"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[smokymountainrain]

Ford, and others, keep bringing up the fact that Jabari would be far more likely to stay in Utah than other stars. Sure, let's even say that is true. What does it matter? If a team wants to keep a high draft pick around, that player is going to stay with the team for what, a minimum of 8 years? 4 years on the rookie deal, and then at least 4 years on the following contract if the team matches the maximum contract offer another team could make him as a RFA? So are the Jazz really going to take a guy over another player because they think they might have a better chance of keeping him around in year 9 or 10?

I get it if they want to say drafting Jabari would provide the most interest for their fan base and might help sell tickets and drive viewership. But the nonsense about drafting him because they can keep him in SLC more than some other guy is dumb.

I agree with you, but I'd take it a step further to include the bolded. You want to sell tickets and drive viewership? Take the best player, the guy who, individually, will entertain the fans with his play on the court and who, from a team standpoint, will help you win games. Take the lesser player just to sell tickets, that might last for a season, maybe two. Winning and good players who entertain with their play, is lasting. It's crazy to take a guy who carries interest locally despite the fact that he might be worse than other guys.

[clackamascoug]

I agree with you, but I'd take it a step further to include the bolded. You want to sell tickets and drive viewership? Take the best player, the guy who, individually, will entertain the fans with his play on the court and who, from a team standpoint, will help you win games. Take the lesser player just to sell tickets, that might last for a season, maybe two. Winning and good players who entertain with their play, is lasting. It's crazy to take a guy who carries interest locally despite the fact that he might be worse than other guys.

Lebowski - SmokyMR needs a strike!

[smokymountainrain]

Lebowski - SmokyMR needs a strike!

Not a chance. I'm one of the biggest Jimmer homers on the board.

I'm just being realistic - professional teams don't operate that way if they want to win.

[MarkGrace]

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: 2017 at the soonest. The high-rent neighborhood in the Western Conference is a densely populated place. Meanwhile, the Jazz's peer class among the aspirational teams is pretty competitive. Phoenix looks like it's bypassing rock bottom. New Orleans and Sacramento have superstar big men in the making. Denver seems to have a floor. The Lakers are the Lakers. That's a lot of leap-froggin' for a team that's still in the discovery phase of team-building.

Matt Cianfrone, Roundball Mining Co.: 2015-2016.The supporting pieces seem to be there in Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks and Trey Burke but the Jazz are missing the main guy. If they can find him in this season's lottery, or even a complementary piece to push Hayward to that role, a playoff return doesn't seem farther off than a year or two of jelling.

Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: 2016, and that's not a knock on their talent. The West is stacked with several teams built to be successful for quite a while, so the Jazz will likely have to wait for their young talent to mature some. I'm hedging my bets a bit and assuming they'll be able to retain the services of Gordon Hayward, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Utah has immense cap flexibility but faces a familiar argument in that it is difficult to lure free agents, so it'll likely have to engineer some trades to bring in the type of vets the Jazz need to supplement their outstanding young core.

Andrew McNeill, 48 Minutes of Hell: Maybe surprisingly, I don't think they're that far off. Utah has several talented young pieces in Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward. A promising swingman from the 2014 draft and added depth on the bench could propel the Jazz to the postseason next season. The big if comes with the Jazz re-signing Hayward this offseason, though.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss, TrueHoop: Three seasons. Their massive collection of high draft picks has disappointed so far, but I still believe in the talent of Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. That pair, along with rookie Trey Burke, should thrive under the right coach. Perhaps they need another veteran player to goose the growing process, but I like how the Jazz have approached the future. They know they aren't wooing free agents, so the (sound) plan is to lean heavily on the draft.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-140115/jazz-spurs-nuggets-warriors

[MarkGrace]

Good loss.

[The_Douger]

It was nice to see Burks have a few good games in a row. He could be a pretty good player.

[smokymountainrain]

It was nice to see Burks have a few good games in a row. He could be a pretty good player.

It's nice to see Burks finally get a real chance. Meaning, play 35+ minutes a game consistently.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Only 3 TOs between Burke, Burks, and Favors. And just enough John Lucas to secure a loss.

Favors and Kanter combine for 44 and 23. Meanwhile, Phoenix wins its 22nd game even though Bledsoe has been out, and Dragic missed time earlier in the year. Corbin over Hornacek will go down as one of the epic Jazz front office failures.

[MarkGrace]

Only 3 TOs between Burke, Burks, and Favors. And just enough John Lucas to secure a loss.

Favors and Kanter combine for 44 and 23. Meanwhile, Phoenix wins its 22nd game even though Bledsoe has been out, and Dragic missed time earlier in the year. Corbin over Hornacek will go down as one of the epic Jazz front office failures.

Other than the obvious exaggeration, I'm still not sure where they went Corbin > Hornacek is a real conclusion here.

[Maximus]

Other than the obvious exaggeration, I'm still not sure where they went Corbin > Hornacek is a real conclusion here.

By not firing corbin at the end of last year.

[MarkGrace]

By not firing corbin at the end of last year.

For what?

[MarkGrace]

Kanter's career high.

[Maximus]

For what?

for not being a good coach. do you think corbin is worth keeping?

[Jacob]

Kanter per 36 minutes in January (6 games averaging 22.3 minutes):

23.7 pts; 12.4 rbs; 1.1 blks; 1.1 asts; 1.3 stls; 2.9 fouls; 2.9 TOs

Happens to be better than Favors in every single category (except TOs) over that short stretch of games.

[MarkGrace]

for not being a good coach. do you think corbin is worth keeping?

As evidenced by...?