If Exum becomes a star the jazz FO is genius.
If he doesn't you might have a valid point.
Even if Exum doesn't, something had to be done. Neither Millsap nor Favors were happy being subs. And Derrick has said several times he's a PF. Millsap had comparable numbers to last season a few times with Utah, but the West is loaded with PF's; there was no way he was going to be named an all-star in the WC.
Letting a stud player who was also the teams heart and soul walk to another team just so you can give undeserved minutes to some untried kids was the worst mistake the Utah Jazz ever made. They showed him no respect .
Look what Millsap has done for Atlanta, they are a legit contender 28-8, 1st in the East and Sap was an All Star last season, and probably this season too..
Meanwhile the Jazz let him walk so they could give time to overrated kids in Kanter and Favors and of course, the amazing Marvin Williams and Richard Jefferson. Brilliant strategy.
No wonder this organization is a basket case with no hope in sight. You reap what you sow.
Had Utah kept Millsap, what next? Big Al was gone, regardless. So likely re-sign Foye and DMC (the pre-Quin Snyder version), and replace Mo with some other mid-level PG. That's the salary situation the Jazz faced.
Sorry, Yell42, but I just don't see that team ever contending. Millsap, as an all-star, "led" the Hawks to a 38-44 record last year. Utah had a comparable record under Corbin with their veteran-heavy team of Millsap, Jefferson, Foye, Mo and Hayward. Don't blame RJ and Marvin on Lindsey, though. Playing those guys - neither of whom had futures in Utah - so many minutes was 100% on Ty. And I'm sure that was one of the reasons he was shown the door.
And we keep coming back to this "we let Millsap go for nothing" argument which is so annoying. No, Dennis Lindsey had the choice between re-signing him or using the cap space for other purposes. By NOT taking on a longer-term deal, he had the cap space available to make a deal, which he did. Ultimately, by taking on Rush, Biedrins and RJ, the Jazz DID get 1st rounders for both Al and Paul. The only difference is that it got done in the summer and not at the trade deadline.
Atlanta went through the SAME process Utah is going through. They missed the playoffs 8 straight years (which is pretty hard to do in the EC). They've now made the playoffs for 7 years, but haven't had much luck, usually losing in the 1st round, including last year WITH Millsap. They brought in a new coach, made some roster changes and are now hitting their stride with players stepping up (Teague) and being healthy (Horford). I'm sure there were a lot of fans, though, who questioned why the Hawks got rid of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby - four of their top five scorers - who had taken them to the EC semis. Atlanta rebuilt, just as Utah is doing.
