"You Gotta Love It Baby" Official Jazz thread

[Blueintheface]

I think it all hinges on how much influence O'Conner still has on Lindsey. If Lindsey is truly in control he'll passively seek to sign one or the other and move on when they reject the offer. If Kevin has his way, Milsap will still be a part of this team come November at far too high an asking price.

[The_Douger]

The prob with Jefferson is that he will be more expensive and he will take up more of the offense like he always does and he will continue to not play defense. If Lindsey wants to see the young guys improve and get touches, etc., then he won't bring back Jefferson. If Milsap understood his role was 25-30 minutes a game and not be a focus point of the offense, then that would be great. Problem is that is not what he wants to be. For that reason, I would be shocked to see either player on the Jazz roster next year. I think if it was KOC, I would put the odds that Jefferson would be back at greater than 70%. With Lindsey, I can't see Jefferson being back. I guess we'll see.

I'm not going to be heartbroken if they both leave.

I think Millsap is not as valuable. I think you can cover for Al's bad defense with Kanter and Favors having more of an anchoring role. Millsap and Jefferson together is a bad combo defensively. Millsap thinks he's better than he is. He's a second unit player and he'd thrive in that role. I'm tired of watching a guy of his caliber start.

[MarkGrace]

Tomic first team all-Euro league.

Ante Tomic, F.C. Barcelona Regal
In a breakthrough season with F.C. Barcelona Regal, Ante Tomic displayed all the promise that had long been seen in him to emerge as a dominant force in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Tomic, 26, not only posted career-high numbers across the board, but ranked among the Euroleague leaders in all traditional big man statistics. Tomic was fifth in the league in average performance index rating (16.32 per game), third in rebounding (6.32 rpg.), tied for fourth in blocks (1.14 bpg.) and sixth in field goal shooting (63.06 %). His 1.71 assists per game were also most in the league among centers. Tomic’s prowess was noted throughout the season as he twice claimed the bwin weekly MVP title and was named bwin MVP for February. He was at his best in the Top 16, when Tomic scored in double figures in every game. Tomic is a product of KK Zagreb, where he also played the five and a half seasons with the senior club before joining Real Madrid in January 2010. This is Tomic’s first season with Barcelona.

http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/113030/180

[MarkGrace]

Good news...Ford has the Jazz taking Olynk in the lotto!

Analysis: The Jazz's biggest need is at point guard, but I don't see the next point guard on the board -- Carter-Williams -- as a fit. The Jazz need their point guards to be able to shoot the basketball, and that's Carter-Williams' biggest weakness. The Jazz also will have needs in the frontcourt. With Al Jefferson most likely leaving this summer via free agency, they'll need big bodies. Olynyk was the most efficient big man in college basketball and would add another wrinkle to a bright up-and-coming tandem of Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors.

Analysis: The Jazz still need a point guard, and among the point guards still left on the board, Larkin could be the best fit for Utah. Yes, he's undersized. But he's a great athlete, sees the floor well and shot more than 40 percent from 3 this season. Look for Baylor's Pierre Jackson and Germany's Dennis Schroeder also to be in the conversation with this pick.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...-mock-draft-20

[Donuthole]

Good news...Ford has the Jazz taking Olynk in the lotto!

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...-mock-draft-20

Thanks, but no thanks!

[The_Douger]

Good news...Ford has the Jazz taking Olynk in the lotto!




http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...-mock-draft-20

I hope not, that guy is a huge softie.

[MarkGrace]

Thanks, but no thanks!

I'm looking at the handful of guys he has going after Olynk, and the depressing thing is no player jumps off the page as somebody I'd rather have. I guess at 14 you have to be intrigued by MCW, but I'm not in love with him. At #21 I think I'd rather take a shot at Schroeder than Larkin. I

[MarkGrace]

May 2 update: The international scouts that I spoke to last week love Olynyk. Why? He has the game of a European big man. He's very skilled, can score from anywhere and has a sophisticated feel for the game. Whether that game translates to the next level is still up for debate among NBA scouts. A few have him in the top 5, others in the late 20s. The Wizards, Sixers, Thunder, Mavs and Jazz are all potential homes in the lottery for Olynyk.

