The Jazz's road ahead... any little Dutch boys?

A little down? Don't be!

Sloan and D-Will... Two guys who did a lot for the Jazz. So much to say about Jerry I think it's insulting to even try. Derron, Good luck. As one of the most talented players Utah has ever seen, you gave a lot to Utah. For that- Thank You.

Was the trade a good idea? Yes. I wont waste my time arguing that point.

Was Sloan pushed out by Williams? NO! Jerry said so, that's why. Respect the man enough to take him for his word. (It's true by the way. Ask me in person or e-mail me and I'll tell you what I know.)

That is all I really want to say about that.


Now, the new look Jazz!

First off:

It is what it is... and it will be good!

Devin Harris and Derrick Favors are now Jazz men. Wow, what a cool thought! Even though it's tough to see change, sometimes it's at least exciting. The unknown leaves that hint of "what if" in the air.

What if....

... Devin Harris becomes an All-Star... again (was in 08-09 season)

... Favors takes that next leap and challenges Millsap next year for the starting spot---> that's called a good problem!

... the new guys gel much quicker than expected, Jazz finish winning 20 games to close in on the playoffs, make a deep playoff run, and Ty and Jerry share "Coach of the year"! (It's a 'what if'', not an 'I predict')

The starting line-up & depth

Position: Starter, Reserve(s)

PG: Devin Harris, Watson

Devin is not Derron... he's Devin. He's an All-star, he's the fastest man alive with a basketball (Guinness book of records), and will be a great PG in Corbin's system. What gave this trade added wheels was Watson. He is by far one of the best back-up PG's the Jazz have had, and loves his role as a back-up!

SG/Wing: Raja Bell, C.J.

This is the weakest link on this roster, and it really isn't too weak. Raja is a Jazz fit: he works hard, fouls hard, and plays with emotion. He's also 34. That's a big deal. I think Bell can be Bell, but for 20 minutes a night, not 30+.
C.J. is the back-up at the 2 and the 3. That doesn't work. Hayward needs to be that other back up. He needs to be the guy that gives the Jazz that unexpected spark... the only problem is now it's expected. Play the minutes Ty gives you big. Play big 9th pick. Play big.

SF/Wing: A.K., C.J. (again)

AK is in his contract season, and he is for the most part living up to the "contract year" stereotype; a player plays much better when he is on line for a new contract next year.
He has had his injuries, but while on the floor AK seems to be channeling the 2004 AK... All-Star A.K.
As much as I like AK's game and hope we re-sign him to a much less contract, I feel this and the SG position is the true need for the Jazz future.

PF: Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors

This is a strong position with a future and depth. The skill set that Paul was forced to develop being undersized and the limitless raw talent and build of Favors... wow! This tandem will wear down even some of the deepest PF teams.
Now, the Jazz just need to make good on a request from Karl Malone... bring him in as a big man's coach. The greatest TRUE power forward to ever play the game wants to coach... the Jazz have a new, young power forward that has an endless well of ultra raw talent and limitless athleticism just wanting to be molded into something fine tuned and amazing! Karl would do it, he just needs to be home by Friday (I really hope you heard his in game interview with Craig and Matt)!

C: Al Jefferson, ? , Fes

Al Jefferson has come on strong as of late, and is showing something amazing; the willingness to re-train and re-build his skill set to better fit the Jazz system... Folks, that just does not happen to a 6 year veteran in the NBA. He is putting up stellar #'s right now, competing for a team that is going through a lot of turmoil, learning a new system, playing at the 5 when he is a true 4, giving up and now re-taking the role of the go to guy, all while making adjustments to deep rooted fundamentals such as how he plays defense, how he uses his body for positioning, how he uses his outside shot, and most of all his pick and roll/screen play.
I am super impressed with Al, and consider him the best center the Jazz have had since Mark.
As for who is backing him up... uh... well... yup.
Fes has shown flashes, but has also shown such a lag that it is ridiculous. I am usually an apologist for fes, but I am just sick of him not being consistent. If he wants to be a true big in this league, he needs to do 3 things in my opinion: make at least 65% of his FT's, NEVER leave his feet on D (he's taller than almost everyone in the league!! no need to big guy), become a rebounding expert.
If he can figure these things out, he will be a great option for the Jazz, and will get good minutes tied to a good contract with Utah. If not, good luck where ever you land next year big guy!

