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What do Jazz fans want?

Crocodile Dante said:
What is next? With the loss of the player that will not be named the Utah Jazz are at a crossroads in the organization. It is a question that is likely being debated around water coolers all over the inter mountain west. What is Next?

There are a number of opinions on what the Utah Jazz should do and what the future holds. I thought it would be fun to discuss some of the differing opinions that are floating out there.

Hard rebuild - I put this first because I think it is most unlikely as I don't see the jazz selling off anyone not named Gobert for future assets and Tanking to get better draft picks. Gobert is a cornerstone piece that could be built around but He needs specific types of players around him to be successful.

- 3pt shooting (especially from the 4)
- Perimeter defense
- Passing point guard

The Jazz already have some pieces in place that are interesting but will need to show they will fit.

Soft Rebuild - This is one of the scarier ways to try and rebuild because if you end of in the middle of the lottery and don't find a diamond in the rough you can be stuck in mediocrity. There are a lot of teams that come to mind that always seem to fight for the 8th spot in the playoffs and never get better and never get worse. What makes it tough is the players that are usually draft at this point have some question marks but have the talent.

Free Agency - this seems to be a direct that they Jazz have seemed to adopted with all the 2 year contracts. This might also be a good option as a lot of teams have way over spent and the teams that will have future cap space is dwindling. IF the Jazz can position themselves correctly they could be one of only a few teams available to offer a big contract in the summer of 2019. This will be interesting to follow of the next year. This is tied into other possible rebuilding structures.

Internal growth - This is to see if you can replace what was lost by developing other players on the roster to fill in the holes that have been created. For the Jazz it is Hood and Ingles that will need to create more to compensate for the loss of that guy. Burks also might have a roll here is he is healthy and find his stride with in Snyder's system. We keep hearing DL say they want to be known as the best developmental team in the nba. This year he can put his money where his mouth is.

Anti-super team - This is also my trade thread but I keep reading about other teams that could be the next super teams and most of the time they will need to ship off young talent to bring the likes of LeBron, Paul, Melo, Wade, George etc. So as teams begin to form these super teams the Jazz just sit back and gather all the cast offs and start to build their own teams. Eventually the NBA is going to stop these super teams and it will be nice having a lot of young pieces to build around. (the Name i see alot is Julius Randle being moved with Jordan Clarkson contract to open up enough space for 2 max contracts next summer)

So do you want do you want to see as a Jazz fan? Are you satisfied with the Jazz making the playsoffs every year as 6,7, or 8 seed or would you rather see a year of 2 down and get draft assets? Or do you want to see the jazz be frugal in hopes they can land a second tier free agent?
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You need to change your username....
 
Personally, I still believe that undergoing a full rebuild gives us the best opportunity to contend in the long-term. But there's no need to rehash that. A complete rebuild is essentially the antithesis of this franchise's M.O & I doubt it was, or ever will, be truly considered.

Being a small-market organization, opting to withgo tanking, Utah will need to get creative & combine multiple roster building approaches in order to remain in contention.

IMO Utah should employ some form of a soft-rebuild while focusing on internal growth & creating a style of team able to counteract these "super teams", mainly through defense, on-court chemistry, & hustle/toughness. All the while, simultaneously establishing the Jazz as a respected franchise capable of attracting talent (or at least maximizing their ability to do so).


IMO they need to:

-Develop Gobert/Mitchell (Bradley too to a lesser extent)

-Assess the long-term future of Hood, Exum, Favors (while continuing to develop them)

-Decide which veterans between Rubio, Ingles, & Johnson should provide the young roster with leadership during the immediate future.

-Be opportunistic with transactions, as far as shrewd trades, signings, draft picks, etc.

Additional talent will need to be acquired if we are to contend, but as vital as talent may be, (possibly of equal importance) is our style of play. Defense/toughness/comradery can be a legitimate equalizer when competing against superior talent.

I still have my reservations as far as our realistic championship potential is concerned, but if it's going to happen, it'll be due to a combination of internal development, hitting on draft picks/FA's, & a defensive minded/team first mentality. DL appears to be aware of this & is steadily getting this team back on the road of contention.
 
Not sure I care about championship potential in the super team era. We are not the Haves, we are the Have Nots. It is as simple as that until one of Golden State's big four decides to leave. Until then, it is an uneven playing field.

I think building on our defensive identity around Gobert, Rubio, and Mitchell is absolutely the right thing to do. Blowing up the team in hopes of landing the right talent in the draft is the same as holding up a gigantic finger to Gobert's face. I wouldn't do it either. It would most likely be a waste of time.
 
A full rebuild creates 2 pretty daunting realities into play:

#1- Losing games for the sake of losing is the easy part. What happens if the ping pong balls don't fall our way and we end up getting the #3 pick when a draft class has one or 2 "superstars"? Hell, even if we get the #1 pick the Jazz will be drafting off of potential and praying that the guy turns out to be a cornerstone. At best it's a very dicey proposition.

#2- If you pull a hard rebuild, you're most likely gonna lose Rudy if the rebuild doesn't come full circle before his contract expires. That dude is ALL IN and he's not gonna take very kindly to spending his peak years losing on purpose.

Tanking is not even an option IMO.Rudy's a unicorn and the franchise cornerstone. The Jazz gotta suck it up and figure out a way to build around him while still trying to win. Hopefully, Donovan Mitchell is a step in the right direction.
 
jazzman12 said:
A full rebuild creates 2 pretty daunting realities into play:

#1- Losing games for the sake of losing is the easy part. What happens if the ping pong balls don't fall our way and we end up getting the #3 pick when a draft class has one or 2 "superstars"? Hell, even if we get the #1 pick the Jazz will be drafting off of potential and praying that the guy turns out to be a cornerstone. At best it's a very dicey proposition.

#2- If you pull a hard rebuild, you're most likely gonna lose Rudy if the rebuild doesn't come full circle before his contract expires. That dude is ALL IN and he's not gonna take very kindly to spending his peak years losing on purpose.

Tanking is not even an option IMO.Rudy's a unicorn and the franchise cornerstone. The Jazz gotta suck it up and figure out a way to build around him while still trying to win. Hopefully, Donovan Mitchell is a step in the right direction.
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Agree here... if rudy were to sustain an injury we could consider a tank but it would still be hard and obvious tank moves would need to happen.

Develop and see what we have. If one of our young guys pops and Rubio gets new life I think we are fine. Still have to keep finding diamonds in the rough in the first round and FA but that's the NBA... you need luck to be good. I'd rather hope for luck while watching Rudy DM Rubio Hood Ingles et al it's a good group to root for... especially in an era where everyone else is playing for second place.
 
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