https://1280thezone.com/index.php/archive/search_results/d018350aebd52ceb7ea1e68665dab6b4/
Feb 18th
4:35 DL on Derrick, "the role we envision is the role that he is playing now..."
Feb 21st, 4:53
DL on Rudy, "Rudy's played some minutes of late because of Derrick's injury, and you know are defensive challenges. He's had to work and fight for that opportunity, and guess what? Our defense is better when Rudy's on the court. We expect that to go forward as well. "
Jan 3rd 2014. 13:28 on Enes
"Again, he had a very serious shoulder injury, and was rehabbing all summer instead of working... He's 21, he's 6'11", he can shoot. ... We just got to let him find himself"
Jan 3rd 2014 14:09 on Derrick
"Frankly, he needs to get better. We paud him to be a high level defender, a rebounder, a finisher, and someone who is developing an offensive game.
16:20
"I think in due time that Enes with his touch, and his range, if he doesn't shoot the 3 eventually, can certainly shoot the long 2. He shot 44 % last year on long 2's."
18:02
"I think some of the strategy that Ty has used here recently of keeping Derrick closer to the paint, is something that the Indiana Pacers have done, and is something that we've looked at and talked about a while, and think it would be a strength for Rudy as well going forward."
December 27th 2013
7:02 on Enes
"I know there is a little angst publicly where Enes is at. ... You have to remember a couple of things with Enes Kanter. He lost a couple of seasons years past before he joined the Jazz organization because of inelgibility. This past offseason he was rehabbing his shoulder instead of just playing basketball like our other players; so he really lost a good 6 months because he had to focus on the shoulder. Really, the first day he had contact was our last day or two of open gym.and the team's in flux. He's with a bunch of other young players."
8:36 on Enes
"He's still a 21 yr old player. He and Trey would be juniors this year. ... A couple things, he's 6'11", he's got great hands. He's a very motivated young big. He plays the game because he enjoys the competition, he really enjoys the work, and usually when you add those characteristics up something good's going to happen.So, we're going to be really patient with Enes, and we're really glad he's a part of the organization . ... I think Kevin O' Connor made a really good pick with that pick.
Feb 18th. 1:22 DL responds to a question about Enes' defense.
"You know he needs to improve, but Enes IS NOT the only player. We have to improve collectively as a group. That's on me. We have to continue to add defensive minded players, players that value that, that can compement some of our young offensive players, if you will."
----
Let me be clear, I don't think, nor am I saying Favors will be gone before next season. What I am saying is that Kanter will be staying, and that ultimately DL sees Rudy as fulfilling Derrick's role, which MAY make Derrick expendable at some point when we are trying to acquire pieces for our championship run. Derrick is much more of a known commodity (played almost twice as many NBA minutes than Kanter and is a year older), and is already inked to a very appealing contract.
My gut and wish is that both will stay. For the past month, Kanter and Favors has been the Jazz' best 2 man lineup, which probably reinspires the passion for the Kanter-Favors duo that FO once had.
