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Millsap on ESPN700 right now.

JFFR said:
@green, have you ever been on a competitive basketball team? Is it really that easy? (I have not, but I hear one of the biggest problems for coaches is dealing with egos...)
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Not hard at all. If, as a coach, you play the players who earn their playing time, then this isn't a problem. IF you start Favors over Millsap for no other reason than Favors is the future, then you have a problem. Trade Millsap now. Millsap deserves that starting spot. He has earned it. He has improved more, played harder and better than anyone else. You keep him there until someone takes his spot away. Pretty simple. Ego or not, if he earns it, he will have it.

Then, when Millsap has lost his spot, you have an outstanding trade chip (because Millsap has been trying to keep his spot and busting his butt off) or a great bench player. You can't lose.
 
p.s. Utah HAS to do this. They will never get a GREAT player to come and sign as a free agent. BUT if they can show players that you can come here and bust your butt off and play, then they will always have a shot at really good role players, and/or young players wanting to prove something (Memo, Boozer, Bell, Harpring, Marshall, etc). If Favors, Kanter, Hayward and Burks are the future, then we need good role players around them.
 
JFFR said:
Two thoughts:

1. Millsap comes back better after every summer, he'll probably come back better this year. I wouldn't rule out him earning the starting spot again.*

2. If Millsap doesn't start and isn't happy in his role with the Jazz, do the Jazz owe it to him to trade him where he will be happy? Millsap is in the prime of his career. He's been nothing but FANTASTIC for the Jazz. Do the Jazz really want to bench him while they develop Favors? If I think about what is best for Millsap, I think the Jazz should trade him (In the end, Millsap is not bigger than the team, so I'm happy with the Jazz keeping him. But Millsap is one of those players who my love for him is almost as big as my love for the Jazz.)



*Just go look at his career numbers. Millsap's FT percentage went WAY up last year. Thats a result of hard work. One of the reasons I resent Fesenko is because he started practicing free throws during the Nuggets playoffs series. I bet Millsap was confident in saying he or CJ would win the three point competition because he has put a lot of work into his 3 point shot. Trust me. Millsap will come back better after this summer.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/millspa01.html
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I would agree that he comes back better each offseason. However, it seems to be only his offense that is improving noticeably. His defense, rebounding, and energy seem to do the opposite.
He's a good player regardless, but a starting 4 on a championship team? Unless he is surrounded by some real stars I don't see Sap as the answer as our starting 4 for years to come.
Great guy, good player, not untouchable in my eyes.
 
Millsap has earned the right to start until someone supplants him. To move him to the bench on nothing but potential IS a huge slap in the face. And if/when someone does rightfully supplant the starting spot, they will be better for it and I have no doubts Millsap wouldn't have a problem.
 
Lakers_Slapper said:
Really good and happy as a starter. Un-motivated and pissed off coming off the bench. Would you perform well at your job if you got a heavy demotion? Keep in mind 2 years ago he was within the leagues top PF for double doubles. And he was just filling in for Boozers injury. Favors will be great, but he has a ways to go. Kanter will be too, but he also has a ways to go. Neither is starter ready, so why replace Milsap right now, other than too clear Roster space?
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My point is that if the other big men pass him, and then he's unwilling to take a 6th man role, then he has to go. Right now he's ahead of Favors and Kanter, but for how long?
 
Revolution 9 said:
My point is that if the other big men pass him, and then he's unwilling to take a 6th man role, then he has to go. Right now he's ahead of Favors and Kanter, but for how long?
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I think that we are a way off from a situation where Millsap whines about being a sixth man (and not just because there is no foreseeable season in the proximal future).

And the risk of such a scenario ranks near the bottom of JazzFanz' worries.

First of all, he's not a sixth man yet. If he devolves into a sixth man on the basis of ON-COURT effectiveness (sorry; off-court effort is a minor factor in whether a player should play), then he has no basis to complain, as long as the players ahead of him are better.

And if the players ahead of him are playing better, than I don't expect him to complain.

At least not very loudly.
 
I doubt Millsap would ever publicly complain or demand a traded. He might ask for a trade behind the scenes if he was actually angry about being benched, but I doubt he would be a problem/distraction.
 
