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Rethinking Jefferson

J

jimmy eat jazz

Well-Known Member
Earlier in the season, I was firmly on the 'trade Jefferson's ***' bandwagon. My main reasons were that when he was in the game, the offense appeared to stagnate. Then there was his putrid defense. Plus, he wasn't the future of the Jazz, Favors was, and as long as Jefferson was on the team, Favor's playing time, and thus his development, would be stunted. I also feared that if Favors didn't get playing time, he would likely bolt when his rookie contract came up.

BUT, I am rethinking this position. I've become enamored for the time being with the Jefferson, Milsap, Favors front line. This solves at least two of the three issues raised above--Favors gets the PT and his defense compensates for Jefferson's lack thereof. I think I'd like to see where this line up can take us if utilized over a longer stretch of time, before we make any decision about Jefferson.

Jefferson does have some definite strengths, he's is a dynamite low post scorer (one of the best in the league), decent rebounder, and, if he can continue to learn to pass, could actually help open things up for an outside attack. Plus, I think he's shown himself to be a warrior, willing to put in the work, to improve, and to give it his best on the court.

I'm swinging back now to the 'let's keep Jefferson and see what we can do' camp. I'm not there firmly yet, but my curiosity is piqued, and I'm willing to change my mind on Jefferson--I'd like nothing more than to change my mind. I guess the first test is the playoff series against Spurs. Let's see if Corbin continues to use this lineup and how well it does. Maybe after a few more games we'll have a better idea. I'm reasonably confident, though not convinced, that Corbin and Jazz brass have seen enough to realize the potential of this lineup that they'll give it some good burn in the Spurs series. They darned well better.
 
Jefferson has been pretty much Jefferson (better passing now though) all year. It's been the supporting cast that has improved. Hayward, Harris, Favors, Carrol, Burks etc that have helped more than anything else.
 
I just want to enjoy the playoffs. That win was just a fantastic feeling.

I like Al and have probably defended him more than anyone here but never really thought he was going to be on the team in 2 years. However if the Big Big 3 of Jeff/Favors/Sap are effective against the Spurs there will be a lot of incentive to keep them together.

The success of Al's newfound passing skills and Sap at the 3 really opens up the possibility of a future for Jefferson. At least through next year.
 
A lot of Big Al's passing 'issues' are related to teammates standing still once Al gets the ball. It's real easy for a defender to defend a statue; guys gotta MOVE to get open and give Al a target! Coach Ty has noted that too... It's all part of learning to play as a team, and they definitely have improved with that this year, but should get even better if they stick together a few more years!
 
I've made my thoughts on Jefferson's ceilling clear so I won't restate them - but if there's one thing successful teams as well as the Utah Jazz front office has done in the past - it's not make rash decisions based off a few games. Like most here though, I genuinely like Big Al as a person and was extremely happy for him last night - where it all crystalized for him in the 4th-qtr.

I think everyone should wait and see how Al does in the playoffs, gauge how far away we are from getting to where we want to be, and then evaluate his whole body of work. Sometimes when you get caught up in what just happened (good or bad) it can skew your overall perception.
 
vslice02 said:
I've made my thoughts on Jefferson's ceilling clear so I won't restate them - but if there's one thing successful teams as well as the Utah Jazz front office has done in the past - is not to make rash decisions based off of a couple of games. Like most here though, I genuinely like Big Al as a person and was extremely happy for him last night - where it all crystalized for him in the 4th-qtr.

I think everyone should wait and see how Al does in the playoffs, gauge how far away we are from getting to where we want to be, and then evaluate his whole body of work. Sometimes when you get caught up in what just happened (good or bad) it can skew your overall perception.
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I think it depends more on how Sap does @ the 3. If he can prove to be a long term answer to our SF spot, that woud allow Favors to average 30 mpg next year. That is the biggest key, getting Favors starting minutes next year.
 
NotDeadYet said:
A lot of Big Al's passing 'issues' are related to teammates standing still once Al gets the ball. It's real easy for a defender to defend a statue; guys gotta MOVE to get open and give Al a target! Coach Ty has noted that too... It's all part of learning to play as a team, and they definitely have improved with that this year, but should get even better if they stick together a few more years!
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That's kind of true. But he himself has really reworked his offensive game. Remember when he couldn't score more than 6 feet from the basket? Remember all those possessions ending in ugly confused double teamed shots? This stuff just doesn't happen much anymore. Al's mid range and passing game are very much improved. I don't know if the clutch thing is new this year but that is a highly valued trait as well. Anyways my point is Jefferson is not done improving, and is not the finished product many thought he was last year.

Unfortunately Al still has a long way to go to be a complete player but if he can even become average at the things he is bad at this is a really good player.

Edit to add: The more Al improves in Utah under a rook coach the more inept Kevin McHale has to look. Why couldn't he teach Jefferson anything?
 
Here's the thing on Jefferson - while there is no denying he is an offensive force, he will never be the "go-to guy" on a top shelf team - for reasons that have been expressed on this board ad nauseum.

