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Following potential 2014 draftees

I still want Vonleh, followed by Gordon. Admittedly, haven't seen Exum, but I'd rather add to the big rotation and have Burke, Burks, Hayward and possibly Neto as the guards.

Anyone remember how strong the team was at the 4/5 with Al, Paul, Derrick and Enes?
As Jazz4ever notes, there is time for all 4 right now. Gobert and Vonleh are raw. You could easily have both of them play 15/per behind Favors and Kanter and that would be great for now. Injuries or foul trouble give them more time. Vonleh is a potential Paul George. He may still be growing. Outside the top 4, Vonleh, IMO, has the most potential to be a franchise-type player. The other thing that plays into this is we don't even know if we can re-sign Enes (or want to for what he'll probably want). Eventually we probably do need to decide. There won't be enough $ to pay Favors, Kanter and Gobert. But imagine the trade value of a good big.

I'm on board with drafting Vonleh - if he's available. I think there's a good chance he moves up and pushes Exum down. Then draft or trade the other picks for a good SF.

huh?

I remember the team kind of sucking. I didn't really think all that big depth really did much for us.

You are just trying to make up stuff to justify drafting Vonleh.

Just say no to Vonleh. We don't need another project power forward. Especially with the 5th pick.
 
huh?

I remember the team kind of sucking. I didn't really think all that big depth really did much for us.

You are just trying to make up stuff to justify drafting Vonleh.

Just say no to Vonleh. We don't need another project power forward. Especially with the 5th pick.

The team was VERY strong at the 4/5, the rest of the team was weak. Teams need 4 bigs. And I just don't consider Evans an adequate rotation player; he's a tweener and easily outmuscled.
You could also also say we don't need another guard since we already have Burke, Burks and Hayward. Where is a #5 pick going to find playing time in that rotation, especially if the Jazz also bring Neto over?

So that leaves drafting based on position of need? OK, Gordon can play SF (we believe). That's the clear choice.

But wait, Gordon is a "project" SF.

Then what do we do at the #5. Upgrade PG with Smart? Great...another PG who can't shoot. And we're left with another crowded rotation. Or sever ties with Hayward and Smart becomes a combo guard? Or trade Burke?

Jazz can use depth at every position. Jazz were horrible with Favors and Kanter defending together. There's no guarantee Enes is going to magically improve just because we want him to. Of course the same can be said of Burke. I believe in drafting BPA and happen to think Vonleh is BPA at #5 (with Gordon pretty close behind). I think those two can be studs at their positions. I don't have the same belief in Smart or Randle or anyone else in that 5-10 range. It's also never 100% someone will return when their contract is up. Kanter is going to get paid; bigs always do. Can the Jazz afford to give him a Favors-like contract?
 
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What would it take for Vonleh to move to SF. Improve his handle and lateral quickness?

Why do we want to turn every PF into a SF?
Imagine in a couple of years we have to trade one of the bigs because we can't afford to keep all 4.

Vonleh, Kanter, Favors: Vonleh gets all his time at PF; Kanter splits time between PF and backup C.
Vonleh, Gobert, Favors: Favors and Vonleh start. Favors slides over to PF when he and Gobert are in the lineup together.

What if Gobert doesn't develop? Then the Jazz have their 3 bigs in Kanter, Favors and Vonleh. Gobert plays short minutes off the bench or isn't re-signed after his rookie contract.
 
He'll need to lose weight. There aren't many 250 pound SFs in the league.

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At the combine he was listed at 247. Kevin Durant is listed at 240.
So if he loses some weight, work on his ball handling skills, and spend some time at P3, does he have the other raw skills to become an all star Small Forward? The weight and his handles are not far off. I do not know if he has the quickness to guard most three's. His size can help him recover when he gets burnt.
 
At the combine he was listed at 247. Kevin Durant is listed at 240.
So if he loses some weight, work on his ball handling skills, and spend some time at P3, does he have the other raw skills to become an all star Small Forward? The weight and his handles are not far off. I do not know if he has the quickness to guard most three's. His size can help him recover when he gets burnt.

Have you met KKK yet?
 
Why do we want to turn every PF into a SF?
Imagine in a couple of years we have to trade one of the bigs because we can't afford to keep all 4.

Vonleh, Kanter, Favors: Vonleh gets all his time at PF; Kanter splits time between PF and backup C.
Vonleh, Gobert, Favors: Favors and Vonleh start. Favors slides over to PF when he and Gobert are in the lineup together.

What if Gobert doesn't develop? Then the Jazz have their 3 bigs in Kanter, Favors and Vonleh. Gobert plays short minutes off the bench or isn't re-signed after his rookie contract.

Flexibility. Keep you options open. I think we have would have more flexibility with Vonleh than Randle. I think he has better skills than Gordon, just not Gordon's drive. Which is Gordon's big plus. You can teach skills, not heart and drive. But Vonleh is a gym rat, and will get on the floor.
 
holy smokescreens and conflicting stories

- one report is the Cavs had Jabari #1 on their board all year

- one says that the Cavs may have already reached out to Wiggins camp and indicated hes the pick

- another report said Wiggins isnt in the discussion at all.

Wiggins' defensive abilities are NBA-ready, and if the Cavs are going to make the jump to the playoffs next season, the improvement will primarily have to come on the defensive end. "I think he has the most star potential of anyone in the draft," one veteran NBA scout told me on Friday, "and I think he goes and helps a team right away. He'll get on the floor for significant minutes right away because he can defend multiple positions. And when his offense catches up to his defense, I just don't see any way that this kid can fail. How do you pass on that if you are Cleveland? It's really the best of both worlds."

^^ this to me, sounds like rock solid logic.

another report not related to the Cavs i found interesting was, if the Timberwolves trade Love, they want to be in position for Vonleh or Randle.
 
Why would you want to? He was a very strong rebounder and above average shot blocker for a PF. Move him out to guard perimeter guys and you lose all that.

Good point. I was looking at a frontline of Favors, Kanter, and Vonleh. With Favors guarding the paint. With Favors out you have Kanter, Vonleh, and Hayward. Then you throw in Gobert. Hopefully we would be better at keeping people out of the paint better than the great success we had with the lineup of Kanter, Williams, and Haywood. When Favors was out it killed us.
 
I am absolutely convinced that if we sit still at 5 and the top 4 guys stay in the top 4, we are selecting smart. It makes the most sense. I would even be on board with Kanter staying. Yeah ****! Go figure. We would have the defensive wing to pair with favors rim protection. We would be very solid at all 5 spots and have a solid 6 man, probably develop into the top 3 guard rotation the league has. I think smart would bring the nasty and we would get our offense from burks kanter and smart. Chilling at happy hour, yo I'm bright on this!
 
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