster he and Jefferson are from a rebounding and defending perspective and how essential Favors is to our future.

4. I'd say Burks has more potential, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jimmer ended up being better. Who knows.

5. The Jazz are up there, but I'm hesitant to say their future is the brightest. It's true that the Clippers are the Clippers, but Griffin is a monster and Gordon is pretty darn good too. We've got young guys with the potential to be all-star caliber players, but they've got one who's already there and another who's pretty close. They'll probably find a way to screw things up, but, for now, I have to give them the nod. After that, I'd say it's us or the Wizards, though I think Wall gives them a slight edge.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#5 » by 3960HOOD » Fri Sep 2, 2011 1:02 pm

jazzfan1971 wrote:Who are these folks answering these questions? They are terrible.

1 - Trading Deron Williams was the right move: How the hell would we know? We don't know what discussions Deron had with management. We don't know the likelyhood he was likely to bolt. We are guessing in an information vacuum. The best I have to go on, and it's paper thin, is that when someone asked Deron if it was true that he wanted to (something like) play in NY, his answer wasn't yes or no. His answer was to dodge the question by saying the source wasn't credible. To me that indicated that he didn't have long term plans in Utah. (paper thin, like I said, but, when tea leaves are all you have you read tea leaves) Given this opinion of mine that Deron had plans to move on, the Jazz made the correct move. Even if Deron had planned on staying, the last couple months he was here he just looked like he was dogging it to me. Not to mention him helping Sloan out the door. I was ready for him to go. I'm excited about the new guys. I think we'll need 3 more years to judge whether or not this was a good move on the court or not, but, it's got my vote as being a good bet by management given the situation.

Time to say goodbye to AK? Again, it depends. If he's cheap it's not time. If he's expensive it's time. I don't know what his market value is. I don't know if he's willing to 'give back' some of that money by taking less than he's worth. I do know that he's only good for about 30 games a year, the rest of the time he's just a guy limping around with a tweaked back or modeling a suit. I love AK, but, unless he wants to take a Korver like contract it's time for him to move on down the road.

Who should start? Man, I can't believe how wrong those pundits are. It's Jefferson and Favors. Millsap is the 3rd big. Kanter will likely struggle to get more than 12-15 min. But, it's even money that a trade is made. So, until we see the roster on opening day even this question is an unknown.

Burks or Fredette: I can't say. But, how is Millsap a slasher? If I had to bet I'd put my money on Burks he just has a lot more upside with his size, age, and athleticism. I wouldn't bet the house though, maybe a donut.

Brightest future: Yup, it's Utah. On paper it's the Clippers, but, if the Clippers were so loaded how come they couldn't make the playoffs last year? It's the Clippers. If you've been watching the NBA for the last 20+ years you know that bright future and Clippers don't belong in the same sentence. Fool me once shame on you, fool me 20+ times? No thanks. Oh and don't try to sell me that this isn't your father's Clippers. This Clipper team just paid Kyrie Irving to exchange 2 years of Baron Davis for 2 years of Mo Williams. This is still your father's Clippers.


Those "experts" were terrible especially the Jazz guy.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#6 » by UTJazzFan_Echo1 » Fri Sep 2, 2011 4:32 pm

1. Fact or Fiction: Dealing Deron Williams was the right move.
Fact. We ended up with two top 3 picks, a good looking future first pick and a more than serviceable point guard for a guy who wasn't guaranteed to be staying at the end of the year. It was a much better deal than what Denver got IMO and I don't think he would have been staying. We didn't have the pieces to keep him happy and I don't think there would could have pulled a blockbuster deal to make him happy either.

2. Fact or Fiction: It's time to say goodbye to Andrei Kirilenko.
Fiction. AK is still one of the most important players on this team especially with how many young players we've added. We need a veteran like AK to be here to mentor the young guys and he is going to be a serviceable player until the end of his career at a much cheaper cost. He is also a great fit among all our pieces and gives us an amazing scary defensive/long lineup. He is just too versatile to let go for nothing and I think Corbin will find a much better way to utilize him.

