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Jazz had the best offseason in the NW division?

BabyPeterzz

BabyPeterzz

Well-Known Member
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This guy thinks so.

https://www.theprogram101.com/2010/09/how-they-did-nuggets-jazz-blazers-thunder-wolves/

Utah Jazz

Key Players Gained: Al Jefferson, Gordon Haywood, Raja Bell

Key Players Gone: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Kosta Koufos, Wesley Matthews

What They Needed: “It’s time to get someone legit to team up with Deron outside the paint. Adding an all-star level SG or SF, and with an already solid bench and top notch coach, the Jazz could become a legit force in the league next year. But they do need to make some sort of change, because a Deron/Matthews/Kirilenko/Millsap/Okur lineup is not a second round line-up in my opinion.”

I got to give a nice pat on the back to the Utah franchise. They faced an ugly situation last season with Boozer deciding to stick around for one more season, and Utah did the right thing, which was to NOT overreact. It cost them some cash at the end of the day, but right now they are an even better team for it. Let’s be honest here…Boozer is a bit overrated. He will fit in nicely with the Bulls because Noah is a perfect compliment to Boozers strengths and weaknesses, but on Utah Carlos never had that strong partnership with Okur. So the fact that Boozer is gone and replaced with the similar Millsap is A-Okay in my book.

Another pat on the back for adding Al Jefferson to the team! Again, Al does not have the talent to be a main guy on any franchise, but as a second (or third) opinion on the Jazz…very nice! I love this trade for the Jazz! Millsap and Jefferson together is a very good frontcourt, with the scoring punch of Okur coming off the bench. Combined with the talents of Mr. Deron Williams, and this is certainly a team fighting for home court in the playoffs.

But is this a championship caliber team? I still have to say no. Raja Bell is a nice addition to the squad, but his days as being a starting SG are over. This team still needs that outside scoring punch besides Deron, and without it, I can’t see this team making it past the Lakers into the finals. So overall I feel the Jazz had a very good summer, but not a perfect summer.
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This was a difficult decision. I understand why the Thunder didn’t do much, or the Blazers. So if the right decision was not to do anything substantial, doesn’t that mean that they had a good summer, and should be considered for this spot? It’s difficult though to give a title of “best summer” to a team that saw Mo Petterson become the major addition for the summer. Basically, I needed to make this decision based on “which team made the best deal”, and in my opinion the addition of Al Jefferson to the Jazz was the best move made by any of these five teams.
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Ehhhhh... Cole Aldrich didn't get added to the Thunder? I don't know about this guy.

But, I will say the Jazz MAY have had the best offseason, but I'll make that assessment with real evidence. On paper at this stage, I'm even less sure they had the best offseason, but I will say that I am excited for the first time in a long time by the offseason. Change had to come, and even though it took a damn gun in the back to make it happen, it finally happened. This could implode (on-court), but it could also be exactly what the Jazz needed. Or something close.
 
"Al does not have the talent to be a main guy on any franchise, but as a second (or third) opinion on the Jazz…very nice! "

While I like his props for the Jazz's offseason moves, I think that his post needs a second (or third) opinion . . . .

(Probably meant 2nd or 3rd option, the latter of which especially also might be an understatement of Jefferson's abilities.)
 
tommyboy said:
who else would I be talking to with Cole Aldrich?
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"To with"? I guess I can't expect someone to read at an average level if they write like a 1st grader. I'll spell it out anyway, I know Cole Aldrich was added to the Thunder (why would I bring it up if he hadn't)? I was hypothetically asking the author "why didn't you mention Cole Aldrich as an addition (while mentioning Gordon Hayward)?"
 
I like our offseason, but I think it's also slightly overrated.

We replaced two talented players with two talented players.
I don't see an improvement in talent, but I do see one with chemistry.
I also see a slight defensive upgrade, but nothing too great.

Hayward is nice, but I really think in the long run one of the young C's is going to cause lots of threads about how KOC blew it.

If we are only talking about the talent we brought in it's easy to see why people would rate us #1 in the division.
We also lost our sharpshooter, young stud, and the enigma that is Carlos Boozer.
 
Really? Instead of addressing the fact that Cole Aldrich does indeed play for the Thunder, even after your claimed he does not, you decide to be a grammar cop instead? Lame bro.
 
I think our biggest loss will be the bench. Depending on Sloan's starting line up and rotation obviously. If Sap starts along side Big Al we're losing Sap off the bench. I know when Okur comes back he'll bring some fire power, but not the energy and hussle Paul brings to the second unit.
 
BabyPeterzz said:
I think our biggest loss will be the bench. Depending on Sloan's starting line up and rotation obviously. If Sap starts along side Big Al we're losing Sap off the bench. I know when Okur comes back he'll bring some fire power, but not the energy and hussle Paul brings to the second unit.
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As I recall, a healthy Okur does pretty well against backup teams b/c although he's slow, he's halfway smart and experienced.

IMHO, Okur off the bench is where he should've been all the time.
 
"But something inside of me is still thinking about how much better this team would have been if they had been able to get a talented big man on the team. Maybe Aldrich will end up being that guy, but it’s foolish to expect that in his rookie year."

Did you even read the article? Because he mentioned Aldrich. Can you spell it out even further for us?
 
