"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[Surfah]

Also, the fact that Aldrich is only 6'9" is a bit disheartening, IMO. I don't care how long his wingspan is or how much taller his shoes make him (2.25 inches, actually), I was hoping he was taller than that.

Ouch, I missed that. Looks like the Jazz will continue to be undersized.

[Blueintheface]

Ouch, I missed that. Looks like the Jazz will continue to be undersized. frowny dude

Fixed for what you really meant.

[Donuthole]

Simmons predicts Phil Jackson and AK to the Nets.

I have two predictions. The first: [Russian Mark Cuban] pounces on Phil Jackson with an absolutely unfathomable offer. How unfathomable? Five years, $85 million. Yeah. That's what I mean. Prokhorov is already on record as saying that he wants an NBA coach. Why not overpay to get one of the greatest ever? How could the Lakers possibly come close to matching that commitment? And why would Jackson say no to finishing his career in the New York area for the most lucrative coaching deal ever BY FAR? I say the Godfather offer gets made, and I say Jackson takes it.

Second, instead of chewing up Jersey's cap space with overpaid free agents, I bet Prokhorov trades for Andrei Kirilenko -- his former CKSA star, as well as an expiring 2011 contract of $17.9 million -- in a deal that won't cost Jersey anything because Utah (struggling to find money for Carlos Boozer) could easily replace Kirilenko with its lottery pick (No. 8 overall) and a second trade. For the Nets, even if they just rented Kirilenko and picked Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors (the draft's best power forward) at No. 3, that's an intriguing short-term frontline (Favors, Kirilenko and Brook Lopez) and they'd maintain flexibility for a run at Carmelo in 2011 and/or have Kirilenko's expiring deal to shop this February. And it would go over big back home for Prokhorov. Win, win and win.

A huge hypothetical, but what players should be involved for this to work out well for Utah? (In my wildest dreams it would involve a third team accepting Memo's abortion of a contract. Ok, maybe not my wildest dreams.)

Ooops. Link. Bill Simmons: Mikhail Prokhorov guide - ESPN

[smokymountainrain]

Jeff Foote of Cornell joins my list of interesting 2nd round prospects. He's a skilled big man and measured at 7'.25" w/out shoes. They don't have him listed with shoes, but that's a legit 7'2", even 7'3" if he throws on a pair of Cole Aldrich's shoes.

[Surfah]

Simmons predicts Phil Jackson and AK to the Nets.



A huge hypothetical, but what players should be involved for this to work out well for Utah? (In my wildest dreams it would involve a third team accepting Memo's abortion of a contract. Ok, maybe not my wildest dreams.)

Ooops. Link. Bill Simmons: Mikhail Prokhorov guide - ESPN

Prokhorov has the chance to shake things up big time. I doubt JaX takes a 5 year deal. I could see him doing 2-3 year deal. I have a hard time seeing him coaching anyone but the Lakers next year. I could see him "retiring" then after next season going to another team. However if the Lakers low ball him like is rumored, he may jump.

[scottie]

Simmons predicts Phil Jackson and AK to the Nets.

A huge hypothetical, but what players should be involved for this to work out well for Utah? (In my wildest dreams it would involve a third team accepting Memo's abortion of a contract. Ok, maybe not my wildest dreams.)

Ooops. Link. Bill Simmons: Mikhail Prokhorov guide - ESPN

Prokhorov has the chance to shake things up big time. I doubt JaX takes a 5 year deal. I could see him doing 2-3 year deal. I have a hard time seeing him coaching anyone but the Lakers next year. I could see him "retiring" then after next season going to another team. However if the Lakers low ball him like is rumored, he may jump.

Tweet from Ross Siler about 3 hours ago:

And Kirilenko's also said multiple times that Prokhorov's reported $13 billion worth is more like his walking around money.

Any idea what Siler/AK means by that? I interpret it to mean that Prokhorov is worth more than $13B; what do you think?

