Roster Balancing Guys

[infection]

I guess people are either bored or never satisfied. I think the Jazz have made plenty of moves and there are already going to be issues with guys getting minutes. No on Smart. His shooting is average and he has anger issues. I don't think he wants to come off the bench either.

The two things we are missing are perimeter defense and a guy who has an anger problem. Maybe Whiteside can be that guy but probably more likely to be goofy and/or pouty than angry. Other than that we are pretty well balanced. Except a flexible coach.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

With Portland’s defensive issues, do you think they see many opportunities for moving Covington that returns them e laugh of what they need?

No... would need to be a three team deal and they would need to be breaking it up. I think Dame gets traded before the AS break... my guess is RoCo is sold off for a pick somewhere when it happens.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

JC for Melton is the deal I definitely do. If Memphis doesn't believe in his shooting they might consider it but they shouldn't imo. I think he could have a massive breakout if he can get a full healthy season. Just turned 23.

 

[NAOS]

I would too... Kyle is like the opposite of Bogey. He's a do **** guy... could score like 7-8 points and impact a game... Bogey could score 30 and not register another stat. It might be too big of a change since Kyle's on a 1 year deal. The adjustment might be tough.

I’d bet $1000 that Kyle is the kind of guy that would take a full year to adjust to a new landscape.

And I don’t believe in a few of his positive stats from last year (as far as their enduring on Mem or any other team).

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I’d bet $1000 that Kyle is the kind of guy that would take a full year to adjust to a new landscape.

And I don’t believe in a few of his positive stats from last year (as far as their enduring on Mem or any other team).

Might be right there. I think he was in a good role there and with a smart coach. He also had a higher 3 point attempt rate... so the shot may have improved and he may have received better coaching. The more I look at it the more nervous I'd be... its just hard to find the guy that fills the needs we have. I'm fine with a guy disappearing here and there unless they are one of your top 3-4 guys.

I'd bet we don't make a roster balancing move this year and I think it likely has a lot to do with not finding something that works.

 

[NAOS]

Might be right there. I think he was in a good role there and with a smart coach. He also had a higher 3 point attempt rate... so the shot may have improved and he may have received better coaching. The more I look at it the more nervous I'd be... its just hard to find the guy that fills the needs we have. I'm fine with a guy disappearing here and there unless they are one of your top 3-4 guys.

I'd bet we don't make a roster balancing move this year and I think it likely has a lot to do with not finding something that works.

I’d do RoCo for Bogie in a heartbeat (they’d want more—because RoCo is overrated—but how much more?)

I’d do JC for Smart in a heartbeat.

I agree with you that it’s good to wait for now. I’d take Kyle off the list though, unless he just fell into my lap.

 

[Ineptimusprime]

I would honestly wait until the deadline. We have tradeable pieces and time to let the roster changes marinate and see what’s there.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I would honestly wait until the deadline. We have tradeable pieces and time to let the roster changes marinate and see what’s there.

This is the plan imo. See what shakes loose, see if Butler/forrest are ready, see what injuries happen, see if a team falls out of contention and sells off parts.

 

[idiot]

I'm in line with those who are nervous trading Bogey. I think we need a serious offensive threat at forward, especially given that I think Royce needs to still be starting (and we have Rudy who's not creating for himself).

The place where I think we may have created a redundancy is with Clarkson's bench scoring. Depending on what Butler, Gay, Whiteside, etc. give us off the bench, we may reach a point of diminishing returns with Clarkson. But this is all a wait-and-see situation, as others have noted.

 

[NUMBERICA]

I'm in line with those who are nervous trading Bogey. I think we need a serious offensive threat at forward, especially given that I think Royce needs to still be starting (and we have Rudy who's not creating for himself).

The place where I think we may have created a redundancy is with Clarkson's bench scoring. Depending on what Butler, Gay, Whiteside, etc. give us off the bench, we may reach a point of diminishing returns with Clarkson. But this is all a wait-and-see situation, as others have noted.

I think Gay helps as an insurance policy on your point (a LOT, imo), but I think your overall point(s) is correct: the potency of shooting at the 4-ish spot is really important.

 

[KqWIN]

I do agree that 3 point shooting is important at the 4. It's probably the most important skill for that position, which is why it would be killer to have someone who can make 40% of them on a $3-4M contract. I'm kidding, not really.

Kyle Anderson has always been an analytics darling (defensively at least) and that's a reason why I've always liked him. The defense is legit. I don't think he's someone that would take a long time to adjust to Utah because this situation is perfect for him. He is a very low volume offensive player, but that's great because we already have so many guys need/want shots. He's a very smart player who can handle and makes good decisions. He's obviously not a dangerous threat when left open for 3, but he's great at putting the ball on the floor and making a play when that happens.