3. Who should start in the Jazz frontcourt?
Here is my starting lineup. Harris/Hayward/AK/Favors/Jefferson. I think anyone who thinks Millsap should be starting over Favors or even Kanter is losing their mind. I love Millsap but Favors, Kanter and Jefferson are going to be the ones who lead us to the most W's. I think Millsap is as good as gone, I expect him to be dealt by the deadline.


4. Fact or Fiction: Alec Burks will be better than Jimmer Fredette.
This is impossible to answer right now. Burks has more potential but that doesn't mean he will "be better" than Fredette. I still think Fredette will have an awesome NBA career and I still don't know where Burks will land with his.


5. Fact or Fiction: Utah has the brightest future of non-playoff team.
Factish fictionish. This is a hard one... I still think the Clippers with Griffin and his crew are very, very underrated going into next season and the future but if Kanter, Favors, Burks and Hayward continue to develop (or even if two of the four do) then the Jazz are going to be monsters a couple years down the road.
Jerry Sloan >>>>>>>> Everything else.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#7 » by StocktonShorts » Fri Sep 2, 2011 4:40 pm

I'm a big David Thorpe fan, and I generally trust his opinion; so no surprise that I agree with a lot of what he says. I'm a bit baffled about his assessment of Millsap as a "slasher" -- maybe that's a typo?
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#8 » by JDubJazz » Fri Sep 2, 2011 7:26 pm

I wonder where they dug up some of the respondents for that article. It was not great. My take:

1. I felt for a while that Deron was on his way out the door, so I think it was a prudent move. Whether or not it was the right move will depend on Favors' and Kanter's development.
2. I'm not sold on bringing back AK47. I'm just not sure what benefit he brings to the team. 4 or 5 more wins. On a team this young, all that does is moves us a little further down in the lotto while taking minutes away from developing players.
3. Front-court Starters: Jefferson, Favors, and Hayward. If Millsap won't accept a bench role, then its time to trade him. Kanter and Okur will come off the bench.
4. Alec Burks. Its a complete wait and see with Burks. He has more physical tools, but Jimmer has that unlimited range.
5. I think the Jazz future is bright, but I don't know if I would say "brightest." LAC and Minny both have better talent right now. I could see the Jazz surpassing both teams, but I could also see the Jazz falling flat if Favors/Kanter don't develop.
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Re: 5-on-5: Utah Jazz 

Post#9 » by Luigi » Fri Sep 2, 2011 8:50 pm

Who should start?

To start things out:

Harris (34) / Watson (14)
Miles (24) / Bell (12) / Burks (12)
Hayward (24) / Kirilenko (24)
Millsap (30) / Favors (18)
Jefferson (34) / Okur (8) / Kanter (6)

The concern early is not to give the old guys too many mintes to start out, so they don't complain too much about decreases later. Going from 24 to 12 minutes causes frustration. Going from 20 to 16 isn't as bad. Plus, it means a more smooth transition.


My hopes for the end of the season
:

Harris (34) / Watson (14)
Burks (20) / Miles (20) / Bell (8)
Hayward (30) / Kirilenko (18)
Favors (24) / Millsap (24)
Jefferson (36) / Kanter (12) / Okur

-Burks starting might be presumptuous, but if he's only playing 20 minutes, it would be nice just so everyone gets used to the idea, and he gets used to playing with Hayward.
-Hayward will be starting at the 3 soon enough. He's one of our few shooters, and he looks ready by the end of last season. I'm expecting AK back for a small salary, and if he's playing under 20 mins a night I think he'd be healthy enough to play at high efficiency.
-Favors has to start soon. Millsap should be super effective in 24 minute bursts.
-Okur's rehab might be on pace, but I have a feeling he's pretty much done. I expect him to end up as our third string center insurance (so sad). I suspect Kanter will be our backup center this year, which makes me reavaluate all the Jefferson trade proposals.

It will be important to play Burks and Hayward together, and Favors and Kanter together for stretches so they get chemistry built up.

Edit: ah crap, I forgot about Evans. I'm hoping he gets up to 12 minutes a night. Maybe we don't need AK as much as I thought (even though the offense needs his orchestration, we can fill the position comfortably without him).
In '03-'04, Jerry Sloan coached the ESPN predicted "worst team of all time" to 42-40.

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