Chris
Well-Known Member
I rarely get overly excited about the Jazz' offseason moves because usually they're nothing all that spectacular. But, I have to say, for a team that didn't have any first round draft picks, missed out on getting Damian Lillard and Kendall Marshall, and didn't have a lot of money or the big name market to go after top-name free agents, the Jazz have really done quite well for themselves. I was pretty amazed by how deep our rotation was last year, but even if we stand pat and don't make any other moves, this upcoming season's team looks deeper than almost every other team in the league.
Sometimes I have to type things out to get it in focus, so here's a tentative rotation for next season as things currently stand:
PG Mo Williams / Jamaal Tinsley / Earl Watson
SG Randy Foye / Alec Burks / Kevin Murphy
SF Marvin Williams / Gordon Hayward / DeMarre Carroll
PF Paul Millsap / Derek Favors / Jeremy Evans
C Al Jefferson / Enes Kanter
Now there's a lot of ifs and what-not when it comes to people like Earl Watson and crunching the salary numbers. That's also only 14 roster spots. And, I'm sure Gordon will start some games at the 2 and even at the 3. But the point is, Corbin can play with those rotations as much as he wants and really base it on match-ups -- that's the kind of depth we have. Who knows what will happen with Millsap and Jefferson before / during / after this coming season, but as it stands right now, things look pretty awesome.
Now let's break down the positions one by one:
PG: We no longer have to deal with an under-performing Devin Harris, who only showed flashes of his former self this past season. Mo Williams is a young veteran, who is excited to be here and who really wants to become a leader, which is what a starting point guard should be. Keeping Tinsley was a great idea, as he has shown leadership and is both comfortable and competent at the backup role. Whether we hold on to Watson or not remains to be seen, but Blake Ahearn is also fine at that third point guard spot.
SG: I love the Randy Foye acquisition. On a one-year deal for short money, this guy was a steal. A good three point shooter and a solid contributor all around. Back him up with an up-and-coming Alec Burks and the promising Kevin Murphy and that position is well-manned, even if Hayward never plays a minute at the 2, which he will.
SF: Marvin Williams was a very good pickup when you consider that we got him in exchange for Devin Harris, who I'm sure had very little trade value at the deadline last February. Locke made a really good point in his podcast where he mentioned that the Foye and Marvin acquisitions need to be looked at from the perspective of what did we get, not whether they were drafted too high based on how they've panned out thus far. Marvin is a very good starting small forward in this league and is a tough match-up for the opposing team. If Hayward plays the 3 most of the year, he may start some games and be the second unit leader in others. Either way, the 3 is covered and DeMarre Carroll is a solid third option.
PF/C: I'm going to combine these positions because of the flexibility that we have here. Everyone except Millsap and Evans can play both positions capably and probably will do exactly that once the season begins. Also, I do think re-upping Evans was a smart move. If we didn't have a log jam at PF, we would actually get to see why he's worth the salary that he'll be making. And he did the Mailman dunk.
Honestly, on a team this deep, there's going to be so many rotations in which guys will get minutes, I don't think it'll matter too much who starts and who comes off the bench. I think Ty did a good job inculcating that idea last season and this year's squad gives him all the more reason and flexibility to continue in that fashion.
Still, look at the ages on this team. We didn't bring in a bunch of old geezers (haven't used that word in a while) just to provide veteran leadership. We trimmed a lot of fat (Harris, Bell) when it comes to under-performing players who were hogging minutes. We drafted well late in the draft, in my opinion, and we didn't acquire one-dimensional players. We got veteran leadership at a good price by acquiring guys who have a good deal of experience, lots of character, and plenty of tread left on the tires. (Did we even acquire anyone over the age of 27?) We're still the youngest team in the league, yet we will be starting 26/27-year olds who can teach the youngsters under them quite a bit in the process. Not bad.
We also have a lot of team guys who either chose to be here or seem genuinely pleased that they are here. Throw in a legitimate training camp and give these guys some time to play together. Like I said, I don't know what will happen with Al this season, but I can only imagine that he'll appreciate having a few other young veterans on the squad to provide some more leadership. The best part is, if we end up trading him or someone else, or if (heaven forbid) we get bitten by the injury bug, the Jazz are deep enough to absorb things like this and still put a great, young, exciting product on the floor every night.
