Following potential 2015 draftees

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

The Jazz have pretty good talent across the board, although they're a little thin at PG. There aren't too many players in this draft who can make a real difference for the team. Right now, we're in the process of slipping from 5th to 9th in the lottery standings. I wonder what's going through DL's head.

 

[Coach Ellis]

The Jazz have pretty good talent across the board, although they're a little thin at PG. There aren't too many players in this draft who can make a real difference for the team. Right now, we're in the process of slipping from 5th to 9th in the lottery standings. I wonder what's going through DL's head.

What's it going to cost to trade up for Hezonja? Hopefully his buyout scares a few teams away.

As far as point guards go, I fully expect them to buy out Raul Neto and bring him over. I was surprised that they didn't bring him over this past offseason.

Jazz will still lose a bunch of games this year. Too young to win consistently. And teams are going to stop sleeping on them. Quality wins against the Cavs, Spurs, Grizzlies and Suns. They're growing up, but it's a long season and there will be growing pains.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

What's it going to cost to trade up for Hezonja? Hopefully his buyout scares a few teams away.

Jazz will still lose a bunch of games this year. Too young to win consistently. And teams are going to stop sleeping on them. Quality wins against the Cavs, Spurs, Grizzlies and Suns. They're growing up, but it's a long season and there will be growing pains.

His buyout is in the $2 million range, but word in the press is that Hezonja could stay in Europe another year or two, so that could actually have an impact. Maybe it will drop him to the 7 - 9 range a bit similar to Dario Saric last year. College players are also on the up and up. Kelly Oubre is starting to play better. Maybe if we end up 8th or 9th, we can trade up to 6th or 7th and take Hezonja, should he stay in Europe another year. We would probably have to move a player like Hood or a future 1st along with our pick.

So maybe a mock draft looks like this:

Okafor
Towns
Mudiay
Porzingis
Johnson
Cauley-Stein
Hezonja
Winslow
Oubre
Looney
Poeltl

A lot can happen in the next 4 - 5 months.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Jazz are also getting to a point where they could trade a couple young players for a veteran, but I have no idea who that would be.

 

[Chargers Jazz Angels]

His buyout is in the $2 million range, but word in the press is that Hezonja could stay in Europe another year or two, so that could actually have an impact. Maybe it will drop him to the 7 - 9 range a bit similar to Dario Saric last year. College players are also on the up and up. Kelly Oubre is starting to play better. Maybe if we end up 8th or 9th, we can trade up to 6th or 7th and take Hezonja, should he stay in Europe another year. We would probably have to move a player like Hood or a future 1st along with our pick.

So maybe a mock draft looks like this:

Okafor
Towns
Mudiay
Porzingis
Johnson
Cauley-Stein
Hezonja
Winslow
Oubre
Looney
Poeltl

A lot can happen in the next 4 - 5 months.

I could see Winslow looney and oubre go before hezonja.

 

[Hotdog]

Jazz are also getting to a point where they could trade a couple young players for a veteran, but I have no idea who that would be.

I keep thinking the same thing. Maybe we even move the pick or future picks for a really nice player. I wouldn't mind going after Dragic or some other good point guard.. We think Exum is the future, but maybe he's not. Maybe he only pans out to be an average player. Plus he won't be ready for a while. This team could use a good point guard right now. It could help with the development of our bigs, and also, make Gordon's prime not be wasted. Gordon is ready to win now, while the rest of the team isn't really, but are on the cusp.

If we replace Burke with Dragic, I think we would be a much different team.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I keep thinking the same thing. Maybe we even move the pick or future picks for a really nice player. I wouldn't mind going after Dragic or some other good point guard.. We think Exum is the future, but maybe he's not. Maybe he only pans out to be an average player. Plus he won't be ready for a while. This team could use a good point guard right now. It could help with the development of our bigs, and also, make Gordon's prime not be wasted. Gordon is ready to win now, while the rest of the team isn't really, but are on the cusp.

If we replace Burke with Dragic, I think we would be a much different team.

Good post. I think Dragic is a FA at the end of the season. That said, I think the Jazz are still lacking a #1 option. They've got good complementary players at every position, but I don't think Hayward is quite enough to build the offense around. Unless Kanter develops to another couple levels or Gobert becomes a go-to offensive player, I think we're going to need to bring someone in. I'm not sure Dragic gets us there.

Towns, Porzingis, maybe Hezonja and maybe one of the other wings in the draft could put us near the top.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Russell had 9 assist w/ 1 TO tonight. Dude could probably play backup PG.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

The Jazz have pretty good talent across the board, although they're a little thin at PG. There aren't too many players in this draft who can make a real difference for the team. Right now, we're in the process of slipping from 5th to 9th in the lottery standings. I wonder what's going through DL's head.

When/If Kanter isn't re-signed, we will be thin in our front-court. Favors/Gobert/Booker with no real backup center option.

 

[Coach Ellis]

When/If Kanter isn't re-signed, we will be thin in our front-court. Favors/Gobert/Booker with no real backup center option.

I think that it's far more likely that they'll match or extend Kanter and either trade or cut Booker. As much as he's a nice option off the bench, his long-term future with the Jazz isn't in the plans. They can always buy a late pick or use their high 2nd for the 4th big behind Favors/Gobert/Kanter.

 

[stitches]

When/If Kanter isn't re-signed, we will be thin in our front-court. Favors/Gobert/Booker with no real backup center option.

Yep, the thing is... the draft is before free agency, so we might get some idea of what the plan with Kanter is at draft-night. Also... I wonder if we'd rather pick Booker's option(5m) or give Kanter ... say 12m?

