"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[MarkGrace]

This type of trade can only occur at the nexus of desperation and opportunism.

Without question, the Warriors need this pick more than the Jazz do this season, which explains their motivation to remove any uncertainty. Golden State went 23-43, traded its star player (Monta Ellis), dealt with repeated injuries to its floor general (Stephen Curry), and tanked down the stretch as Mark Jackson, in his first year as head coach, played some younger players. The 2012 Draft class is regarded as deep and the Warriors, who are pretty much capped out, need the asset. Everyone from the new ownership, to the coaching staff to the fan base is ready for the positive momentum to begin sooner rather than later.

The Jazz, meanwhile, snuck into the playoffs under new coach Tyrone Corbin and already have a number of promising young players in place: Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks and Enes Kanter. Utah has traded its own first round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves so acquirising Golden State's would be a great replacement, but it would still be somewhat of a luxury given the young core already in place. Utah's GM Kevin O'Connor is one of the best in the business and likely sees this as an opportunity to peel off some money and whatever other minor considerations he can muster.

Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have shown a commitment in their short tenure as Warriors owners so one would guess that this situation gets resolved with cash and tweaks to the pick's future protections to dramatically increase the likelihood that it transfers next season.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19168459/report-warriors-jazz-talk-trade-to-tweak-2012-draft-pick-protections

[MarkGrace]

Kevin O’Connor
** On addressing the Jazz’s needs: The first way we [improve] is from self-improvement, from the guys that are under contract for next year and how do they get better and improve themselves in the off-season, and that’s what we’ll spend some time on.

** If you had a do-over, would you sign Josh Howard again? Absolutely…he brought a defensive presence which certainly helped us, and he rebounded the ball nicely and he knows how to play, and I think he got some respect from his teammates when he came back [from injury], and even after he got hurt with the knee, if you look at the games that he played, he helped us in, and that was important. And he got a great deal of respect for somebody that tried so hard to rehabilitate himself from surgery to get himself back into being able to play so he could try and help in the Playoffs.

** Bigger need: shooting or better leadership at the point guard position? Some of the players, whether it’s Alec [Burks] or Gordon [Hayward] [or] Devin [Harris], those guys have got to spend the summer and improve their 3-point shooting. It’s gotta come from within…Are we willing to change it around [through player acquisitions?] I think our consideration is really a focus on [getting] Al [Jefferson] and Paul [Millsap] and Devin to be a little bit better next year, and the [young] guys to make more of a leap.

** On Ante Tomic: He’s got one more year left on the contract over there [with Real Madrid], and we obviously had gone over and seen him play this year. He probably didn’t have as good a year this year as he did last year, and we’ll continue to evaluate…He still needs to add some strength, but he’s got some skills and he is 7’1″.

** Is there anything more that the league can do to deter tanking? I don’t think so. I think it’s difficult to do that. I do think some teams can certainly want to play their young players more and I understand that part of it, but I think you try and win. That’s the bottom line. (KALL)

Tyrone Corbin
** What are you expecting this summer from Enes Kanter? Just his growth. He gotta continue to develop. He needs to play, play a lot.

** On defending the pick and roll: That’s one of the things we gotta make sure we continue to grow on, because we struggle in it some. And [opponents put one or two guys] that they don’t think handle it very well, and they use it time and time and time again. So individually it has to get better, and as a team we have to get better understanding that if you have a teammate that struggle in the pick and roll, how rotations have to be sharper from the weak side…

** As you reflect on what happened with Raja Bell and grow as a coach, have you learned anything? It happens, man. Guys are frustrated for whatever reason; they make comments. I know who I am.

** If there’s something you’d like to see added to the team this summer, what would it be? Just everybody getting better…we need some shooters from the perimeter that’s gonna be consistent, and the low post guys gotta get better.

** What did you tell Alec Burks at the end of the year? Gotta get better. We gotta, we gotta, got a big summer to get a lot of work in, so get better on both ends of the floor, defensively and offensively. Get his body a little stronger, and his thing is understanding the entire dynamics of the game on both ends of the floor.