As I mentioned previously, I thought this offseason was going to be a stinker when we ended up qualifying for the playoffs. I knew we'd get swept, would miss out on our own pick and the GS pick, and would not be able to get our point guard of the future. But you know what? I think we did pretty good after all. Looking at the schedule, I'll be able to see 16 games this year. I'm pumped for the season.
Sometimes I have to type things out to get it in focus, so here's a tentative rotation for next season as things currently stand:
PG Mo Williams / Jamaal Tinsley / Earl Watson
SG Randy Foye / Alec Burks / Kevin Murphy
SF Marvin Williams / Gordon Hayward / DeMarre Carroll
PF Paul Millsap / Derek Favors / Jeremy Evans
C Al Jefferson / Enes Kanter
Now there's a lot of ifs and what-not when it comes to people like Earl Watson and crunching the salary numbers. That's also only 14 roster spots. And, I'm sure Gordon will start some games at the 2 and even at the 3. But the point is, Corbin can play with those rotations as much as he wants and really base it on match-ups -- that's the kind of depth we have. Who knows what will happen with Millsap and Jefferson before / during / after this coming season, but as it stands right now, things look pretty awesome.
Now let's break down the positions one by one:
PG: We no longer have to deal with an under-performing Devin Harris, who only showed flashes of his former self this past season. Mo Williams is a young veteran, who is excited to be here and who really wants to become a leader, which is what a starting point guard should be. Keeping Tinsley was a great idea, as he has shown leadership and is both comfortable and competent at the backup role. Whether we hold on to Watson or not remains to be seen, but Blake Ahearn is also fine at that third point guard spot.
SG: I love the Randy Foye acquisition. On a one-year deal for short money, this guy was a steal. A good three point shooter and a solid contributor all around. Back him up with an up-and-coming Alec Burks and the promising Kevin Murphy and that position is well-manned, even if Hayward never plays a minute at the 2, which he will.
SF: Marvin Williams was a very good pickup when you consider that we got him in exchange for Devin Harris, who I'm sure had very little trade value at the deadline last February. Locke made a really good point in his podcast where he mentioned that the Foye and Marvin acquisitions need to be looked at from the perspective of what did we get, not whether they were drafted too high based on how they've panned out thus far. Marvin is a very good starting small forward in this league and is a tough match-up for the opposing team. If Hayward plays the 3 most of the year, he may start some games and be the second unit leader in others. Either way, the 3 is covered and DeMarre Carroll is a solid third option.
PF/C: I'm going to combine these positions because of the flexibility that we have here. Everyone except Millsap and Evans can play both positions capably and probably will do exactly that once the season begins. Also, I do think re-upping Evans was a smart move. If we didn't have a log jam at PF, we would actually get to see why he's worth the salary that he'll be making. And he did the Mailman dunk.
Honestly, on a team this deep, there's going to be so many rotations in which guys will get minutes, I don't think it'll matter too much who starts and who comes off the bench. I think Ty did a good job inculcating that idea last season and this year's squad gives him all the more reason and flexibility to continue in that fashion.
Still, look at the ages on this team. We didn't bring in a bunch of old geezers (haven't used that word in a while) just to provide veteran leadership. We trimmed a lot of fat (Harris, Bell) when it comes to under-performing players who were hogging minutes. We drafted well late in the draft, in my opinion, and we didn't acquire one-dimensional players. We got veteran leadership at a good price by acquiring guys who have a good deal of experience, lots of character, and plenty of tread left on the tires. (Did we even acquire anyone over the age of 27?) We're still the youngest team in the league, yet we will be starting 26/27-year olds who can teach the youngsters under them quite a bit in the process. Not bad.
We also have a lot of team guys who either chose to be here or seem genuinely pleased that they are here. Throw in a legitimate training camp and give these guys some time to play together. Like I said, I don't know what will happen with Al this season, but I can only imagine that he'll appreciate having a few other young veterans on the squad to provide some more leadership. The best part is, if we end up trading him or someone else, or if (heaven forbid) we get bitten by the injury bug, the Jazz are deep enough to absorb things like this and still put a great, young, exciting product on the floor every night.
As I mentioned previously, I thought this offseason was going to be a stinker when we ended up qualifying for the playoffs. I knew we'd get swept, would miss out on our own pick and the GS pick, and would not be able to get our point guard of the future. But you know what? I think we did pretty good after all. Looking at the schedule, I'll be able to see 16 games this year. I'm pumped for the season.