I think it's highly likely that AK is playing in NJ next season. I think I like this Prokhorov guy for some reason.

[MarkGrace]

Everyone has railed on Phil for not being able to coach without major superstars. If he goes to NJ and Bron doesn't land there, he'd just prove them right. I highly doubt he does it.

[MarkGrace]

I get a kick out of Jazz fans who cringe at the idea of their team drafting Kansas center Cole Aldrich.

The fact is, Utah will be lucky to get Aldrich with the No. 9 pick in the draft on June 24. Along with Kentucky' DeMarcus Cousins, who some scouts question because of maturity issues, Aldrich will almosr certainly be long gone by the time the Jazz step forward to make their first-round selection.

Aldrich could go in the top-five. Detroit picks No. 7 and it's unlikely he will slip past the Pistons, who need size more desperately than the Jazz.

So, why don't a small-but-vocal group of Jazz fans want their favorite team to draft a 6-foor-11 center from Kansas who an ability to score and clog the lane on defense?

Two words: Greg Ostertag.

There is a feeling out there -- apparently -- that if the Jazz drafted Aldrich, he would be the second coming of Ostertag.

But that's not how it would work.

Aldrich is a much more polished, refined player than Ostertag, which is evident from the fact that he is a top-seven draft pick. Ostertag, you recall, was the 28th pick in the 1995 draft -- the next-to-last pick in the first round.

Players taken directly in front of Ostertag -- the likes of Loren Meyer of Iowa State, David Vaughn of Memphis, Sherell Ford of Illinois-Chicago and Mario Bennett of Arizona State -- didn't exactly turn out to be All-Stars.

In fact, I'd say the Jazz made a tremendous pick because -- despite popular revisionist history -- because Ostertag was easily the most accomplished NBA player taken at the bottom of the first round of the '95 draft.

At times, of course, there were issues with his conditioning and his motivation. More than a few of the gray hairs on coach Jerry Sloan's head are there because of the fact Ostertag didn't play up to his full potential all the time.

But consider:

Ostertag played 700 games for the Jazz. He averaged 4.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.79 blocks in 20.3 minutes. He was the starter on the first Jazz team to reach the NBA Finals in 1997, and he played big minutes off the bench when Utah returned to the Finals in 1998.

Today, Ostertag ranks third on the Jazz's all-time list for blocked shots and fourth in rebounding.

Yes, Ostertag got slapped around by Shaquille O'Neal at the shootarounds prior to the 1997-98 season in Los Angeles and did not stand up for himself. Yes, Ostertag holds the unofficial franchise record for getting kicked off the bench in the middle of a game by Sloan.

As the years pass, however, Ostertag's contribution to the Jazz is being unfairly misrepresented.

Fact: Ostertag played major roles on the two best teams in history and deserves credit for doing so, especially given the fact that 27 teams passed on him in the '95 draft.

Aldrich?

I expected he will be a better pro than Ostertag. But he should be, as a top-seven pick in what is being characterized as a fairly deep draft.

-- Steve Luhm

http://blogs.sltrib.com/jazz/index.p...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Is Luhm going to give me credit for this? I basically wrote this article in various posts on the board.

[MarkGrace]

AK to the Nets would be interesting. In the East he could move back to the 4, and would probably perform better in that role. AK, Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian gives you a solid rotation at the 4/5, you have a decent wing group with Courtney Lee, CDR and Bobby Simmons, and assuming Harris can stay healthy you have a borderline AS at the point. Throw in another top talent taken with the #3 pick in the draft and you could field a much better squad than this year (I know, that's not hard).

Not sure how the teams would work it out, but freeing up AK's contract would put the Jazz in a better position to re-sign Booz. And despite the fact that I love AK, Booz is more important to this team.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I'd have no problem with Aldrich, in fact I'd be borderline thrilled if we got him.