Utah has been given one, maybe two chances, to find a little Dutch boy.

With the Williams trade Utah got NJ's first round pick this draft. THAT PICK WILL BE A LOTTO PICK. NJ will not make the playoffs. That is a given.
the 2nd chance is the pick Utah might create for themselves by not making the playoffs. Now I for one really hope they make the playoffs, and I think they will. But if they don't, the pick they sent to the T-Wolves is protected and the Jazz get to use it! That's a lotto pick.
I believe the needed Dutch boy to plug the hole in the Jazz dam is somewhere in that draft class. Let's look at a few likely options.

Harrison Barnes:  A 6-7 wing player that was compared to Kobe in high school! He has disappointed at North Carolina as a freshman, but is still considered to be at least a strong asset at the wing.

Jordan Hamilton: A "score first, score now" wing player that in his second year is running the Jazz system! Texas coaches came to Utah to learn the flex from the team that runs it better than anyone, the Jazz. That has to be a big gold star to Jazz executives looking for a guy that can help right away.

Terrence Jones: This guy is for real! Unless the Jazz can get a top 5 in the lotto, this guy will be gone. He is a do everything guy. He rebounds, scores, and has a NBA ready body.
at 6-8 he is a good sized 3 that can play the 4. Has some long ball skills as well.

The Jimmer: The hometown favorite. One of the most exciting players ever in college basketball-- can it translate to the league? Above amazing shooter with reach that is unheard of! Suspect D, and average speed are a big question, but if he can hold close to the same shooting percentages in the NBA that he is putting up in college, he could be one of the best floor spacing tools in the league.

Kawhi Leonard: Instantly creates miss-match issues, much like AK and Gerald Wallace do in the NBA. I really like his game, and think his skill set and basketball IQ will translate well into the NBA. He has a consistency that is usually reserved for pros, and in his sophomore year (huge plus in my mind when a player stays for at least two years in college) has improved in just about every category!

With the trade, the new players, the coaching change, the draft picks, and the looming lock-out, this truly is turning into a new era of the Utah Jazz.

"What if", "Just maybe", "I hope", and "Wow!"... perhaps the new Jazz slogan.

Jazz Trades: Williams today, Harris tomorrow? ...A.K. all week.

As I sat surrounded by what seemed to be the visitor’s section for Golden State, I witnessed something that has not happened in my lifetime; the Jazz completed their worst home court losing streak since 1982.

If it hadn’t of been for the dry humor of my wife trying to convince me to steal the recently purchased Jazz ball from the pre-teen next to me, and then giving it to her to hurl at someone’s head, I might not of made it through the historic lose.

With a cool head from my wife’s humor, a good night’s sleep, and a much needed break ahead, I can calmly present what I will be using as therapy for the next 7 days… ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.

1st trade: We found him, let’s get him back! (Submitted by: Ice-Man)

This is the trade to get Wes Mathews back! Giving up two pieces for “the one that got away” seems like a lofty price… until we saw Wes’s first game as a Blazer.

So consider this the Sportscave crew standing outside of Mathew’s house in the rain holding a boom-box blasting “In your Eye’s”.

2nd trade: Half the fat, twice the taste!

I have already presented this one… but I still like it. Especially when you look at the $ saved! Hill is an up & coming guy that hasn’t really had a fair shake in the league yet… put him in our rotation, shake the hell out of him, and see what comes out!


Lee is the most under rated, under used, under paid wing I can think of… If he is on this Jazz team, he shows his value and we have a good problem in a few years; Utah will have to pay him the big bucks to keep him!



3rd trade: “The big boy reset button” trade.