** Are you prepared to start Derrick Favors next season if his play demands it? I want all 13, 14, 15 guys that we have on the roster to work this summer to take the starting spot, and that’s what your focus is all summer. “I want to start. I don’t just wanna be on the team. I wanna work to be a starter.” I want everybody to put that pressure on me to be able to start all the guys who’s on the roster. Whether it happens, well, it can’t happen, but you wanna have great guys on the team that [you want to] put in the game, and Derrick certainly has the ability. He’s demonstrated that he deserve more time on the floor whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, but I want him to work to be a starter. (1280)

Phil Johnson
** Who are your favorite young “rising star” coaches that are “doing it right”? I think Indiana has a really good organization, and their coaching staff has done a great job. I think they are at the top of the list as far as young coaches coming up and doing really a good job. You look at a Nate McMillan, he got fired this year. It’s ridiculous, because he’s a very, very good coach. That happens in this league. I think Mike Woodson, although he’s not a real young guy–he happened to play for me with the Kings–I think he’s one of the best coaches in the league.

** On Corbin’s coaching performance in the Playoffs: I told everybody I thought [the Jazz] could probably play .500 basketball. Well, they overachieved in my mind. They got in the Playoffs, which was a huge thing for this franchise, and they happened to play one of the best teams that’s ever been in the league.* I mean, [the Spurs] are a very, very good basketball team…

I was upset with everybody talking about how [Corbin] was getting outcoached in the Playoffs, this and that. That happens maybe some, but I didn’t see a whole bunch of mistakes that he made…so that upset me at that time, and I thought that that was way overblown, that on a game-by-game basis he was getting outcoached.

** Yeah, maybe some, yeah, you got a very good basketball coach on the other side obviously, but I don’t think that was the reason the Jazz lost in the Playoffs…Yeah, there are obviously better coaches than others in the league, that’s the way it works, but it has a lot to do with the talent you have, the organization you have, and so forth.

http://jazzfanatical.wordpress.com/

[MarkGrace]

Just finished taking Utah Jazz big man Enes Kanter through his initial assessment at P3. Enes is an absolute beast, and at age 20 already one of the strongest NBA players that we have tested. His lower extremity bilateral force characteristics are very symmetrical in dynamic movement....Enes takes too long to reach peak force and needs to improve his hip extension, lower extremity power/acceleration and eccentric adaptation. He also reaches instead of drives when accelerating in all planes. We are very confident that we can improve these qualities, and enable Enes to become a much more explosive athlete on the basketball court.

Looks like Enes is already working out.

[Maximus]

On addressing the Jazz’s needs: The first way we [improve] is from self-improvement, from the guys that are under contract for next year and how do they get better and improve themselves in the off-season, and that’s what we’ll spend some time on.


** Bigger need: shooting or better leadership at the point guard position? Some of the players, whether it’s Alec [Burks] or Gordon [Hayward] [or] Devin [Harris], those guys have got to spend the summer and improve their 3-point shooting. It’s gotta come from within…Are we willing to change it around [through player acquisitions?] I think our consideration is really a focus on [getting] Al [Jefferson] and Paul [Millsap] and Devin to be a little bit better next year, and the [young] guys to make more of a leap.

UGHHHHHHH

[Jacob]

Looks like Enes is already working out.

That sounds promising. They seem to have a good grasp of his weakness.


And without turning it into a lottery pick this year, I don't like the idea of giving up a 25% chance at the #8 pick.

[MarkGrace]

It would be very tough to get a lotto pick this year out of it, and it would involve giving up the GS pick is my guess. Something like what UtahJazzFan said.

I'd do it for less.

[Jacob]

It would be very tough to get a lotto pick this year out of it, and it would involve giving up the GS pick is my guess. Something like what UtahJazzFan said.

I'd do it for less.