[MarkGrace]

I'm fine with him as well. Do wish he was a little bigger. I predicted on the Jazz board that he'd have the measurements of a 7' despite not actually being 7', because he has a short neck and head. But with a 7'5" wingspan and 9'4" standing reach, he basically had the specs of Alabi and Jordan, who measured just under 7'1". And, as Reggie Miller said in a rare moment of clarity, "you don't block shots or rebound with your head."

[MarkGrace]

So I just saw this blog post done by Pete Mickeal (went to college at Cincy, now plays for FC Barcelona). He gives Tomic some love:

I think we improved our defensive level as a team. They are so difficult to stop because they’ve got so many guys that can go one-on-one… Pablo Prigioni controls the whole game. One of the keys to their success against us was Pablo running the screen-and-roll to perfection. He did it with Tiago Splitter in Vitoria, now he’s doing it with Ante Tomic.

Tomic proved that he can score almost 20 points in every game against one of the best teams in Europe… Unbelievable to do it at such a young age. We did things to slow him down and still scored. Overall, his talent and ability to get better and his potential are very high.

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/mic...#ixzz0oihNYpnG

[MarkGrace]

Biggest Surprises:

Patrick Patterson measured in at a surprising 6'8 barefoot making him a legit 6'9 in shoes. With a 7'1.25 wingspan and a 8'11 standing reach, he has ideal size for a power forward. The big knock that teams have had on him was that he lacked the size to be a top 10 pick. Guess not. He has excellent size for an NBA power forward. His 240 lbs and 5.3 percent body fat are also very impressive, showing the right type of bulk. Could he go before DeMarcus Cousins? It no longer seems out of the question.

Luke Babbitt was another big winner. He measured a legit 6'9 with shoes on and has a 6'11.25 wingspan. He may in fact have the size to play either forward position.

Winners:

Hassan Whiteside had the extremely impressive numbers at 6'10.5 barefoot with a 7'7 wingspan and a 9'5 standing reach. He also had an extremely impressive 5.5% body fat at 227 lbs. Considering his tremendous leaping ability, his length makes him very intriguing.

Larry Sanders tied Whiteside and Dexter Pittman with the biggest length to height ratio with a 8 1/2 inch differencial between his barefoot 6'9.25 height and wingspan 7'5.75. His 4.6% body fat was lowest among bigmen and fourth lowest overall.

Keith Gallon had another huge wing span in relation to his height with an 8 inch difference between his barefoot height 6'8.5 and wingspan 7'4.5. His 9'1.5 standing reach is remarkable for a 6'8.5 player. His 15.1 % body fat is disappointing but is actually surprising that it is lower than Cousins.

Ekpe Udoh was another in the line of condors with a 7 3/4 inch difference in wingspan to height. Udoh checked in with a (7'4.25) wing to (6'8.75) height.

Cole Aldrich's height measurement (6'9 barefoot) is a little disappointing but like Udoh, Aldrich has a 7 3/4 inch difference in wingspan (7'4.75) to height. His 9'3.5 standing reach is excellent for a center despite his lack of height.

Jarvis Varnado has a 7 1/4 inch differential. Varnado's (7'3.5) wing to (6'8.25) height and 9'1.5 inch standing reach explains why he led the nation in blocks for 2 years in a row. His 9.5% body fat at 210 lbs however are disappointing figures.

Lance Stephenson's wingspan (6'10.5) is a full 6 inches greater than his height (6'4.5 barefoot). His 9.3% body fat needs to improve but he shows a solid physique at 227 lbs.

Dominique Jones measured in at a big 6'4 with a 6'9.25 wingspan. His standing reach (8'5) is 2 inches higher than 6'6 Jon Scheyer's (8'3).

Wing forwards Al Farouq Aminu 9'0.25 standing reach, Stanley Robinson, Devin Ebanks 8'11.5 standing reaches Paul George and Damion James 8'11 standing reaches, all have power forward length. Aminu's incredible 7'3.25 wingspan is 8 inches longer than his height.

