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Jazz give promise to Jordan Adams at #23?

Jordan Adams does not look like a very good prospect. He can't jump and is slow. Why would that be a good pick?
 
NUMBERICA said:
Promises aren't supposed to go public. The idea is that by shutting down workouts, it keeps them on boards where they were or drops them. For the player, it means security, even if it's possible that they MIGHT go higher if they continue with the process.
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Also this, especially if it's a team like LA or Boston or a hometown team that a player REALLY wants to go to. A player will get a promise and then shut down his workouts. I mean, to a certain extent that goes on throughout the draft. Exum didn't want to come to the Jazz, so he refused a workout. Not quite the same as "shutting down" but what IF Embiid were still in play and Exum was there at #5. Maybe we don't take him because he showed he doesn't want to play.
 
I thought we were supposed to be building with defense as the top priority?

So we upgrade defensively with Gordon...

Then draft a guy who can't guard a chair and will struggle to get his shot off in thenNBA.

Mo Almond anyone?
 
nateboz said:
Jordan Adams does not look like a very good prospect. He can't jump and is slow. Why would that be a good pick?
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Jordan Adams is 6'5 with long arms and did not dunk the ball once last season...

He does look a bit slimmer to me in the recent pic's, but still his body fat is 11% which is bordeline inexcusable for a guard (especially in the 1st round).

I laugh at anyone who looks at his steal #'s and thinks that will translate to successful or even passable perimeter defense in the NBA, plug him between Hayward and Trey and you have 3 turnstiles playing D.

PJ Hairston is a better shooter and hes WAY more athletic.
 
jazzmailman said:
Long time Jazz and UCLA fan here...

Adams is probably the most unathletic player in the draft, which is why he was projected to be a late 1st round / early 2nd round pick NEXT YEAR. Adams was originally going to come back to UCLA for his junior year (he actually said after the tourney that he didn't consider leaving for NBA at all), but decided to stay in the draft - which suggests that he probably got a promise somewhere in the late 1st round.

DraftExpress did an excellent job of evaluating Adams so i'll just comment on his strengths and weaknesses: https://www.draftexpress.com/video/11386/ (~12 min video)

Strengths:

- Strength: Great upper body strength, can finish while taking contact. Can also post up smaller guards.

- Scoring instinct: Has a very good baseline turnaround shot and often score on broken plays (right place at the right time). He's the type of player that can score 20+ points without anyone noticing.

- Anticipation on D: Although super unathletic and lacks lateral quickness to be an elite defender, he has Chris Paul-like quick hands which often result in broken plays and steals. Has a chance to avg 2+ steals a game if he starts.

Weaknesses:

- Athleticism - Everything said about him is correct, probably the most unathletic player in the draft. I actually suspected if he has the athleticism to even be drafted. He can't create his own shots either.

- Shooting consistency - The moment Adams stepped on campus, he was already the best shooter from UCLA in the past 15 years (Afflalo wasn't as good in college), he's a much better shooter than his 30-35% 3 point shooting suggests. He was also the main scorer on the UCLA team, which means he has to take some bad shots just cuz there is no other option.

Adams is just a straight up basketball player, not an athlete. I don't think he'll ever be a top starter SG, but he'll be in the league for a long time (much like John Salmons)...
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Good post. Would you say Kyle Anderson is a better pro prospect than Adams?
 
jazzmailman said:
Long time Jazz and UCLA fan here...

Adams is probably the most unathletic player in the draft, which is why he was projected to be a late 1st round / early 2nd round pick NEXT YEAR. Adams was originally going to come back to UCLA for his junior year (he actually said after the tourney that he didn't consider leaving for NBA at all), but decided to stay in the draft - which suggests that he probably got a promise somewhere in the late 1st round.

DraftExpress did an excellent job of evaluating Adams so i'll just comment on his strengths and weaknesses: https://www.draftexpress.com/video/11386/ (~12 min video)

Strengths:

- Strength: Great upper body strength, can finish while taking contact. Can also post up smaller guards.

- Scoring instinct: Has a very good baseline turnaround shot and often score on broken plays (right place at the right time). He's the type of player that can score 20+ points without anyone noticing.

- Anticipation on D: Although super unathletic and lacks lateral quickness to be an elite defender, he has Chris Paul-like quick hands which often result in broken plays and steals. Has a chance to avg 2+ steals a game if he starts.

Weaknesses:

- Athleticism - Everything said about him is correct, probably the most unathletic player in the draft. I actually suspected if he has the athleticism to even be drafted. He can't create his own shots either.

- Shooting consistency - The moment Adams stepped on campus, he was already the best shooter from UCLA in the past 15 years (Afflalo wasn't as good in college), he's a much better shooter than his 30-35% 3 point shooting suggests. He was also the main scorer on the UCLA team, which means he has to take some bad shots just cuz there is no other option.

Adams is just a straight up basketball player, not an athlete. I don't think he'll ever be a top starter SG, but he'll be in the league for a long time (much like John Salmons)...
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Where should he picked in this draft?
 
NUMBERICA said:
Because being good at playing basketball is sometimes a factor in being a basketball player.
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I watched UCLA play a few games this year. All I see is a guy who was a strong, slow a foot with quick hands. Almost like a 15 year NBA vet. He would get killed in the NBA. Who could he actually guard? And it's not like he's going to score at will either. I don't like the pick if its for real.
 