The Jazz had a log jam at the wing this time last year with Brewer, Korver, Matthews and Miles. Clearly, the Jazz think that Miles is the guy out of that group. I probably would have drafted Paul George with that long-awaited lotto pick, but the Jazz probably think they have that type of player already in CJ Miles. That said, CJ had better grow into that steady outside scoring threat that the Jazz need and Hayward needs to have at least a Kirk Hinrich impact in the league.
 
tommyboy said:
"But something inside of me is still thinking about how much better this team would have been if they had been able to get a talented big man on the team. Maybe Aldrich will end up being that guy, but it’s foolish to expect that in his rookie year."

Did you even read the article? Because he mentioned Aldrich. Can you spell it out even further for us?
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Please note: Cole Aldrich is a slightly shorter, slightly less athletic Emeka Okafor, not a real difference maker.
 
Jazz by far had the best off-season.

Jazz got longer, tougher and more versatile and they got a real low post scorer. Okur's injury will be a blessing in disguise once we realize how well Millsap and Jefferson will work together. Don't expect huge numbers from either player though. No way Jefferson scores 25 a night or even close. Millsap and Jefferson will be sharing the scoring load. Jefferson won't be an all-star for this reason.

Thunder are overrated. Aldrich is way overrated. They collapsed at the end of the season and dropped to the 8th spot like any young team would. They got lucky against the lakers and somehow they are going to become the 2nd best team in the West? Come on that is a joke. They caught everyone off guard last year and the scouting report will be out on them (It wasn't before). They won't get worse but they aren't going to be much better. Look at there record against teams above 500. Its not good. Watch them struggle more this season. They will be at the bottom half of the playoff seeding this year too. They still don't have a single player that can score down low.

Nuggets are falling apart. Didn't upgrade really besides role players off the bench.

Wolves are maybe a 20 win team.

Portland didn't upgrade at all. Matthews won't play enough. And Brandon Roy and Andre Miller do not complement each other at all. Both play a very very similar game. And Nate McMillan knew this and even admitted it in the beginning of the year. When Roy was healthy at the beginning of the year Miller came off the bench. Once Roy got hurt Miller started playing more and starting. They really haven't played that much. And Roy likes to have the ball in his hands and so does Miller. But neither are threats from beyond the 3 point line so the floor spacing will be bad. Portland will not upgrade even if healthy. Unless Oden somehow becomes really good. Which I highly doubt.
 
tommyboy said:
"But something inside of me is still thinking about how much better this team would have been if they had been able to get a talented big man on the team. Maybe Aldrich will end up being that guy, but it’s foolish to expect that in his rookie year."

Did you even read the article? Because he mentioned Aldrich. Can you spell it out even further for us?
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Apparently you missed the QUESTION MARK at the end of the sentence.

"They didn't get Cole Aldrich.", is a statement.

"They didn't get Cole Aldrich?", is a question. As is "Getting Cole Aldrich didn't mean anything?"

Always double and triple check before you call someone to the carpet.
 
Getting Cole Aldrich didn't mean anything. He's going to have a Rafa-like career. The dude CAN'T shoot in the NBA. Did you watch his workouts; the way he brings the ball back over his head? He's going to get the ball swatted away by opposing GUARDS! Wasted pick.
 
Twin Towers said:
Jazz by far had the best off-season.

Jazz got longer, tougher and more versatile and they got a real low post scorer. Okur's injury will be a blessing in disguise once we realize how well Millsap and Jefferson will work together. Don't expect huge numbers from either player though. No way Jefferson scores 25 a night or even close. Millsap and Jefferson will be sharing the scoring load. Jefferson won't be an all-star for this reason.

Thunder are overrated. Aldrich is way overrated. They collapsed at the end of the season and dropped to the 8th spot like any young team would. They got lucky against the lakers and somehow they are going to become the 2nd best team in the West? Come on that is a joke. They caught everyone off guard last year and the scouting report will be out on them (It wasn't before). They won't get worse but they aren't going to be much better. Look at there record against teams above 500. Its not good. Watch them struggle more this season. They will be at the bottom half of the playoff seeding this year too. They still don't have a single player that can score down low.

Nuggets are falling apart. Didn't upgrade really besides role players off the bench.

Wolves are maybe a 20 win team.

Portland didn't upgrade at all. Matthews won't play enough. And Brandon Roy and Andre Miller do not complement each other at all. Both play a very very similar game. And Nate McMillan knew this and even admitted it in the beginning of the year. When Roy was healthy at the beginning of the year Miller came off the bench. Once Roy got hurt Miller started playing more and starting. They really haven't played that much. And Roy likes to have the ball in his hands and so does Miller. But neither are threats from beyond the 3 point line so the floor spacing will be bad. Portland will not upgrade even if healthy. Unless Oden somehow becomes really good. Which I highly doubt.
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I doubt Jefferson doesn't become an All star. I believe he'll average about 22 PPG 10 RPG 2 APG 2 BPG on 56% shooting. Millsap will get plenty of shots. That won't be an issue
 
Since we are the ONLY NW div team to change much at all beyond the draft, we are kinda "the best" by default. Yes, we lost some talent, but we gained more than we lost. Getting Jefferson is huge, as he is a legit C or PF. Boozer was really a finesse PF. Big Al is very physical, so is a better fit. Raja isn't a great long-term pickup, but is very talented, smart, experienced and hard-working. The perfect guy to mentor Hayward.
 
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