Bogey's scoring punch is valuable, but we have 2-3 offense first alternatives to him. I think we're already benching a better player than him (Ingles) during crunch time. There's so many guys on this roster whose main value is scoring. What we don't have is players who can impact the game without scoring. Kyle Anderson is that dude.

 

[fishonjazz]

I'm in line with those who are nervous trading Bogey. I think we need a serious offensive threat at forward, especially given that I think Royce needs to still be starting (and we have Rudy who's not creating for himself).

The place where I think we may have created a redundancy is with Clarkson's bench scoring. Depending on what Butler, Gay, Whiteside, etc. give us off the bench, we may reach a point of diminishing returns with Clarkson. But this is all a wait-and-see situation, as others have noted.

Agreed.
I want to keep bogey. At least for this year. I would trade Clarkson though.

 

[Ron Mexico]

I would love to move Clarkson for a more defensive 3/4. I actually think bogey would be a much better 6th man or Ingles. I don't think we need a chucker anymore in that role that doesn't pass. But that's assuming our new guys play decent and fit in.

 

[NAOS]

This is the plan imo. See what shakes loose, see if Butler/forrest are ready, see what injuries happen, see if a team falls out of contention and sells off parts.

In addition, this roster has proven its value vis-a-vis the regular season grind. It’s not a bad idea to let them play out the majority of the regular season before swapping a part or two for the post-season grind. Obviously you’ll learn more about what you need and have a different set of available players at that juncture, but my point here is to let em play lots of the regular season, regardless.

 

[KqWIN]

We had a 120+ offensive rating in our two most recent playoff losses. We were playing without Bogey the first time and without Conley the second series against LAC. The offense has been fine, better even, when someone has been out over the last two seasons. This team has proven they can score even when down firepower, now we have even more. What this team hasn't proven is the ability to defend in the playoffs.

Trading Bogey/Clarkson is tough. Both are quality players who help us win and are loved by their teammates/fans. But if we're not willing to trade some offense for defense we're turning a blind eye to a major, easily identifiable problem. If the FO doesn't see it as a problem and address it with further moves I think that's a serious failure in evaluation. My concern is that the defense will be elite in the RS and we won't be motivate to make a trade that will meaningfully change the outlook of our playoff defense.

 

[infection]

We had a 120+ offensive rating in our two most recent playoff losses. We were playing without Bogey the first time and without Conley the second series against LAC. The offense has been fine, better even, when someone has been out over the last two seasons. This team has proven they can score even when down firepower, now we have even more. What this team hasn't proven is the ability to defend in the playoffs.

Trading Bogey/Clarkson is tough. Both are quality players who help us win and are loved by their teammates/fans. But if we're not willing to trade some offense for defense we're turning a blind eye to a major, easily identifiable problem. If the FO doesn't see it as a problem and address it with further moves I think that's a serious failure in evaluation. My concern is that the defense will be elite in the RS and we won't be motivate to make a trade that will meaningfully change the outlook of our playoff defense.

I don’t disagree with most of this but my bigger question is who would realistically be available that would give us enough back of what we need that overcomes what’s going out. (I get that we can get by with someone on defense who isn’t as good at D as our guys are at O, but I’m skeptical that that guy that can provide that for us would be attainable).

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I don’t disagree with most of this but my bigger question is who would realistically be available that would give us enough back of what we need that overcomes what’s going out. (I get that we can get by with someone on defense who isn’t as good at D as our guys are at O, but I’m skeptical that that guy that can provide that for us would be attainable).

The next move is the one that likely requires some patience… or it just doesn’t happen.

 

[KqWIN]

The next move is the one that likely requires some patience… or it just doesn’t happen.

Hopefully something opens up at trade deadline and if it does we better make that trade...At this point I simply don't believe in Conley-Mitchell-Bogdanovic as a winning trio. I don't think you can overcome 3 guys who are easy switch targets who also provide little to nothing in off ball defense.

I think a trade is necessary even if the incoming player is worse in a vacuum. Defense and useful low usage players would go a long way with this roster.

 

[gomretat]

I would love to move Clarkson for a more defensive 3/4. I actually think bogey would be a much better 6th man or Ingles. I don't think we need a chucker anymore in that role that doesn't pass. But that's assuming our new guys play decent and fit in.

I dont see the scoring off the bench if we move JC. Butler is a complete unknown and may not see the floor. HW is a defensive first guy. I only move Clarkson if I think the offense that Gay brings gives us the same boost JC did and I dont see that happening.

 

[Ron Mexico]

I dont see the scoring off the bench if we move JC. Butler is a complete unknown and may not see the floor. HW is a defensive first guy. I only move Clarkson if I think the offense that Gay brings gives us the same boost JC did and I dont see that happening.

Bogey would be that scoring person in my scenario.