 

[Stifle Tower]

I think that it's far more likely that they'll match or extend Kanter and either trade or cut Booker. As much as he's a nice option off the bench, his long-term future with the Jazz isn't in the plans. They can always buy a late pick or use their high 2nd for the 4th big behind Favors/Gobert/Kanter.

Agree. Unless Booker can develop a 3PT shot, he doesn't bring the Jazz a lot. His "career" year he averaged 8 pts as a starter. Love his intensity, love the contract, not a big loss if he leaves. And yes, stitches, Kanter at $12M is WAY better than Booker at $5M.

Jazz have some nice trade assets with the Booker, Novak and Evans' contracts. That's $10M, with only $3.5 guaranteed for next season. And I believe the Jazz are currently $4M under the cap. So $14M Utah could trade along with a high 2nd-rounder and the worse of the 2017 1st's. I doubt they would consider moving this year's pick without top-3 protection...unless the deal is spectacularly in Utah's favor.

Utah WILL match an offer for Kanter. Even if a team significantly overpays to sign an offer, the deal becomes pretty reasonable when the cap increases significantly in 2 years.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

I think the Jazz will match Kanter's offer. Even if he's not in the long-term plans, he's too valuable an asset to just let go. He's just emerging as a player now, and could end up being comparable to Al Horford (at least offensively).

FYI, Al Horford has career averages of 14/9.

 

[Stifle Tower]

I keep thinking the same thing. Maybe we even move the pick or future picks for a really nice player. I wouldn't mind going after Dragic or some other good point guard.. We think Exum is the future, but maybe he's not. Maybe he only pans out to be an average player. Plus he won't be ready for a while. This team could use a good point guard right now. It could help with the development of our bigs, and also, make Gordon's prime not be wasted. Gordon is ready to win now, while the rest of the team isn't really, but are on the cusp.

If we replace Burke with Dragic, I think we would be a much different team.

PG is the weak link right now. Just hope Exum takes a step up next year like Schroeder has done. But yeah, I wouldn't mind the Jazz trading for or signing a vet PG. I think the Suns probably want to keep Dragic - one of the reasons they signed his brother. With the upcoming draft, the Jazz are probably going to be heavy in terms of bigs or wings (if they keep Kanter). You and catchall might be right in terms of starting to trade assets for a significant player.

 

[The Midnight]

His buyout is in the $2 million range, but word in the press is that Hezonja could stay in Europe another year or two, so that could actually have an impact. Maybe it will drop him to the 7 - 9 range a bit similar to Dario Saric last year. College players are also on the up and up. Kelly Oubre is starting to play better. Maybe if we end up 8th or 9th, we can trade up to 6th or 7th and take Hezonja, should he stay in Europe another year. We would probably have to move a player like Hood or a future 1st along with our pick.

So maybe a mock draft looks like this:

Okafor
Towns
Mudiay
Porzingis
Johnson
Cauley-Stein
Hezonja
Winslow
Oubre
Looney
Poeltl

A lot can happen in the next 4 - 5 months.

Pretty much my list as well.

 

[Coach Ellis]

PG is the weak link right now. Just hope Exum takes a step up next year like Schroeder has done. But yeah, I wouldn't mind the Jazz trading for or signing a vet PG. I think the Suns probably want to keep Dragic - one of the reasons they signed his brother. With the upcoming draft, the Jazz are probably going to be heavy in terms of bigs or wings (if they keep Kanter). You and catchall might be right in terms of starting to trade assets for a significant player.

They might sign a placeholder guy like Jeremy Lin to split time and mentor, but I have to believe that Dante Exum is the starter next year and Trey Burke will be moved for a different asset. I'm also expecting them to bring Neto over. He wanted to be here last year, is good friends with Gobert and has shown significant improvement since heading back to Europe.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Yep, the thing is... the draft is before free agency, so we might get some idea of what the plan with Kanter is at draft-night. Also... I wonder if we'd rather pick Booker's option(5m) or give Kanter ... say 12m?

Booker's value is no where near Kanter's. I just don't see how the Jazz will let Enes walk when the three headed monster of Gobert/Favors/Kanter is showing significant improvement and promise for the future. The cost really isn't that prohibitive. I think that they either extend him or match his offer.

Booker has more value as a trade chip with that non guaranteed contract. Kanter is getting paid, but I'm not sure if it'll be a max contract. I think Quin has him going in the right direction. If he keeps improving, he'll be worth matching.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Booker's value is no where near Kanter's. I just don't see how the Jazz will let Enes walk when the three headed monster of Gobert/Favors/Kanter is showing significant improvement and promise for the future. The cost really isn't that prohibitive. I think that they either extend him or match his offer.

Booker has more value as a trade chip with that non guaranteed contract. Kanter is getting paid, but I'm not sure if it'll be a max contract. I think Quin has him going in the right direction. If he keeps improving, he'll be worth matching.

Because Kanter is just doing this in a contract year....

 

[Coach Ellis]

Because Kanter is just doing this in a contract year....

That's certainly a concern, but you can't be paralyzed by success however it comes. Kanter has been awesome lately and looks to be turning a corner. He's 22 years old. The front office and coaching staff are well aware of where he's at in his development and seem to be pleased with his improvements and efforts.

If he were still at Kentucky as a senior, where would his draft value be? The Jazz need to decide if that value and potential matches the contract that he's going to be offered. My guess is that it will.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Because Kanter is just doing this in a contract year....

Or maybe Kanter needed some constructive coaching on defense, instead of just "take a seat on the bench. When you start, we lose." Who knows what happened. Maybe it IS a sense of urgency with Enes. He's facing a pivotal summer and either improves or suffers greatly financially. Whatever the case, there's no doubt he IS improving. The season is only 1/3 over. If he can continue to improve over the next 50+ games, the Jazz will gladly match an offer.