To rethink Al Jefferson would mean to rethink his role on the team. I'm not sure if that can happen in Utah.
 
candrew said:
Here's the thing on Jefferson - while there is no denying he is an offensive force, he will never be the "go-to guy" on a top shelf team - for reasons that have been expressed on this board ad nauseum.

To rethink Al Jefferson would mean to rethink his role on the team. I'm not sure if that can happen in Utah.
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Does Jefferson have to be the primary option? He would be a very good second option on a team. Also he has proven to be pretty clutch with his crunch time scoring.
 
I agree with th OP. It's hard to make a decision on Bi Gal. I too want to see how this can play out with Sap at the 3. I'm all for it, but if we don't go with our big line up someone has to be moved.
 
Qman said:
Does Jefferson have to be the primary option? He would be a very good second option on a team. Also he has proven to be pretty clutch with his crunch time scoring.
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That's what I'm referring to when I say rethink his role on the team. But I think that would involve a pay cut, playing second fiddle to either Favors, Kanter or Millsap and maybe even coming off the bench at some point.
 
The thing with Jefferson is that he says all the right things, and you can tell he genuinely likes to be here. I have a hard time seeing the Jazz move him. Maybe we will have one of those rare occurrences where a player takes a pay cut to win. Maybe we can get him and Millsap resigned for ten million a year when their contracts expire.
 
Candrew and I are in total agreement on this issue.
I can imagine loving Jefferson as a $9million/year sixth man, or at least as second fiddle to Millsap on offense. We've seen bursts of Millsap being the linchpin, so I think it is possible. It just comes down to Al's willingness to take a pay cut when signing an extension. If that is totally off the table, then he definitely needs to be traded for assets.
 
candrew said:
Here's the thing on Jefferson - while there is no denying he is an offensive force, he will never be the "go-to guy" on a top shelf team - for reasons that have been expressed on this board ad nauseum.

To rethink Al Jefferson would mean to rethink his role on the team. I'm not sure if that can happen in Utah.
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Dominance of the low post game died when the rules changed. It really is that plain and simple. Unless you are as nasty as Shaq, you must play a mid-range game to excel now (i.e. Duncan, Pau, Ostritch), perfect the PnR and slashing (Boozer, A'mare, Pimslap getting there), and/or have baseline range.


The biggest issue I have with AJ-Favors-Millsap is who plays sixth man and who sits crunch? There are 96 minutes available, or 32 each, so all three can fit in.
 
NAOS said:
Candrew and I are in total agreement on this issue.
I can imagine loving Jefferson as a $9million/year sixth man, or at least as second fiddle to Millsap on offense. We've seen bursts of Millsap being the linchpin, so I think it is possible. It just comes down to Al's willingness to take a pay cut when signing an extension. If that is totally off the table, then he definitely needs to be traded for assets.
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And that's the million dollar question. Trade him now and get something for him. Or wait til his contract expires and hope you can get him on the cheap.

On a side note. The more I think about the new CBA, the more I think its going to hurt teams like the Jazz the most because no way the Jazz pay the tax(or at least not a lot) but other teams might(NY,Dallas)

This is going to be tricky for KOC to figure out what to do here. He has to keep in mind future extensions for the young four.
 
The Jazz camp pumps Jefferson's influence on the young bigs. I tend to buy into that and I think the dynamic contributes greatly to the team's chemistry. He's a huge part of making this postseason.
 
I've been complaining about Jefferson all season long, but he sure proved me wrong last night. I mean, he made 3 clutch shots! Yep, 3 of them. Not 1 or 2, but 3! It is true that he often take it upon himself to take all the shots late in the game, and that those shots were no different than his old black hole self. It is also true that the shots could've just as easily missed, and the forums would've erupted in delicious anger, but they went in! Jefferson! Jefferson! Jefferson!

Either way, I'm excited to watch the playoffs. I don't have very high hopes, but it is what it is. Might as well enjoy it.
 
BluesRocker said:
On a side note. The more I think about the new CBA, the more I think its going to hurt teams like the Jazz the most because no way the Jazz pay the tax(or at least not a lot) but other teams might(NY,Dallas).
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The Jazz are getting up to an extra $10 million in revenue sharing under the new CBA. They have to go deeper into the luxury tax before it hurts them the same. They can afford a $75,000,000 payroll now if it has the potential to get them to Conference Finals.
 
It's hard to fairly evaluate Al Jefferson by virtue of the huge amount of money he makes on his current contract. His detractors will point out his deficiencies (poor defense and not passing out of double teams) as if that's his whole game. I find it nearly impossible for someone to argue that he hasn't been both our biggest scoring threat, our most durable player, and most consistent player night in and night out.

That doesn't mean that it won't be in our best interest to trade him. I mean, he makes a ton of money and isn't likely to want to sign for much less than that. But I don't think it's a given that he goes. I don't think you can trivialize his current role on the team. Until the likes of Favors, Hayward, Kanter, or Burks rises and takes that mantle from Al, he is the best and most consistent player on our team ... even with his faults.

Personally, I really like the guy and hope that they find a way to keep him around. But it's a business and he has a huge expiring contract for next year, so anything could happen.
 
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