Hypothetical: Kanter or Favors?

[countrybama24]

So I love both these guys, and think they can be the best front court in the league. But the Grizzlies series really highlights the need to space the floor against well coached defenses. Hayward isn't very reliable from three, and we'll still need a guy to play with Hayward to be our wing stopper, since I think Hayward is a solid but not great defender.

Speaking purely hypothetically, what if the following occurred:
1. We don't find a bonafide star Guard / Wing in this draft or the next.
2. Kanter doesn't develop into a consistent three point shooter, creating spacing issues for the Favors-Kanter lineup.
3. We could get the PGOTF or a legitimate star on the wing and a mid-to-late first round (not in 2014, but in a more average draft) for either, but Favors would net us a (slightly) better package.

If we had to balance our team out, would you rather trade Favors or Kanter? I've been the biggest advocate of "defense first" on here I think, but the sweep of the Grizzlies sure does illustrate the importance of floor spacing in today's NBA (especially if you want to go all the way). I also think Kanter can be very good defender, but probably not a DMVP candidate.

What do y'all think? In reality, I think the frontcourt will work out and we'll probably find our star wing / guard in the draft, but it was an interesting debate I was having with some other Jazz fans.

[Jazzfan12]

I think there's a pretty decent chance that both guys are centers who can't play together and I would trade Kanter in that scenario. Favors' defense is already great, I'm not sure Kanter's offense will get to the level of greatness.

[StocktonShorts]

I realize this is a copout, but I think we'll know the answer to this question pretty definitively after this upcoming year

Based on what we know right now I'd keep Favors. I think what he can potentially provide is harder to replace than what Kanter can potentially provide.

For what it's worth I think they will complement each other nicely and I'm not prepared to declare the Memphis grizzlies a broken model simply because they lost to one of the best teams of the past decade.

[Inigo Montoya]

1. hayward is actually pretty reliable from 3. he's not a 3pt specialist like foye, but his career numbers up until now are actually pretty good. 47% (small sample size), 34% (still better than CJ), and 41% with large enough sample size. overall, a career average of 40% from 3 is pretty good. 192-479 is a decent sample size as well.

2. kanter doesn't need to shoot 3's to space the floor. he doesn't need to get all the way out there. as long as his mid-range shot is good, it will keep defenses honest. the real need for shooting comes from the SG (i'm assuming hayward is a SF) and the PG.

memphis is somewhat of a mirage. they are not as good as they appear. they had a match up with the clippers which over the past few seasons proved to be an even one, and then they met OKC without westbrook. even so, OKC had plenty of floor spacers and they lost, so i wouldn't say this is why memphis lost to the spurs. what memphis missed, is what they traded away. all the games vs the spurs were close. they missed a perimiter scorer who can make shots and create offense for himself. we need that too though, and the closest thing we have is sitting on the bench and his name is alec burks.

[StocktonShorts]

Memphis didn't lose because they didn't have Rudy Gay. They likely wouldn't have made it to the conference finals if they had kept him.

[Inigo Montoya]

Memphis didn't lose because they didn't have Rudy Gay. They likely wouldn't have made it to the conference finals if they had kept him.

i guess we'll have to disagree on both those statements. do you really think that tayshaun prince instead of gay is what propelled them to the WCF?

[StocktonShorts]

Memphis didn't lose because they didn't have Rudy Gay. They likely wouldn't have made it to the conference finals if they had kept him.

i guess we'll have to disagree on both those statements. do you really think that tayshaun prince instead of gay is what propelled them to the WCF?

The key is that the possessions that Gay used were instead being spread around the team, not just given to Prince. Look at Memphis' record post Gay trade; look at their stats. I really didn't think this was something being debated.

And in fact, it wasn't being discusses until they lost to the Spurs. Guess what? The Spurs are a really good team! Memphis was the 6th seed and made it to the conference finals. It's ridiculous and lazy analysis to day they lost to the Spurs because they didn't have Rudy Gay.

[Inigo Montoya]

that's only one reason. i wasn't looking to make a whole discussion on memphis here, so i kept it short. obviously, the spurs are a much better team. but i also said that (indirectly), by stating that i don't think memphis are as good as people think.

as for gay's possession usage, i think things could be done differently when he was on the team in order to at least partially fix that issue. even so, it's not like bayless is the picture of efficiency. and he also makes really dumb plays. prince was a disappointment in this series, and the need for a scorer in this series was more than evident when the spurs made prince disappear and shut zebo down.