I agree. I was digging UJF's proposal. I'd probably do it for something in the mid-teens. I'm not high on GS's pick next year and I agree with you that the protection on that pick has little value, unless Curry and Bogut are both injured next year again.

I'd almost rather have a 25% chance at this year's 8 pick than a 100% chance at next year's 14-17 pick. When you look at the likelyhood of an 8th pick panning out compared to a 15th pick, 25% starts to sound like pretty good odds.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Chad Ford says the Warriors are hoping cash and less future pick protection is enough to get the trade done.

Did the new CBA change the maximum amount of cash that could be included in a trade? I was thinking it went down from $3 M. But assuming the proposal was $3 M and the pick protection going to only Top 3 for each of the next two years, I can't see the Jazz giving up 25% chance at #8 this year for that. But the Jazz do have that trade exception, and maybe having $3 M extra might mean being more active on the trade market this off-season, while still gaining a likely late lottery pick next year.

[MarkGrace]

Yeah, I wouldn't go for cash and reduced protection, unless the cash allows them to buy somewhere into the first round. What do picks usually cost? I know Phoenix sold some picks a handful of years back but I couldn't find anything on what the cost was.

[MarkGrace]

I agree. I was digging UJF's proposal. I'd probably do it for something in the mid-teens. I'm not high on GS's pick next year and I agree with you that the protection on that pick has little value, unless Curry and Bogut are both injured next year again.

I'd almost rather have a 25% chance at this year's 8 pick than a 100% chance at next year's 14-17 pick. When you look at the likelyhood of an 8th pick panning out compared to a 15th pick, 25% starts to sound like pretty good odds.

I like that proposal as well. A guaranteed pick at 10-11 this year is much better than what I think they'll end up with next year (probably somehwere 11-15 in a weaker draft). Seems like it would be really hard to pull off, though.

[MarkGrace]

Warriors Talks with Utah to Secure Lottery Pick “Probably Not Going to Happen”

By Marcus Thompson
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 at 11:53 am in Uncategorized.

Looks as if the Warriors will just have to face the odds. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but talks between Golden State and Utah are all but dead, according to a league source.

The Warriors had been working diligently to secure a first-round pick heading into Wednesday’s NBA draft lottery, according to multiple sources. Golden State gets to keep its pick if it lands in the top seven. If it’s No. 8 or lower, the pick goes to Utah as part of a previous trade.

The Warriors head into the draft lottery, scheduled for 5 p.m. on TNT, slotted at No. 7 —which means they have a 72.66 percent chance of keeping their pick, based on the odds released by the NBA. It also means Golden State has just shy of a 28 percent chance of falling out of the top seven and losing the pick.

The talks with Utah were designed for the Warriors to keep the pick in the event they fall out of the top seven. But the source said at this point “that’s probably not going to happen.”

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2012/05/29/warriors-talks-with-utah-to-secure-lottery-pick-probably-not-going-to-happen/

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Is this Millsap's last year of his contract? I thought he was signed through 2013-14, but hoopshype is showing him as an expiring contract this season.

Does a Millsap for Lowry trade make sense for both teams? Lowry doesn't like McHale and is already making noise to try to get out of Houston. Which to me smells more like he doesn't want to play behind Dragic, and reports all year were that the staff and front office in Houston favored Dragic.

I don't know how much Houston thinks Scola can play center with Millsap at the 4. Scola has played C before, and probably could for 10-12 minutes/night so he and Millsap can both hit their minutes.

HOU has the 14th and 16th picks in the draft. Maybe a Millsap + GS pick for Lowry + 14th could work. Then the Jazz could use the pick to draft Lamb or T. Ross instead of going PG there.

[MarkGrace]

Sap's last year is 12-13. Him and the rest of the roster, basically.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Jeremy Lamb measured 6'5.5" in shoes with a 6'11" span and a 33" no step vert.

Lots of prospects at #8 that I could get excited about.

[MarkGrace]

Anyone have a link to watch the draft lotto online?