He averaged 17.4 ppg in a tough Pac-12 conference.

Would be interesting to see what you guys would have said about Harden if he was on the Jazz's range back in '09.
 
The Thriller said:
Why not draft his teammate, Zach LaVine instead? He can basically be a combo guard, right?
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LaVine most likely won't mature in time to make solid contribution to the team that drafts him. He is very much like Gerald Green 2.0 (who switched 7 NBA teams + a few D League teams + foreign teams). UCLA fans knew about LaVine's potential even when he was still a 3 star recruit in high school, guy just doesn't seem to have enough passion for the game.
 
UGLI baby said:
Good post. Would you say Kyle Anderson is a better pro prospect than Adams?
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Kyle Anderson is definitely a better pro than Adams, the guy is a winner (his HS team went 99-0). He is indeed very very slow, so UCLA played almost exclusively zone when he's on the court. He will never be a good defender, but will be an adequate one because of his long wingspan, which also helps him grab rebounds - 3rd leading rebounder in PAC 12.

The "he can't guard anyone in the NBA" argument is way out of proportion. Can Harden guard ANYONE? I mean, even James Anderson torched Harden for 30+ points, yet Harden is still considered a superstar. My point is, not every prospect is going to be a 2 way superstar, the team makeup will matter a lot more.

Whether Kyle Anderson succeeds or not will really dependent on who drafts him. IF the Spurs or even the Jazz draft him, then he has a real chance to succeed. IF a team like the Kings draft him, tells him to feed Cousins the ball then go stand in the corner (like what they did for Isaiah Thomas), then he will definitely fail.
 
Jazz4ever said:
Where should he picked in this draft?
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HE should be picked late 1st round to early 2nd round. His draft stock is likely the same whether if he comes out this year or 2 years later, since his play style doesn't depend on athleticism. I'd take Spencer Dinwiddie over Adams though, that guy is going to be a steal - if he doesn't get hurt again.

AND did I mention that Adams has very very very quick hands? He doesn't really jump the passing lane, rather he strips his opponent while he is still dribbling, that's a pretty translatable skill.
 
NUMBERICA said:
Because being good at playing basketball is sometimes a factor in being a basketball player.
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Some people can identify role players. Some people can only identify athleticism.

Just a heads up to everyone who keeps ripping on Adams because of his athleticism..... Are the Spurs even close to being the most athletic team. Danny Green? Boris Diaw? Tiago Splitter? Duncan? Kawai is actually not a top 20 athlete. He is just long and has big hands. He doesn't jump out of the gym. This fetish with players having to be super athletic is ridiculous. Yes to be a superstar in this league you need to be athletic. But just a heads up.......AGAIN the Spurs don't have a top 5 or even a top 10 player in the league (Duncan is not top 10 anymore).
There is a reason why only 49% of players past the 11th pick make it in the league......... Because most NBA GM's draft on athleticism rather then drafting solid rotation players who can be apart of a system.
 
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nateboz said:
I watched UCLA play a few games this year. All I see is a guy who was a strong, slow a foot with quick hands. Almost like a 15 year NBA vet. He would get killed in the NBA. Who could he actually guard? And it's not like he's going to score at will either. I don't like the pick if its for real.
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UCLA was the Dream Team of Slow Mo. Players like that exist, stylistically if nothing else. You can hide people by having them come off the bench, have really good help defense and defensively versatile players. Or whatever.

The kid has moxy that you can't teach and did it with efficiency. Lance Stephenson is more athletic but he doesn't necessarily play more athletic if that makes any sense. I don't know. He thrives off the ball. High-level role players do exist.

But who knows. I feel similarly about Kyle Anderson. I'm just not sure about that kids defensive ability. Both of their's really. I don't know.
 
P.J. Hairston seems like a pretty safe pick to me, given that there aren't any significant off-the-court issues (I don't believe there are, he probably got caught smoking weed or got caught cheating by the wrong person at UNC). Three and D in a good body with some natural scoring instincts? Alright.
 
jazzmailman said:
Kyle Anderson is definitely a better pro than Adams, the guy is a winner (his HS team went 99-0). He is indeed very very slow, so UCLA played almost exclusively zone when he's on the court. He will never be a good defender, but will be an adequate one because of his long wingspan, which also helps him grab rebounds - 3rd leading rebounder in PAC 12.

The "he can't guard anyone in the NBA" argument is way out of proportion. Can Harden guard ANYONE? I mean, even James Anderson torched Harden for 30+ points, yet Harden is still considered a superstar. My point is, not every prospect is going to be a 2 way superstar, the team makeup will matter a lot more.

Whether Kyle Anderson succeeds or not will really dependent on who drafts him. IF the Spurs or even the Jazz draft him, then he has a real chance to succeed. IF a team like the Kings draft him, tells him to feed Cousins the ball then go stand in the corner (like what they did for Isaiah Thomas), then he will definitely fail.
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I reeaaaallly want Anderson with #23. Pretty sure he'll be gone by then tho.
 
The Thriller said:
So why not package the 23rd pick with the 2nd rounder and the warriors pick to move up?
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if this draft is as deep as they say i don't necessarily agree with throwing all our stockpiled assets into moving up, unless a top 2 pic is the result. likely there will be more than solid role players available at 23, maybe even 2nd round, that can replace jefferson, marvin, garrett(?).
 
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