[AingesBurner]

Honestly, Favors and Kanter can play together, they can both post up and hit the midrange jumper; when your big guys can do both you have a deadly front court. I would say on defense that Favors plays C and Kanter plays PF because he is smaller and can probably play a stretch four pretty easily. If Kanter can play defense better than Paul Millsap or Zach Randolph the Jazz will be insane. If we can draft a floor general that can shoot and pass (Schroder) we will be hard to beat. A starting line up of Schroder, Burks, Hayward, Kanter, and Favors is athletic as hell and hard to beat; on the bench have a FA, Foye, Demarre, Marv, and FA or rookie would be a really deep bench.

[Catchall]

I think Kanter can crush people as a PF. I think he'll have a reliable jumper and be able to play out on the floor. He may be able to do *some* of the things Zach Randolph does offensively if he continues to develop. I've also always thought of him as a tougher version of Kevin Love.

Favors really needs to play near the rim at both ends. He plays like a center imo.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to trade either one, but I'd hate to have to play against Favors. Favors is probably a top-5 interior defender right now.

[Catchall]

How about we keep Kanter and bring him off the bench when we draft Julius Randle.

[Nate505]

It's tough. Ultimately I'd say Kanter because I think his offensive potential can be elite (though I wish he was a bit more explosive). Still, Favors has elite defensive potential (and is pretty damn good now) and could be deadly if he could ever develop a bit of a post game and a consistent 15-17 footer. I am encouraged by his improvement from the FT line this year.

It's an intriguing combination because I can't remember when this team has had two big guys would have so much range (in terms of them both being all star caliber players to both being busts, though I don't think either will be total busts).

[sunevisions]

Hope Jazz keep both, at least coming years. Favors average offense with great defense. Kanter aveage defense with gd (great in future) offense.

Can't see they can't play each together.

I just doubt the trend of NBA is not allow 2 big in the game, thats the only reason we can't pair them in future~~

[king everything]

It's an intriguing combination because I can't remember when this team has had two big guys would have so much range (in terms of them both being all star caliber players to both being busts, though I don't think either will be total busts).

When the bulls drafted curry and chandler... Please god, don't let it go that way...

[erudite23]

Favors is the safer keep. He's a better player right now (thought not by as much as some might think) and a safer bet for the future. Also, superficially it seems that Favors is the harder 'type' to find. Long, athletic bigs who can defend the pick and roll AND protect the rim at an elite level are very, very difficult to find. And given that skill set, he's actually a pretty good offensive player to boot.


But I don't think he's ever a franchise guy. I think that window has closed on him and he's at best the 2nd best player on a championship caliber team. I think Kanter can be that. And that's THE hardest position to find--the guy that anchors your team every single night. If he develops properly, we're talking about the best inside/out guy in the league. A monster in the paint and around the rim who can bully just about anyone in the league, but also highly skilled in stepping out and spotting up from distance. That combination....well, it has never existed that I know of. Kevin Love is the closest to it, and he's not the same type of offensive beast around the hoop that Kanter can be.

BUT...the chances of him actually becoming that guy are not good. Maybe 25% at best. And I can still see him not panning out at all in certain scenarios. So he's more of a risk. But since the thing this franchise lacks is a true top 10 talent, I think you have to roll the dice with Enes. He has it and no one else does.

[reapaman]

If I just had to pick between the two, at this point I would choose Enes. Even though I think his chances of being a legit all-star caliber player is about as realistic as a pigs chances to sprout wings and crap on top of the empire state building, he at least has a chance while Favors chickens are cooked. We could just draft Gorgui Dieng who I think will be as good as Favors if not better. I think he fits with Kanter better anyway and their co-interviews would probably be pretty entertaining. If Kanter doesn't turn out to be as good as we want our starting big to be then he would make a much more desirable backup than Favors (plus Kanter got a little bit longer before his rookie deal is up).

[BringtheD]

Overall Favors has the better size and is the superior athlete but Kanter seems to be better at offense than Favors. They both some like hard workers but I feel that Kanter is more likely to reach his potential and be a perennial all star because of the offensive game.

[Blackie]

I wont vote. I like them both and like some have said lets see what happens next year. Jerry Salon said it takes longer for bigs to develop. They both developed good last year. Kanter has a good mid range shot and Favors is a beast on defense. It takes a coach to figure out how to use them together. Hayward started hitting threes towards the end of the year and I think Burks is better than people know. I think we all know we need someone like Tony Parker who is an excellent mid range shooter and distributor of the ball like Stockton. Lets give our bigs a chance to develop.

[Catchall]

Here's a controversial move: Draft Steven Adams and trade Kanter for a high pick in 2014.

[Hoops Addict]

Hypothetically, I would keep Kanter and trade Favors for something good.

It would be dumb to trade either of them.....they are both good young players......the exception is if either gets a Max offer, or someone will give us something really good for them. ( like S Curry, Rondo...on that level.)

I think Dieng might end up being as good as Favors.....there is a chance.