Cyrone Torbin said:
I doubt Millsap would ever publicly complain or demand a traded. He might ask for a trade behind the scenes if he was actually angry about being benched, but I doubt he would be a problem/distraction.
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But first, PM would work his azz off to try to regain his starting spot.

That's what makes Mansap so endearing to fans.

(BTW, my mantra has been that such a treatment--benching a player when he's dogging it or is being ineffective--would possibly motivate Jefferson to play defense, too. Whatever the motive, it looks like Big Al is seeking to improve during this long off-season.)
 
He's a great guy, class act, and a hard worker. He still has a long way to go on defense, and rebounding (esp for a starter).

If he comes back, and improves in those areas he may well be our starter for years to come. He certainly fits our state, and our team personality/effort wise.
 
Revolution 9 said:
He's a great guy, class act, and a hard worker. He still has a long way to go on defense, and rebounding (esp for a starter).

If he comes back, and improves in those areas he may well be our starter for years to come. He certainly fits our state, and our team personality/effort wise.
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Little lost here.. how does Sap fit our state? is he a multi level marketer? how does he fit our team? our team is full of potential with no effort - just the opposite of sap.
 
GVC said:
Damn that would be terrible. No team defense, no transition offense or defense, poor ball movement. I guess if the goal is to get another high lotto pick, that would be the Jazz's best starting line.
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I don't see an in-shape Jefferson as being that much slower, if at all, than Nowitski, Bosh, Gasol, or Boozer. I don't see a healthy Okur as being that much slower, if at all, than Chandler, Haslem, or Bynum (slower than Noah, though). Did the Mavericks, Lakers, Heat, or Bulls have terrible transition offenses and defenses? If so, it did not seem to hold them back.

Jefferson's ball movement could use improvement, but Okur's seems to be pretty good.

With Okur guarding teh primary post defender, Jefferson would be freer to roam on help defense, instead of being tied to the block.

Pick-and-roll defense would be bad for a while. No argument there.

Reasonable people can disagree, but I just don't see the reason in your argument.
 
Revolution 9 said:
My point is that if the other big men pass him, and then he's unwilling to take a 6th man role, then he has to go. Right now he's ahead of Favors and Kanter, but for how long?
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He should be ahead of Big Al as well.

And everyone else on the roster...
 
Al has nowhere near the awareness or footspeed to roam on D. His matchup would have a field day.
 
julian_assange said:
Favors amd Jefferson will be our starters at C and PF.

If Sap doesnt wanna be 6th man, he better start asking for a trade.
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With Millsap as the first big off the bench, Millsap and Kanter could be a strong combination against mostly the 2nd string, just like PM and Fes were. Mansap can still get 25 MPG+.

Kanter should be used as a substitution guy (for anywhere between one possession and one quarter) when Big Al (or Favors) is dogging it (or simply isn't getting it done), just like Fes (or Elson) should have been used.

And down the stretch, the combo that is best working on that night is the one that should play the most.
 
friendsinmyhead said:
Little lost here.. how does Sap fit our state? is he a multi level marketer? how does he fit our team? our team is full of potential with no effort - just the opposite of sap.
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He fits our state in the way that he's a good citizen, not your stereotypical basketball "hopper", and works hard in the mold of Malone.

The media still tries to tie us in the old Utah Jazz mold of excellence, hard work, and structure. I think Sap fills that old school void of what the Jazz used to be about,
and should be about now. With that said, he's still got to beat out the other big men in the future. Maybe he will...I'm certainly pulling for the guy. I just haven't seen his defense, and rebounding improve.
I've only seen his offensive game continue to grow.
 
Revolution 9 said:
So you would go with Sap and Favors as the starting big men?
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I'd wait and see how everyone looks coming back (this season or next). Maybe Sap can play the 3, maybe not. Maybe Big Al comes back in shape, maybe not. Maybe Favors is ready, maybe not. What I feel fairly confident about is that Millsap was the Jazz's best player last year (from start to finish, anyway), and shouldn't have to prove himself worthy of 30 minutes per game again (while others, notably Big Al, get a free pass).
 
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