Top 5 to late 20s? That's some wildly varying stock right there.

[MarkGrace]

Mac (US)

Who is rising up your big board the most right now?
Chad Ford (1:01 PM)

I think Trey Burke is still rising. Could go as high as the No. 1 pick. Lots of scenarios where he is No. 2 or No. 3 off the board. PGs are always coveted and Burke's spectacular season continues to intrigue people. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dennis Schroeder also fast risers.

Burke at #1 is crazy.

Cory (US)

You personally, which PG would you rather have, Trey Burke, Dennis Schroder or MCW?
Chad Ford (1:02 PM)

Probably Burke. C.J. McCollum is the other guy that really intrigues me. Not sold he's a PG, but if he is, could be a very good pick.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/47926

[MarkGrace]

Daniel (Pittsburg )

Top 6 Point Gaurds in 2013 Class
Chad Ford (2:01 PM)

1. Trey Burke; 2. CJ McCollum; 3. Michael Carter-Williams; 4. Shane Larkin; 5. Dennis Schroeder; 6. Pierre Jackson

Another PG comment from that chat.

[smokymountainrain]

Another PG comment from that chat.

McCollum is very intriguing. Was having a great early season before going down with injury.

[Indy Coug]

McCollum is very intriguing. Was having a great early season before going down with injury.

He's from Allentown/Bethlehem. Beware.

[MarkGrace]

Ante Tomic’s net Defensive Rating: 10.5

FC Barcelona Regal, best defensive team in the Euroleague throughout the season, finished the 2012-13 campaign giving up with a Defensive Rating of 94.3, which meant that for every 100 possessions Barcelona had to defend, Xavi Pascual’s fine-tuned defensive set-up gave up only 94.3 points to the opposition. While Barcelona are no stranger to the accomplishment that is having the best defense in Europe, one certain name on the roster had been quite unfamiliar to that territory, up until he joined Pascual’s ranks in the summer of 2012. A lanky gem that had remained unwrought for the most of his career, Ante Tomic was always a liability on defense. When he left Real Madrid in the summer, many thought Laso’s side wouldn’t miss him as well as that he would be a definite downgrade on defense over Boni N’Dong and Fran Vazquez. Almost a year later now, those who doubted Tomic’s abilities, including me, are proven wrong and have witnessed the redemption story of one of the finest big men in European basketball, if not in the world.

To say that Tomic has been a key contributor for Barcelona this season would surely be underselling it. Croatian center has been “the” difference maker, the guy upon whom was Pascual’s heightened. Barcelona allowed their opposition a crushing 88.6 points per 100 possessions while Tomic was on the floor —would rank as the best in the league— meanwhile teams managed to score 100.1 points when Tomic is not around.

For a player who was once deemed as soft, Ante Tomic couldn’t have come a longer way. Tomic has not only improved both personally and as a team player, but he also has been part of a harmonious composition. As a post defender, a role in which he had struggled immensely in his Madrid days, he has always had help in Barcelona. In the post, his guards always found him for one-dribble opportunities close to the rim, in which Tomic excels at thanks to that silky touch of his on the finish.

During the season, we often observed that the designed role for Tomic on defense is shutting down the lanes on the help and intervening shots in the paint rather than sticking to his man. Difference between Barcelona and Madrid is that he always have someone who has his back in Pascual’s team when he leaves his man to wander around in the paint and smack down an unprivileged perimeter player.

In 658 minutes on the court for Barcelona this season, Ante Tomic blocked 32 shots as well as intervening many others in ways that don’t reflect on the box score. That is the exact same number of blocked shots Tomic had in his Real Madrid career, with a slight difference: It took the Croatian 900 minutes and 3 years to reach that same amount in the Spanish capital.

On May 10th, Tomic and his Barcelona will take the court against the Croatian’s new and the Catalans’ eternal nemesis, Real Madrid, for a place in the Euroleague Final.

Ante Tomic will be there to settle his account for good.

http://euro-step.net/countdown-to-london-10-ante-tomic/

[Donuthole]

Wait, is there really a guy named Boni N'Dong?

[Blueintheface]

Wait, is there really a guy named Boni N'Dong?

It's short for Boniface. What a catchy name.