"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

What are the odds that the Jazz work really hard this offseason to bring in a quality (well, at least above average) 2 guard???

Well, they will probably draft Morris Almond II. Does that count? He was a shooter in college, right?

[Sizzle]

What are the odds that the Jazz work really hard this offseason to bring in a quality (well, at least above average) 2 guard???

They need two or so. I thought CJ had turned the corner but he hasn't. Raja is older than I thought he was. I think/hope we can address the wing in the draft, though it looks like the best wings (Williams, Jones, Barnes, etc) aren't true outside shooters. Jordan Hamilton has hit at about 40% this year and with his experience in the flex, and the fact that he will likely be around when the Jazz pick, may make him more appealing.

[Blueintheface]

MG, it's nothing personal to Gordon because I think he is maximizing his time on the court and warrants a great deal of praise for his hustle but I really do expect a #9 pick to make a more significant difference at some point, even in his rookie season. He's taking it hard to the hole and really doing his best but my concern with him remains the same; I don't see him getting that much better, and a hustle player with a limited skill set (quite obviously my opinion) is not what this team needs. They needed shooters. The front office went that way in picking Gordon but so far the results aren't what many Jazz fans and I'm sure the front office could have expected.

[Donuthole]

MG, it's nothing personal to Gordon because I think he is maximizing his time on the court and warrants a great deal of praise for his hustle but I really do expect a #9 pick to make a more significant difference at some point, even in his rookie season. He's taking it hard to the hole and really doing his best but my concern with him remains the same; I don't see him getting that much better, and a hustle player with a limited skill set (quite obviously my opinion) is not what this team needs. They needed shooters. The front office went that way in picking Gordon but so far the results aren't what many Jazz fans and I'm sure the front office could have expected.

I certainly hope they didn't think they were getting a shooter when they drafted GoHay. Because it was pretty well documented that he wasn't much of a shooter his senior year in college.

[Blueintheface]

I certainly hope they didn't think they were getting a shooter when they drafted GoHay. Because it was pretty well documented that he wasn't much of a shooter his senior year in college.

That's the only way of looking at it from the ownership perspective though. With all of the big men on the board, and they haven't exactly been great either, I have to think that O'Connor and Sloan thought they were getting a shooter.

[Donuthole]

That's the only way of looking at it from the ownership perspective though. With all of the big men on the board, and they haven't exactly been great either, I have to think that O'Connor and Sloan thought they were getting a shooter.

I think they thought they were getting a good athlete who is a decent defender and a decent finisher at the rim and has the potential to become a decent shooter with proper coaching. They tried to trade up and get Cousins or Favors and weren't able to. I faulted them more for not trading down or trading for a future first than I do for not drafting one of the remaining bigs. I don't think they thought they were getting a shooter with Hayward, though. That is exactly what I think they thought they were getting with Raja 0.2, though.

[MarkGrace]

I think they thought they were getting a good athlete who is a decent defender and a decent finisher at the rim and has the potential to become a decent shooter with proper coaching.

I agree with this. The Jazz couldn't have possibly thought they were drafting a shooter, because there was nothing to suggest that Gordon was a shooter at the time he came out. My guess is they thought he was someone that could grow into a shooter based on his mechanics and some past performance suggested there was something to work with there.

I also think, though this seems to have passed many fans by, that they were drafting a bit of a project. I distinctly remember KOC saying on draft day that we should give Hayward at least a couple years, implying that he was indeed someone they didn't expect to contribute in a major way right out of the gates.

For my part, I wasn't expecting much out of the 9 pick. For the longest time we thought we were getting a top-5 pick or better out of NY, but when that pick actually ended up #9, I think few adjusted their expectations for the slot we were picking instead of the slot where they thought we were going to be picking. History shows (or at least 82games.com does ) that picking in that range of the draft chances are you're looking at a fringe starter/rotation player. If he ends up that -- and I think he will -- then my expectations have been met. I'd love to beat those expectations, but I didn't go into the draft counting on it.

