IDK if the Jazz will ever become an elite D, but Lauri/Hendricks/Walker/Keyonte can be part of a high level defense if you insert a Steph Castle type (assuming he can raise his game to get starter minutes over time).
2024 NBA Draft Mega Thread
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Bawse Dawg
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Point taken. But completely opposite end of the spectrum of where the teams are in their timelines. Jazz are too early on to care that much about this stuff imo. Imagine not taking a better player because he overlapped a bit with a mediocre player already on the roster.
Getting the best players should be priority 1, 2, & 3 for the Jazz right now.
Handlogten's Heros
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The more I look at our roster... the more I'm convinced you consider this a blank slate. If you are drafting Dilly or Topic the evaluation isn't necessarily do they fit with Key... its are they talented enough to be primary ball handlers. I think with Shep his game should fit well enough with a primary ball handler that he could still get 28-34 minutes a night and you may just have to finesse the rotation a bit if your primary offensive engine is not over 6-4.5".
I think you want to avoid having two Walker Kessler's or two Collin Sexton's if there are other good options on the board... if not then go ahead and double up on that I guess.
I think you want to avoid a Magic situation though. Like why are they drafting Anthony Black with their current group of shooters they are building around.
Handlogten's Heros
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We need to avoid a Blazers Telfair Chris Paul situation. Year's ago the Blazers landed 3rd but didn't want Deron or CP3 because they had just drafted Sebastian Telfair. So they traded back with us... selected Martell Webster and then had the amazing Telfair/Webster backcourt instead of D-Will or CP. Whoopsy.
HermanG
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Where fit comes into play is if for instance we were to draft an offball guard who cannot pass or create off the dribble.
That would put too much pressure on the other guard as we dont have frontcourt players who could handle or pass much either.
So likely everyone loses, and we setup that guy to fail early.
On the flip side, drafting a guy who is a fit with our current rotation guys likely gives him the best chance to get minutes and thrive on those minutes.
Imo Sheppard is a fit. His shooting gives him an easy path to rotation and since we got combo guards and play finishers around him we give him a chance to succeed as a facilitator without demanding fully developed PG skillset.
Agreed... size and length raise both the floor and the ceiling of the defense. Doesn't mean you need to aim at being THAT type of team with that type of distribution of offensive and defensive talent, but if you want to be a good team on D, you need positional length.
underdog
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As far as I'm concerned, we only have one contender caliber starter on our team at the moment (TH, Brice, and Keyonte have not proven it yet, nor has Kessler). Wanting to draft players who are a good fit with our other players than Lauri is premature. There’s been shortsighted GMs in this league, but I don’t think Danny is one of them.
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HermanG
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Magic is a great example of why focusing on just BPA isnt always such a great plan.
Had they traded down, let us get Black and then drafted Wallace or Hendricks at #9, I think one of those two could already be playing a significant role for them in these playoffs and would be a better long term fit with the others.
I think Keyonte is the weakest defensive link out of all our pieces that are likely to be here for when our next contention window opens. The good thing is... the PG is the position that's actually the easiest to hide and compensate for. I think Stephon Castle fits well in that type of a lineup, except for that lineup probably lacking in shooting from 2 spots... I kind of feel like in today's league, you cannot really put 2 non-shooters(or bad shooters) on the floor at the same time and expect great results. He needs to get to at least like 33-35% from 3 IMO.
HeatCheck
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Reed Sheppard is my guy in this draft. If the Jazz are in position to draft him does anyone think the Magic would consider a Key for Black type deal? I've never seen a worse 3 point shooting team in the playoffs than the Magic. Some are comparing Castle to Black so why not just acquire Black who seems very redundant with Suggs in Orlando? A backcourt rotation of Shep, Black, Sexton, Dunn and a sprinkle of Brice could be a well balanced unit.
Sheppard won't be a defensive weak link individually. However, there's an opportunity cost to Sheppard in that the best defensive teams in the NBA have multiple long defenders whose length creates a compounding effect. A team that has three or four long defenders on the floor together is difficult to move the ball against. When the Wolves have Nickeil + Ant + McDaniels + Gobert on the floor together, the driving lanes are almost entirely shut down and the passing windows are small--small enough that the Suns, without a true PG, can't operate well.
The Jazz's lineup with Kessler + Lauri + Olynyk was very effective defensively, not because they're each individually great defenders (Olynyk isn't), but the combination of those 7-foot bodies just ate up a ton of space, making it difficult for offensive players to navigate. Guys who are big and long don't actually have to move as much to have a defensive impact.
Hendricks + Lauri + a true big gives the Jazz a good start at creating that kind of defense, but they probably need to follow through with one more long defender.
The Jazz's lineup with Kessler + Lauri + Olynyk was very effective defensively, not because they're each individually great defenders (Olynyk isn't), but the combination of those 7-foot bodies just ate up a ton of space, making it difficult for offensive players to navigate. Guys who are big and long don't actually have to move as much to have a defensive impact.
Hendricks + Lauri + a true big gives the Jazz a good start at creating that kind of defense, but they probably need to follow through with one more long defender.
Sheppard will definitely be a defensive weak link individually.
God damn trading Keyonte for Black would be monumentally stupid
Would he be weaker link than Keyonte? I'm talking... i'm not talking about having both on the floor at the same time... if you could have one of them defensively - which one would you rather have on the floor?
If I was a primary offensive option I would want Reed Sheppard guarding me. He got targeted successfully in college constantly. He can work in a good defensive scheme, but he's going to be a target.
underdog
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Yes, when building a contender, at least one of our guards should have more length and be a good defender. 6-2 or 6-3 is fine for a point guard if he is a playmaker and can shoot or defend well. I mean we’ve got lots of great players who are 6-3 or less (Chris Paul, Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Darius Garland, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Jalen Brunson, Kyrie Irving, and Tyrese Maxey all listed as 6-2 or smaller and De’Aaron Fox, Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Scoot Henderson listed as 6-3 on the NBA website.)
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Yep. People think he was a great individual defender because of his stocks but teams regularly targeted him one on one in college. They will do it even more in the nba.
I think you are being a bit reactionary to the magic having a bad couple playoff games and Black currently not playing. He showed some nice flashes this year and think his future is pretty bright.
Sheppard could ironically be the player with the best career in this draft. Lots of average players throughout
Castle is growing on me, the free throw rate sticks out as something good and historically it is an indicator of learning to shoot long range. We can afford to be bad for a year with him learning to shoot. Other teams will avoid him but he could be there at 8 or 9. Maybe we should go for it?
Castle is growing on me, the free throw rate sticks out as something good and historically it is an indicator of learning to shoot long range. We can afford to be bad for a year with him learning to shoot. Other teams will avoid him but he could be there at 8 or 9. Maybe we should go for it?
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He could. But IMO the same could be said for about 10-12 guys.
I see Shep and I see a rich-man's Payton Pritchard. Not bad but I have a hard time with him in the top 5.