What's new

Off-Season Rumblings

Wait… what? We said better than Lauri not just an all-star.
Oh now Lauri is an all-star plus? Lauri is currently a top 20-25 guy… that’s right on the borderline of AS in any given year.
 
Lauri is not widely considered a top 15 player by anyone not on this site. He had a top 15 like season 2 years ago but that was arguable.

I am not saying trade him… I’m saying take your chances the next year or two trying to draft that guy and go from there. If Lauri is a bonafide top 15 guy then he will carry us to a record that causes us to lose our pick… but we can build from there. If he is more a top 25ish player… which is where he’s kind of been then we may be in line for that top ten pick that will help push us forward.
That’s not what I’m saying. The discussion centered around the odds of us grabbing a top 15 player in the draft in the next decade, then the qualifier became an all star.

Nah… you are too negative. Have some patience… this thing can build if we make good patient decisions.
That’s true, but it’s a big if.
 
I think a big part of this argument is just frustration at the talent inflation the league has had, especially in the West. Every team will be deeply frustrated that their "unicorn" isn't getting the respect

Lauri is a 7' who can shoot .400 from 3 on high volume. Sengun is a 7' 21-year-old who can orchestrate an offense and has a bag. Same with Sabonis. JJJ is an elite defender who shoots 3s and provides spacing. Year 3 KAT looked pretty similar to how we feel about Lauri (averaged 42% from 3 on 21 PPG, in a slower pace) and he has "only" made 3 of his last 6 all star games. I like Lauri more, but each fanbase would like their own player more.

I love Lauri, he is my favorite player. But just because he is an amazing player doesn't mean he is a lock, it's not something you qualify for but get selected for in a zero-sum world.
 
Lauri is generally considered a top 25 or top 30 player in the league. He gets mentioned along with guys like Towns and Siakam.
 
Off the top of my head, the Utah Jazz have drafted 4 top 15 players in the last 24 years: Dominique Wilkens, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and Deron Williams.
Rudy and Don should be in there.
 
Rudy and Don should be in there.
And thus the problem. If we’re saying it’s a better than 50% chance we’ll draft a top 15 player in the next decade, I’d be hopeful the chances are much higher than 50%, and for two of those guys rather than one, for giving away the bird-in-hand of two top 15 guys.
 
Rudy and Don should be in there.
And none of them were serious championship contenders. Because when you build your team around the best player who is only top 15 you will not go far. The derons, mitchells, goberts and lauris of the world. The only time when the Jazz were real contenders was the time when they were headlined by the top 5 player, two-times MVP.
 
And yet he is likely better than anyone we will draft in the next 10 years.

Sent from my CPH2451 using Tapatalk

The argument is better than Lauri… if he’s top-20 that means better than that is top-15.
The argument is Lauri is better than anyone we will draft so if we draft someone as good or better I’m good. All this arbitrary and subjective top X player is kinda silly. Just like it’s silly that we will never draft an all star in the next 10 years given the depth of our draft resources.
 
And thus the problem. If we’re saying it’s a better than 50% chance we’ll draft a top 15 player in the next decade, I’d be hopeful the chances are much higher than 50%, and for two of those guys rather than one, for giving away the bird-in-hand of two top 15 guys.
It’s more than 50%… I’m also not sure what we did do has anything to do with the current conversation.
 
There have been multiple teams in the last couple of years who have had multiple top-5 picks yet didn’t draft a player as good as Lauri. It’s not as guaranteed as HH is acting.
 
Back
Top