Terrico White and Manny Harris had the lowest body fat percentages at 3.7 and 3.8 respectively. White also measured well at 6'5 with a 6'9 wingspan. Excellent size for a point guard. His standing reach is just a half inch shorter than John Wall's.

Xavier Henry measured well at a big 6'6 and a near 7-foot wingspan (6'11.25). And possibly most impressive was his 4.7% body fat (fifth lowest) at 210 lbs, very impressive for a player with such a strong upper body and chiseled physique.

Derrick Favors measured exceptionally well at a legit 6'10 with a 7'4 wingspan. At 245 lbs with just 6.5 % body fat speaks to his work ethic in relation to DeMarcus Cousins.

Daniel Orton measured well. Despite being under 6'9 barefoot, his 7'4.25 wingspan and 9'2.5 standing reach are excellent for a center. His 13.8% body fat at 269 lbs is disappointing but not surprising.

Avery Bradley had excellent numbers. He's got a 6'7.25 wingspan at a legit 6'3 height and the third best body fat % at 4.0.


Size Matters

Hassan Whiteside, Solomon Alabi, Jerome Jordan and DeMarcus Cousins all had 9'5 standing reaches. Which means that they are just 7 inches from touching the rim while on the ground flat footed.

PGs with Length

Eric Bledsoe had the greatest wingspan in relation to height among the guards. His wingspan (6'7.5) is 7 1/4 inches longer than his barefoot height (6'0.25).

John Wall's wingspan (6'9.25) is 6 1/2 inches longer than his height barefoot (6'2.75). Being a legit 6'4 and weighing close to 200 lbs with a 5.6% body fat all help solidify his #1 pick status.

Armon Johnson's wingspan (6'8) is 6 inches longer than his height barefoot (6'2).

Anomalies:

Both Trevor Booker and Luke Harangody have surprisingly high standing reaches at 8'10, which is just a notch below some players with much greater heights and wingspans. Their measurements are actually eerily similar. Booker is 6'6.25 barefoot with a 6'9.75 wingspan. Harangody is 6'6 barefoot with a 6'9.5 wingspan. Harangody outweighs Booker 240 to 236 while Harangody has a 11.1 body fat % while Booker has a 7.3 %.

Somehow Ekpe Udoh checked in with a (7'4.25) wingspan and (6'8.75) barefoot height, yet Udoh's standing reach (8'10.5) is just a half inch greater than Booker and Harangody's.

Losers:

While DeMarcus Cousins length is absolutely jaw dropping at 6-9.5 in shoes with a 7'5.75 wingspan and 9'5 standing reach. Cousins was the shortest player with a 9'5 standing reach and came in third overall in wingspan to height ratio (8 1/4 inch difference). Unfortunately his 292 lbs and 16.4 percent body fat show that he hasn't been putting any work in on his cardio. Cousins' 16.4 % body fat was second only to Dexter Pittman's and is alarming to scouts. Considering there are concerns about his attitude and willingness to work hard, this is an additional red flag.

Dexter Pittman actually looked like he was in shape during the combine. Looks can be deceiving. He came out with a 20.8% body fat, meaning that 1/5 of Dexiter Pittman is fat.

Evan Turner having just a 6'8 wingspan was a surprise. His arms appear to be longer, but his length is just 2 1/2 inches more than his (6'5.75 barefoot) height.

Jon Scheyer had the worst case of t-rex arms with a 6'4.75 measurement barefoot and just a 6'3.25 wingspan. His 8'3 standing reach is extremely low for a player that stands 6'6 in shoes (21 inches). Even Sherron Collins standing reach was 23 inches more than his height in shoes.

Sherron Collins is not only short (5'11) but he was the only combine participant with a sub 8-foot standing reach at 7'10. His 6'2.5 wingspan is decent for his height, however.

Greg Monroe has good length but had a surprisingly high body fat at 11.2%

.
http://www.nbadraft.net/combine-measurement-analysis

Aldrich listed as a winner because of his span/reach measurements, Monroe listed as a loser because of his body fat.

