"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Score another point for Deron:

@sluhm
More fallout from Jerry Sloan-Deron Williams saga: I believe if Sloan was still around Scott Layden would have been the new Jazz GM.

Luhm is the worst. I can't believe he's still got that job.

[The_Douger]

I can't believe they'd make Layden the GM. He was horrible in NY.

[UtahJazzFan88]

Sounds like the Jazz are going to hire Spurs Assistant GM Dennis Lindsey as new GM of the team. I assume KOC will still have a big say, but this sounds like a solid move.

[Jacob]

Mo Williams and Paul Millsap are great 6th men. No team paying multiple quality bench players over 8 million per year is going to compete for a championship. At least not in Utah.

I couldn't be happier about the Jazz bringing in a new GM to modernize the front office.

[MarkGrace]

Covered at length in this Western Conference analysis, the incumbent No. 8 seed will be a team to watch on and off the court all season. The acquisitions of Mo Williams and Marvin Williams make sense. Marvin beefs up what was a weak wing rotation and spares Gordon Hayward the burden of being a full-time small forward — good things if the Hayward/Marvin Williams pair can work, and if there are enough minutes for second-year shooting guard Alec Burks. The other Williams isn’t really a point guard, but he makes sense as one in a post-heavy Utah system that requires outside shooting, entry passes and active cutting from its point man instead of high pick-and-rolls. Devin Harris struggled to fit that system, though the Jazz reached some of their highest levels of two-way play during his hottest streaks.

The frontcourt is both loaded and loaded with questions. Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Derrick Favors all need big minutes, and Jefferson and Favors bring almost diametrically opposed skill sets. Jefferson is a post hub who can’t guard the pick-and-roll and earns few free throws, while Favors is emerging as a mobile defensive crusher with an inconsistent and tentative offensive game (outside of some off-ball cuts). Coach Tyrone Corbin played the three together with great success in limited minutes last season. But if that super-big lineup remains only an occasional experiment, Corbin will have to sort minutes in a way that maximizes two-way productivity — even it means starting Favors alongside Jefferson for offense/defense purposes.

In the big picture, every player on a non-rookie deal other than Marvin Williams and Jeremy Evans has an expiring contract, and Millsap has already reportedly turned down an extension offer. Utah has decisions to make — and the future flexibility to be a major trade player.

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/08/07/nba-free-agency-evaluation/

[Maximus]

Espn reports Utah was in talks with Orlando for Anderson for mislap but Utah backed out. Anderson would be perfect formutah, if we backed out I would be pissed.

[TripletDaddy]

Kragthorpe must be short on material. I wonder if columnists in Milwaukee, charlotte, and Indiana wrote similar articles?

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/54686801-87/howard-jazz-lakers-nash.html.csp

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Jazz 4th in latest Future Power Rankings:

Derrick Favors, a No. 3 overall pick, looked like a potential stud at the end of last season. Gordon Hayward improved dramatically in his second year. And lottery picks Enes Kanter and Alec Burks showed potential in their rookie season.

This summer, the Jazz took another step forward by acquiring point guard Mo Williams for essentially nothing. We believe Williams is a major upgrade over Devin Harris and should help bring stability to the roster. The addition of Marvin Williams should also help. While Marvin Williams has failed to live up to his pre-draft reputation, the player once selected a spot ahead of Deron Williams is still a solid defender who adds a veteran presence at the 3.

O'Connor has also been the master at acquiring additional lottery picks over the years, and the Jazz are set to grab another one from the Golden State Warriors in 2013. The team is also poised to have some real money to work with next summer when Jefferson, Millsap and Mo Williams come off the books.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/FuturePowerRankings-1-120815/1-5

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Corbin's detractors are all over the world.

On Enes Kanter not playing on the national team in 2012, Tanjevic said that “He is a great talent and we miss him a lot. He decided not to join us but honestly, he needs us more than we need him. He has not played or trained with us in the past three years. I [also] had to replace [Kerem] Gonlum, who was on holiday with his family. Without Kanter, it will be a little more difficult but I think we’ll be able to get into EuroBasket 2013.”

But Tanjevic also sees a problem with dependence on NBA stars at all – namely, the coaches. Was he surprised when Kanter declined to play with Team Turkey? “I’m not surprised at all … America is the perfect place to lose your head. Firstly, because the coaches [there] do not understand. In the NBA, there are just three or four coaches who have been there for 100 years, making billions and winning trophies. Others are weak. Including [Utah Jazz head coach] Tyrone Corbin…

“I should have told him that I was going him to do a great service by teaching one of its basketball players and he could have earned money on it. But I don’t want to talk to guys who do not know what they are doing. Kanter has forgotten how to play basketball. He will never be a center but he always starts with his back to the basket. As a power forward, this would be devastating. He’s 2.10 meters tall and [could be] the best shooter on the Turkish team, backcourt included. But in the NBA, he never takes a shot.”

http://www.ballineurope.com/us-basketball/nba/bogan-tanjevic-enes-kanter-nba-coaches-6433/

[bronson_tyler]

Does anybody take the coach of the Turkish team seriously? No, this is more for comedic discussions. Reading the article, you can tell he has no idea how the NBA works.

[San Juan Sun]

Does anybody take the coach of the Turkish team seriously? No, this is more for comedic discussions. Reading the article, you can tell he has no idea how the NBA works.

I don't know about the Turkish coach, but I know that Ty Corbin is not impressive.

[MarkGrace]

7. Utah Jazz: 42.9 wins, 0.1 games worse
Utah has a lot of really nice, young pieces, but as the franchise continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how it's all going to fit together. With so many efficient interior scorers and a growing collection of 3-point shooters, the offense projects to be top-five in the league. However, the defense lags, and it will as long as the Jazz count on Al Jefferson to anchor the middle.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8288218/projecting-win-totals-every-western-conference-team-nba

[Jacob]

Does anybody take the coach of the Turkish team seriously? No, this is more for comedic discussions. Reading the article, you can tell he has no idea how the NBA works.

He may have a point about Kanter not being a back-to-the-basket player. Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole?

[dabrockster]

C.J. Miles told the Akron Beacon Journal that one reason he signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer was because he saw an opportunity to expand his game after being stuck behind Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams in Utah.

“My thing coming into the summer wasn’t about money, it was about the best basketball situation,” he said. “I think a lot of people feel like I am who I’m going to be, which I don’t believe is true, and obviously the organization feels the same way.”

Miles spent seven years with the Jazz, so it’s hard to believe that he wasn’t given a fair chance, particularly since he suffered a slip in production last season. He averaged 9.1 points and 2.1 rebounds last season and he shot 38 percent, his lowest percentage since his second year in the league.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/08/24/rumblings-8-24-art-gp4ivs9p-1.html

[MarkGrace]

He may have a point about Kanter not being a back-to-the-basket player. Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole?

I think what they're doing with him is the right move for now.