[Sizzle]

I certainly hope they didn't think they were getting a shooter when they drafted GoHay. Because it was pretty well documented that he wasn't much of a shooter his senior year in college.

Huh? He wouldn't be a Senior in college unless he stayed through next year.

[Donuthole]

Huh? He wouldn't be a Senior in college unless he stayed through next year.

Yeah, i meant his last year. My bad.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Can someone help me understand why I like Hayward more than pretty much any other Jazz fan I know? I'm guessing it is just my complete hatred of Bell, but I'm pretty content w/the pick and the player I think Hayward will eventually become. And I hated the pick on draft night.

I'm guessing it is some combo of the Bell hate, me being racist, and my affinity for wings that can't shoot (which makes the Bell hate kind of odd).

[Donuthole]

Can someone help me understand why I like Hayward more than pretty much any other Jazz fan I know? I'm guessing it is just my complete hatred of Bell, but I'm pretty content w/the pick and the player I think Hayward will eventually become. And I hated the pick on draft night.

I'm guessing it is some combo of the Bell hate, me being racist, and my affinity for wings that can't shoot (which makes the Bell hate kind of odd).

You like the way his behind-the-back dribble is about as polished as an 8th grader's, causing him to have to turn his body 90 degrees to finish it, and how that hasn't stopped him from using it every game, anyway.

[Sizzle]

Can someone help me understand why I like Hayward more than pretty much any other Jazz fan I know? I'm guessing it is just my complete hatred of Bell, but I'm pretty content w/the pick and the player I think Hayward will eventually become. And I hated the pick on draft night.

I'm guessing it is some combo of the Bell hate, me being racist, and my affinity for wings that can't shoot (which makes the Bell hate kind of odd).

No, I think I am as high on Hayward as most any Jazz fan. I think the kid has a decent stroke (he's currently the second highest % on 3s on the Jazz right now at 36.7% behind AK's 37.2%) I think the kid moves well off the ball and I think he's scrappier than most give him credit for. As he continues to improve his basketball IQ and as he adds strength, I think he absolutely can be a quality starter in Utah for a long time. His other big issue has been confidence/assertiveness. He's shown it in spurts. The guy who his frame most reminds me of is Reggie Miller. Reggie was able to succeed because he was one of the games best shooters and was very crafty. I'm not sure Gordon can be as good of a shooter as Reggie (who can though), but I think he can, and probably will, become that crafty type of player and will be a tough matchup.

[Blueintheface]

No, I think I am as high on Hayward as most any Jazz fan. I think the kid has a decent stroke (he's currently the second highest % on 3s on the Jazz right now at 36.7% behind AK's 37.2%) I think the kid moves well off the ball and I think he's scrappier than most give him credit for. As he continues to improve his basketball IQ and as he adds strength, I think he absolutely can be a quality starter in Utah for a long time. His other big issue has been confidence/assertiveness. He's shown it in spurts. The guy who his frame most reminds me of is Reggie Miller. Reggie was able to succeed because he was one of the games best shooters and was very crafty. I'm not sure Gordon can be as good of a shooter as Reggie (who can though), but I think he can, and probably will, become that crafty type of player and will be a tough matchup.

Shit, kill me now. It's like stepping on the scale and seeing exactly what you knew to be the truth...but it still hurts.

AK is the Jazz best 3pt shooter statistically? What medicine can I take to make that not be the truth?

[MarkGrace]

Can someone help me understand why I like Hayward more than pretty much any other Jazz fan I know? I'm guessing it is just my complete hatred of Bell, but I'm pretty content w/the pick and the player I think Hayward will eventually become. And I hated the pick on draft night.

I'm guessing it is some combo of the Bell hate, me being racist, and my affinity for wings that can't shoot (which makes the Bell hate kind of odd).

If you can manage to get readmitted to JH you'd have company. Everyone there really likes him.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

If you can manage to get readmitted to JH you'd have company. Everyone there really likes him.

Now I really feel stupid. Thanks.