[MarkGrace]

NBA Draft tidbits
Tim Buckley
sports writer, Utah Jazz beat writer | May 24, 2010 at 12:55 a.m.

With the NBA combine in Chicago now wrapped up and a massive multi-team workout at which the Jazz will be represented being held early this week at Minnesota, a few draft-related tidbits that could impact Utah during the June 24 draft …

• According to multiple reports, add San Antonio to the long list of teams — including Houston, Portland, Memphis and Minnesota — interested in trading up.

That's not exactly a good thing for the Jazz, because the Spurs, much like Utah, which also has not ruled out trying to move up, are interested in landing a big man.

The Spurs evidently interviewed Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors at the pre-draft camp, and Favors — a projected top-five pick — told the Associated Press he believes San Antonio is trying to trade up to take him.

The San Antonio Express-News describes the 6-foot-10 Favors as both "a tall, athletic shot-blocker'' and "a defensive menace around the basket (who) can run the floor with guards.''

Gee, that doesn't sound like anything the Jazz can use, does it?

San Antonio currently owns the No. 20 overall pick; Utah, No. 9.

• Wake Forest small forward/power foward Al-Farouq Aminu, another projected top-five pick, told the Charlotte Observer this in Chicago: "Because I'm a real laid-back kind of guy, they think I'm real lazy. Certain things come to me easy, and that makes people think I'm not going as hard as I can.''

Now imagine how that would fly with Jerry Sloan, and guess how many seconds are needed — two, one, zero? — to scratch Aminu from the Jazz's list, even if he were to slip to nine.

• Over the past few days, much mention has been made in the local market of 7-foot Lithuanian power forward Donatas Motiejunasin.

But before signing him up for the Jazz today, consider two things.

One is this April 2009 analysis, by NBADraft.net, of his supposed weaknesses: "Is extremely talented and he knows it. At times he doesn't keep the pedal to the metal, exhibiting some lapses in focus and intensity (laziness) in practices ... Sometimes appears content to be better than others without dominating them the way he's capable.''

The second is that according to ESPN.com "he has one year left on his contract'' with his Italian League team, Benetton Treviso, and unidentified "sources say he's considering staying the extra year to continue to build strength and experience.'' If the Jazz lose starting power forward Carlos Boozer to free agency, does it really make any sense to draft a power forward who won't come over right away?

(Motiejunasin, by the way, still has until June 14 to decide whether or not he'll keep his name in this year's draft pool.)

• ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported that there were notable absentees from non-contact drills in Chicago, including a few he deemed "understandable'' (including Favors, Kentucky's John Wall, Ohio State's Evan Turner, Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins and Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, all top-six pick contenders) and a few others he called "head-scratchers'' who "should have been there (Aminu, Kansas' Cole Aldrich, Baylor's Ekpe Udoh and Georgetown's Greg Monroe).

Monroe, Aldrich and Udoh all are possible Jazz picks at No. 9.

Then there's a group Ford called "just bizarre'' — Marshall's Hassan Whiteside, Kentucky's Daniel Orton and Washington's Quincy Pondexter. None of the three, Ford wrote, "is a lock to be drafted in the first round.''

Whiteside in particular and Orton as well both have been mentioned in some circles as a potential Jazz pick, but if it's true that neither is a lock for the opening round would they really be a legit pick at 9?

http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/18/1...t-tidbits.html

Whiteside in particular and Orton as well both have been mentioned in some circles as a potential Jazz pick, but if it's true that neither is a lock for the opening round would they really be a legit pick at 9?

Does he mean actual Jazz circles, or just chatter amongst fans? I'd be curious to know.

[Blueintheface]

I get the sneaking suspicion that this year's draft will be nearly as bad as the Kenyon Martin draft. I also have no faith that the Jazz will do the right thing even if the right thing on draft day appears to be the right thing.