"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[falafel]

What does it say for those of us that can't twitter at work?

[The_Douger]

That dude is awesome.

[MarkGrace]

With this written at the bottom:

Pimp Daddy wants to say Happy Valentine's day to all my sweeties. I just LOVE you all <3 pic.twitter.com/r26fYdve

lol

[MarkGrace]

Chad Ford
7. Evan Turner, G, 76ers
The former No. 2 pick in the draft is having the best season of his career. With Andre Iguodala out of the picture, his minutes are up, as are his points, rebounds and assists per game.

What hasn't really changed is Turner's inefficiency. There are nights when he truly looks worthy of being the No. 2 pick, but there are as many or more times when he is frustratingly wild. For a player who is already 24 years old and has almost three seasons under his belt, that's cause for concern.

The Sixers would love to get a sweet-shooting 2-guard or a real power forward in return. Given Turner's upside as a player with great versatility, there might be a market for him in a place like Utah, which is searching for a young guard who can handle the ball.

You look at Turner and his standard numbers are pretty good at 13.8/6.6/4.4. Even his percentages are decent at .428/.379/.760. Yet the inefficiency must be accurate somewhere in his game (definitely hindered by the fact that he rarely gets to the line) because his PER is at just 12.77.

[MarkGrace]

From Ric Bucher:

Update on the Utah Jazz trade front: While I noted several days ago that Paul Millsap appeared to be the likelier
Jazz big man to be dealt before the February trade deadline, an opposing team executive said there is more league-wide interest in Al Jefferson. It is not a lock that either of them is moved before the trade deadline, but there's also no guarantee that only one of them is moved; the exec said it's very conceivable that both could wind up in a different uniform by next season. about an hour ago

So Al's getting traded instead of Sap. Or Sap's getting traded instead of Al. Or neither is getting traded. Or both are getting traded. Got it.

[smokymountainrain]

You look at Turner and his standard numbers are pretty good at 13.8/6.6/4.4. Even his percentages are decent at .428/.379/.760. Yet the inefficiency must be accurate somewhere in his game (definitely hindered by the fact that he rarely gets to the line) because his PER is at just 12.77.

I don't want Turner. Loved him coming out of college, but he simply doesn't cut it at this point. Hayward is already better and Burks has a higher ceiling. Hell, with a PER of 12.77 for Turner, Burks might already be better. I know 12.77 beats Burks PER over the course of this season when he couldn't get off the bench, but I have to think that in February when he's played consistent minutes, Burks PER beats Turner's.

[MarkGrace]

Utah Jazz

Players to watch: Anyone over 6-foot-8 (Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter)

The Jazz organization does not lack for guts. Look no further than the 2011 deadline that saw them deal their franchise player, Deron Williams, at the height of his career so they could avoid him walking for nothing at the end of the season.

We may have a similar situation, albeit on a smaller scale, with the 2012-13 Jazz led by freshly hired GM Dennis Lindsey. It's hard not to see that the 29-24 Jazz find themselves at a crossroads. Jefferson and Millsap will be free agents after the season. Favors and Kanter are much younger and already better in some ways than Jefferson and Millsap. Are they satisfied with the status quo of being good but not great? Or are they ready to give the keys to the budding youngsters?

Lindsey's answers to those questions in the coming week could decide the long-term direction of the Jazz franchise. Kanter and Favors deserve to play big minutes. Question is, will it happen in Utah?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...trade-deadline

[MarkGrace]

I don't want Turner. Loved him coming out of college, but he simply doesn't cut it at this point. Hayward is already better and Burks has a higher ceiling. Hell, with a PER of 12.77 for Turner, Burks might already be better. I know 12.77 beats Burks PER over the course of this season when he couldn't get off the bench, but I have to think that in February when he's played consistent minutes, Burks PER beats Turner's.

Nothing says you can't have all three. Though my worry with Turner is always that he has to be so ball dominant to do his thing. But there would still be a lot of ways to work him in.

[cougjunkie]

Chris Broussard is reporting the Jazz will not trade Paul Millsap before the February 21st deadline.

[Blueintheface]

Chris Broussard is reporting the Jazz will not trade Paul Millsap before the February 21st deadline.

Saw that last night. I'd like to know how Broussard knows that or feels comfortable enough to report that.

[MarkGrace]

The Jazz might not trade Sap before the deadline (my feeling is they won't), but Chris Broussard has no idea what they're doing.

[MarkGrace]

Saw that last night. I'd like to know how Broussard knows that or feels comfortable enough to report that.

He heard from someone "close to the situation" that is "under the impression."

• While most believe the Jazz will trade Paul Millsap instead of Jefferson, one person close to the situation told me he's under the impression that Utah will keep Millsap. The Jazz want to start featuring Derrick Favors for the future, it's hard to envision them re-signing both Jefferson and Millsap, though, so many expect Utah to make some sort of trade. Portland, which could end up moving J.J. Hickson, is one team that likes Millsap.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...p-al-jefferson

Like I said, so far this makes "the Jazz will trade Al instead of Sap," "the Jazz will trade Sap instead of Al," "the Jazz will hold onto both," and "the Jazz will trade both."

Who knows.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Nothing says you can't have all three. Though my worry with Turner is always that he has to be so ball dominant to do his thing. But there would still be a lot of ways to work him in.

That's my worry about Turner or any other guy that has to have the ball a lot to be successful, and that includes Al. Hayward needs to be that guy on this team. When he handles the ball a lot and is a facilitator, his offense gets dialed in, including his jumper. When he is used as the next Jeff Malone, his shot goes away and the rest of his game suffers. Hayward needs to be the primary focal point of the Jazz offense going forward, because he's got a unique enough skill set that he can be a primary option while involving everyone else still.

And since he also needs to be on the court 33+ mpg, someone with Turner's game would either disappear a bit or cause Hayward to be limited while they shared court time.

[smokymountainrain]

Nothing says you can't have all three. Though my worry with Turner is always that he has to be so ball dominant to do his thing. But there would still be a lot of ways to work him in.

I see Turner as a guy who probably hurts more than he helps. Being a guy who does need the ball, yet is so inefficient with it, I'd rather stick with Carroll who doesn't ever need the ball, (has a PER of 16)but can defend the best wings - and keep the ball in Hayward's hands.

[MarkGrace]

I see Turner as a guy who probably hurts more than he helps. Being a guy who does need the ball, yet is so inefficient with it, I'd rather stick with Carroll who doesn't ever need the ball, (has a PER of 16)but can defend the best wings - and keep the ball in Hayward's hands.

With Burks, Hayward and Turner all having shown the ability to initiate, I don't see any reason why you couldn't find options for them if you think outside the box a little (a Corbin specialty!). Those Bulls teams started Ron Harper at PG, and I don't see anything wrong with going a non-traditional route at point. Heck, having Turner and G-Time may even allow you to start Burks at the 1.

Not saying I'd go out of my way to trade for him, but I wouldn't object to having him if you get him for cheap. Actually, on second thought, I'm looking at his contract and it's way more than I thought. Maybe I don't want him. ha.