Litany
Well-Known Member
Over on the Realgm board, in the Jazz forum, there is some discussion going on about rebuilding and comparison to how the Spurs handle things as well as how OKC did things.
One poster, Stocktonshorts had a great summary of the situation and I agree with him 100% here it is:
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1230709&p=34585514#p34585514
I agree with him 100%. I think the Jazz have screwed this situation up. They had a great opportunity to set ourselves up for the future, instead, they opted for a first round exit last year, another one this year (likely) and stifled growth for our youngsters.
Not to mention the fact that the decision to try and "win now at all costs" meant zero draft picks last year.
The Jazz would have been able to get Lillard last year because either a. they would have been worse than the Warriors, getting the pick, or b. they would not have beaten the Warriors in all those games last year meaning we get that pick and would be able to maneuver to get Lillard.
Bottom line, the Jazz have screwed themselves after the Deron trade when they should have traded guys in the way.
I know that this has been discussed, but I thought it was interesting to see the details of how the Thunder handled this.
One poster, Stocktonshorts had a great summary of the situation and I agree with him 100% here it is:
Trade your vets, play your young guys, get several high draft picks, draft really well...
Let's look at what SEA/OKC did in detail:
2006-07:
This team, led by Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, went 31-51. Allen and Lewis both missed over 20 games. They landed the second pick in the 2007 draft despite having just a 10% chance of getting it. They used that pick, of course, on Kevin Durant. In the second round of that draft they picked Carl Landry and Glen Davis. They traded Landry to the Rockets for cash then traded Glen Davis and Ray Allen to the Celtics for Jeff Green and fillers.
They then traded Lewis to the Magic for a 2nd round pick and a TPE.
10 days later they traded that 2nd round pick to the Suns for Kurt Thomas, a 2008 1st round pick and a 2010 1st round pick. Phoenix basically gave them two first round picks for absorbing Kurt Thomas's contract.
2007-08:
They turned the team over to Durant and Green. Durant played more minutes on that squad than anyone except Earl Watson. Green was third in minutes played. The team went 20-62 and ended up with the 4th pick in the draft as well as the 24th from the Phoenix trade. They used the 4th pick on Russell Westbrook and the 24th pick (acquired from Phoenix) on Serge Ibaka.
2008-09:
Once again they let Kevin Durant lead the team in minutes. The top three players in minutes played were Durant (PER 20.8), Green (13.9) and rookie Russell Westbrook (15.2). The team finished 23-59 and received the 3rd pick in the draft, which they used to select James Harden.
Would the Jazz FO have traded Allen and Lewis and handed the team over to the young guys the way SEA/OKC did? I think we know the answer to that one. The day the Jazz traded Deron Williams they should've followed it up by cleaning house the rest of the way, letting the young guys play and acquiring a few more lottery picks along the way.
Instead they've done this half-assed rebuild that's not helping anyone. It would be like if OKC had kept Allen and Rashard Lewis after drafting Durant and tried to make the playoffs with that core. Would Durant be the same player he is today if he was playing third fiddle to those guys? Would OKC have ended up with Westbrook or Harden? Seems unlikely.
The Jazz had a real opportunity to set this franchise up very nicely in the long term but they've sacrificed that chance for short-term revenue. I guess whatever keeps the Landcruisers rolling.
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1230709&p=34585514#p34585514
I agree with him 100%. I think the Jazz have screwed this situation up. They had a great opportunity to set ourselves up for the future, instead, they opted for a first round exit last year, another one this year (likely) and stifled growth for our youngsters.
Not to mention the fact that the decision to try and "win now at all costs" meant zero draft picks last year.
The Jazz would have been able to get Lillard last year because either a. they would have been worse than the Warriors, getting the pick, or b. they would not have beaten the Warriors in all those games last year meaning we get that pick and would be able to maneuver to get Lillard.
Bottom line, the Jazz have screwed themselves after the Deron trade when they should have traded guys in the way.
I know that this has been discussed, but I thought it was interesting to see the details of how the Thunder handled this.