Questions to Be Answered This Season

[SoberasHotRod]

Here are a list of questions I have that I hope will be answered this season. I'm hoping that I can remember to come back to this thread at the end of the season to see where we landed:

- Do we have a guy? As in a guy to build around, a guy that you make decisions based off how good they are.
- Is Lauri a borderline all star level player or was 22/23 a fluke? (relatedly does Lauri have mobility issues, he continues to look stiff)
- Is Austin Ainge really not going to tank? Or in other words is he not going to sit healthy players in an effort to lose more games?
- Do we have a point guard of the future on our team? Can Keyonte, Collier, or WCJ be that guy or do we still need to draft/trade for one.
- Can Hendricks be a difference making defensive player? On a team full of defensive liabilities do we have anyone that can really defend? (I'm not expecting much from Hendricks defensively until post all star break, but I need to see something to get excited about defensively by the end of the season).
- What is Kessler worth? Whether we sign him next off season or trade him we are letting the market determine his worth.
- What position can Flip defend? Can Flip be part of a lineup that is acceptable defensively?

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Here are a list of questions I have that I hope will be answered this season. I'm hoping that I can remember to come back to this thread at the end of the season to see where we landed:

- Do we have a guy? As in a guy to build around, a guy that you make decisions based off how good they are.
- Is Lauri a borderline all star level player or was 22/23 a fluke? (relatedly does Lauri have mobility issues, he continues to look stiff)
- Is Austin Ainge really not going to tank? Or in other words is he not going to sit healthy players in an effort to lose more games?
- Do we have a point guard of the future on our team? Can Keyonte, Collier, or WCJ be that guy or do we still need to draft/trade for one.
- Can Hendricks be a difference making defensive player? On a team full of defensive liabilities do we have anyone that can really defend? (I'm not expecting much from Hendricks defensively until post all star break, but I need to see something to get excited about defensively by the end of the season).
- What is Kessler worth? Whether we sign him next off season or trade him we are letting the market determine his worth.
- What position can Flip defend? Can Flip be part of a lineup that is acceptable defensively?

These are really good. In general I think we need to make decisions on at least a couple guys if we are going to continue to invest in PT, roster, etc.

Another big question is just where we land in the lotto? That may determine many answers moving forward.

Another one - Is there any kind of formation of a more defined concrete plan or are we still in opportunistic/stack good decisions mode? Like do they move Walker or Lauri and go full youth?

 

[homeytennis]

Another question is do the Jazz go dumpster diving or waiver claiming in an attempt to find the next JIngles? I realize this would mean cutting a guaranteed contract.

 

[KqWIN]

Are Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier NBA level players?

Can Will Hardy coach defense?

Is Kessler the future of the C position?

Should we extend Sens/Hendricks in the summer? How much?

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Are Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier NBA level players?

Can Will Hardy coach defense?

Is Kessler the future of the C position?

Should we extend Sens/Hendricks in the summer? How much?

Good additions. As far as coach Hardy, I don't know if we'll really get an answer based on our personnel, he doesn't have much to work with defensively. Related to Hardy though I do wonder if anybody is still listening to him by the end of the year if we have back to back 60+ loss seasons.

 

[Shad]

I watched Zach Lowes and Bill Simons podcast yesterday, they had about 10 minutes about the Jazz.

-They don't think the Jazz have anyone to trust at the NBA level for the PG position.
-Huge fans of Ace and Flip
-They think Hardy is way overqualified to coach a tanking Jazz team for 4 seasons.
-They don't understand why Lauri would want to be here.
-They don't care for any of the vets we got.
-They all agreed we'd go under 19.5 games

 

[underdog]

These are really good. In general I think we need to make decisions on at least a couple guys if we are going to continue to invest in PT, roster, etc.

Another big question is just where we land in the lotto? That may determine many answers moving forward.

Another one - Is there any kind of formation of a more defined concrete plan or are we still in opportunistic/stack good decisions mode? Like do they move Walker or Lauri and go full youth?

Here are a list of questions I have that I hope will be answered this season. I'm hoping that I can remember to come back to this thread at the end of the season to see where we landed:

- Do we have a guy? As in a guy to build around, a guy that you make decisions based off how good they are.
- Is Lauri a borderline all star level player or was 22/23 a fluke? (relatedly does Lauri have mobility issues, he continues to look stiff)
- Is Austin Ainge really not going to tank? Or in other words is he not going to sit healthy players in an effort to lose more games?
- Do we have a point guard of the future on our team? Can Keyonte, Collier, or WCJ be that guy or do we still need to draft/trade for one.
- Can Hendricks be a difference making defensive player? On a team full of defensive liabilities do we have anyone that can really defend? (I'm not expecting much from Hendricks defensively until post all star break, but I need to see something to get excited about defensively by the end of the season).
- What is Kessler worth? Whether we sign him next off season or trade him we are letting the market determine his worth.
- What position can Flip defend? Can Flip be part of a lineup that is acceptable defensively?