This is the one. This one hit’s the reset button on your old, grey Nintendo. You have gotten pretty far with this group, but you just can’t beat the last few levels… sometimes frustration kicks in, and in a haste you hit the reset button… S@#T! Mario would roll over in his grave.


After the despair drifts away, a slight amount of hope, excitement, and vision begins to seep in your sleep deprived & over carbonated brain as you see what could be… how you’ll do things differently this time around.

By giving up the talent of D-Will (hard to even think), the pieces that come back are REALLY exciting. Taking back Outlaw convinces N.J. to take A.K., and Harris is a top 10 PG now who could be even a little better in a few years with this team. The key to this is Watson, who let’s you do this because he is such a good back-up.

Kevin Martin is a scorer. End of story. He is average at everything else, but right now, for this team, that works. I think Patterson and Hill speak for themselves. Both will be productive, defensive minded bigs who can chip in a good night of scoring every once in a while as well.

It may take a while for this one to sink in, but I think it is an interesting thought.

So until Feb. 24th, look for me hoping for a trade... maybe.

ESPN's Trade machine

I would do this in a minute!

The long-shot here is Memphis... but they REALLY want to get rid of Thabeet, and might be willing to let O.J. go to lose the Thabeet contract, and O.J. has multiple questions in his past.
The good news is they get a Center who,when healthy, spreads the floor that can also allow the more mobile Gasol to be an extremely long PF at times (especially if they loose Z. Randolph).
I think Houston does this as well. They get two 7 footers, one mobile veteran, and one young project who still has an up side... especially in a half court offense like Adleman can run.
And as for O.J. Rick again has proven he can take some rough guys (take a look at the Sac-town teams he took deep in the playoffs back in the day... some rough dudes on those teams) and get them to preform at a high level.
If Utah didn't do this, I would be really surprised. I love Memo, but getting an athletic & aggressive rebounder big in Hill (think a poor man's Javale McGee) AND a cheap, under used SG that can defend and shoot the three (think a younger Raja Bell!).

What do you think?



ESPN's Holliger says this about these two...

Courtney Lee:

+ Solid wing defender who can check most 2s despite middling athleticism.


+ Good outside shooter, but better from midrange than long distance.


+ Good finisher at basket but lacks the burst or ball skills to get there often.


Lee made 44.4 percent of his long 2s but slumped to 33.8 percent on 3s; he can be a much more valuable player if he establishes himself as a 40 percent 3-point shooter -- something he accomplished as a rookie in Orlando.


Otherwise, we pretty much know the story with Lee after just two seasons. He's a good defender but not a dominating one. He'll hit open shots but won't create that many. In short, he's a near-perfect role-playing wing, but he has very little chance of moving up in the world. Regardless, he'll last a decade and make tens of millions of dollars if he keeps sticking Js.



Jordan Hill:

+ Classic energy payer who crashes offensive boards and blocks shots.


+ Offensive game mostly limited to jab-step for 15-footers; needs post game.


+ Lack of strength resulted in high foul rate; must add strength.


Viewed as a bust in New York, Hill wasn't bad at all for a rookie power forward based on his overall numbers. He was fourth at his position in offensive rebound rate, 16th in blocks, and his scoring numbers (15.6 per 40 minutes) were very respectable.


Hill fouled entirely too often -- more than once every seven minutes -- and his lack of strength makes him a suspect post defender, but that can be addressed by pumping iron. He's not a star by any means, but he'll be a useful rotation player. New York just gave up on him too quickly.


Having Jordan be the first big off the bench would give a long, athletic big that has a huge upside with a nose for rebounding and a defender in the post. I really think this kid is going to be special.
As for Lee... he is hand cuffed right now in Houston, playing behind a bevy of proven wing players. Before Houston brought him over from N.J., he was dumping in over 12 points a game in just his second year in the league.

Final thought:
I think these two are perhaps some of the best, realistic pick-ups Utah could get. If brought over, both could be playing pretty big roles on Utah's roster by the end of April.
I really feel like this trade could put the Jazz on the level with L.A., Dallas, and O.K.C.... and if the cards fall right, San Antonio.