Kosta Koufos gets paid 1.2 Million this year. Francisco Elson is going to get paid the Veteran Minimum. He is also 34 years old. Koufos is 21. We didn't save any money Jazzfanz.
Um, my understanding is that salaries of vet minimum players can be subject to an NBA rebate, according to Coon the cap guru:
"When a player has been in the NBA for three or more seasons, and is playing under a one-year, ten-day or rest-of-season contract, the league actually reimburses the team for part of his salary - any amount above the minimum salary level for a two-year veteran."
https://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm
So Utah is saving maybe half a million by taking an Elson over a Koufos. It would've been a much more significant financial decision if they had decided not to blow eight figures on reupping Matador Memo-without prior knowledge of the Achilles injury. Okur wasn't gonna get signed anywhere else for more money, even if he were healthy. And then there's the decision not to wait a year on renewing Kirilenko. His albatross contract would've expired already, and he probably would've re-signed for half as much.
The Jazz need to stop drafting projects. Projects need playing time. If we are not going to give them playing time than we are wasting our draft picks. They have no experience. Practice doesn't increase your experience. So I guess I am glad Koufos is going to a new team so he can develop. Jazz wouldn't play him anyways.
While I definitely agree with you that projects need playing time, Al Jefferson would have been considered a project if Utah had drafted him out of high school. Maybe your claim still holds because he took a few years to develop, but even CJ miles--with all the impatience that he exacted among JazzFanz--came along OK at a modest salary.
And in the case of big men, sometimes "projects" are all that's available, especially at a 20ish pick. KK2 was a decent choice at the Jazz's slot, but as you so eloquently pointed out, Koufos lacked the playing time to really develop any consistency. I maintain that it's not a coincidence that he was doing decently in his rookie year and then plummeted when his PT disappeared for no apparent reason. It likely affected his psyche, his physical skills, or both. Sloan repeated history by giving Koufos no notable nod after the Boom Beyotches heard 'round the world. There were times to play KK2 (and Fes, too) when the outcome was not in question--and sometimes when the players on the court were sucking wind anyway.
It would've taken a lot (i.e., a healthy AK and maybe Okur, and both of 'em still might have not been enough) to beat the Fakers, but Utah could've logged a W or two vs. the champs if they had had more big-man development time with the backups. It's not like it sneaked up on them; the same thing happend against the Fakers in the last playoffs or two, too.