Good questions. Our hard tanking last season was a success. Ace looks promising, and Clayton could be a keeper as well. But we can’t stop there. Can we keep the tank rolling and put ourselves again in a good position for next year’s loaded draft? That’s easily the most important question for me this season.

 

[KqWIN]

Good additions. As far as coach Hardy, I don't know if we'll really get an answer based on our personnel, he doesn't have much to work with defensively. Related to Hardy though I do wonder if anybody is still listening to him by the end of the year if we have back to back 60+ loss seasons.

Regardless of the situation, I just can't give him the benefit of the doubt f we have back to back to back 30th place defenses. Maybe it's true he just does not care and could coach defense if he wanted to, but I will have lost faith in him if we're dead last again. I don't have a specific ranking in my mind that would satisfy my question, but it can't be last and I think we'll know if our defense is completely hopeless at the end of the season.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Are Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier NBA level players?

Can Will Hardy coach defense?

Is Kessler the future of the C position?

Should we extend Sens/Hendricks in the summer? How much?

The defense question has been rattling around. Its not like he can just flip a switch and train these guys to defend when he decides to care about it. Like how bad are the schemes if we are this tragic. Our personnel suck for sure... but there are a couple guys that can help. The habits need to start showing up.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Here are a list of questions I have that I hope will be answered this season. I'm hoping that I can remember to come back to this thread at the end of the season to see where we landed:

- Do we have a guy? As in a guy to build around, a guy that you make decisions based off how good they are. Ace is probably our #1b or #2. Lauri becomes our #3. This next draft is our swing for the #1 guy you give the ball to. Ace is good, but he needs to play next to an elite on-ball player, like KD did. Ace isn't a creator and decision-maker with the ball.
- Is Lauri a borderline all star level player or was 22/23 a fluke? (relatedly does Lauri have mobility issues, he continues to look stiff) Lauri is a fringe All Star-level player whether he gets voted in as such or not. Sabonis is a bit better. Avdija might have caught him. The appeal of Lauri is that he's an ideal complementary player, which makes him very valuable.
- Is Austin Ainge really not going to tank? Or in other words is he not going to sit healthy players in an effort to lose more games? Looking at the roster, we're going to tank. We're actually playing Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson.
- Do we have a point guard of the future on our team? Can Keyonte, Collier, or WCJ be that guy or do we still need to draft/trade for one. If the Jazz have an elite wing to run the offense through, they can play Keyonte or Clayton Jr. off the ball at the 1. Walt is probably the backup PG who actually plays as an on-ball initiator. Collier can't be more than a change-of-pace guy unless he shoots.
- Can Hendricks be a difference making defensive player? On a team full of defensive liabilities do we have anyone that can really defend? (I'm not expecting much from Hendricks defensively until post all star break, but I need to see something to get excited about defensively by the end of the season). He used to be a plus-rebounder. Would be nice to see that again. If he's healthy, he guards 3-5 and switches from the perimeter to the post.
- What is Kessler worth? Whether we sign him next off season or trade him we are letting the market determine his worth. He's worth $25M/year due to his rim presence on both ends if the team in question values that role. It's not 100% clear that the Jazz actually do value that role.
- What position can Flip defend? Can Flip be part of a lineup that is acceptable defensively? If the Jazz have size all over the floor, they can compensate for Flip getting blown by. He can press up on 3s, 4s and 5s and let someone else rotate behind him. He's functionally similar to Naz Reid, but with better driving and passing.

Predictive answers in bold. Most of these you can probably already answer.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Will Cody shoot over 30% on 3PAs this year. His ability to make enough shots is the key to him being playable. He's probably capable of becoming a rotational glue guy on both ends if he'll play hard, but he's got to make enough shots.

Can Keyonte get to the rim and finish? Seems like he's physically more ready to, but it hasn't happened much in pre-season.

Can Collier shoot well enough for defenders to respect him?

 

[fishonjazz]

The defense question has been rattling around. Its not like he can just flip a switch and train these guys to defend when he decides to care about it. Like how bad are the schemes if we are this tragic. Our personnel suck for sure... but there are a couple guys that can help. The habits need to start showing up.

For one thing, he has seemed to limit his best defenders minutes for much of his career which would indicate that defense isn't a priority for him.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Regardless of the situation, I just can't give him the benefit of the doubt f we have back to back to back 30th place defenses. Maybe it's true he just does not care and could coach defense if he wanted to, but I will have lost faith in him if we're dead last again. I don't have a specific ranking in my mind that would satisfy my question, but it can't be last and I think we'll know if our defense is completely hopeless at the end of the season.

Yeah, I don't think we'll know if he's a good defensive coach, but we should know if he's just a bad one.