2014-2015 regular season!

[QUOTE]Ideally trades used to happen in the NBA to make two or more teams "better". A team would have a need, and go for it. Today the needs mostly seem to be either to bolster a bench or to shed salary. If you are making a move at the deadline it used to mean you were trying to win a title. Today it means you may be trying to move out of the first round, or avoid paying so much in the luxury tax. [/QUOTE]

Not sure much has changed really. I see the top teams trying to get pieces to put them over the top.

[QUOTE]And really, blockbuster trades seem to be a thing of the past, at least during the season. In the off-season big name players seem to get traded in sign-and-trades, not for one another.

The Utah Jazz currently sit at 17-30, and are in a proverbial "dog fight" against the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers for those precious 11th to 14th spots in the Western Conference. While they are not the 7th to 10th seed doldrums that prevent franchises from ever rising they are far away from the need to improve the roster right now for the hopes of short term, 2015, wins.

Additionally, the Jazz don't have to shed salary. Even with the contracts they are on the books for, for players no longer on the team (Carrick Felix, Jordan Hamilton, etc); and the slew of NBA-DL players who have come and gone (Elliot Williams, Patrick Christopher), the Jazz are still only paying players $58.6 million USD this season. [/QUOTE]
Still paying Christopher too.

[QUOTE]The salary cap for this season is in excess of $63.2 million, and the luxury tax starts off at $77.0 million. Many teams are on the opposite side of the thrifty threshold. And if you were looking to shed salary one of the targets would HAVE to be the Utah Jazz. The highest payrolls for non-contenders are for the Brooklyn Nets ($91.2m), New York Knicks ($81.7m), New Orleans Pelicans ($77.5m), Los Angeles Lakers ($77.3m), Indiana Pacers (this year) ($74.8m), and Sacramento Kings ($70.7m). Four of those teams are going to be paying the luxury tax this year unless they can move some salary. I'm not crazy about renting someone else's problem, even if it's for future draft picks. (N.B. The Jazz do not owe any picks to any team, and in addition to that have one extra first rounder, and seven 2nd rounders owed to them in the next FOUR (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) drafts.)[/QUOTE]

I'm open to it. Might get some help. Kind of sucks to be stuck with Novak for another year but he's not a bad vet at the end of the bench.

[QUOTE]If we go beyond all of that, just purely within the vacuum of this season, I think it's fair to suggest that the Jazz DO need wing help.[/QUOTE]

With Ingles and Millsap they are a lot better off there than they were. PG is where they are hurting the most.

[QUOTE]No Alec Burks has caused a cascade of problems for the team. Some of which would have been mitigated by an increased role for rookie 'steal of the draft' Rodney Hood. [/QUOTE]

The steal of the draft should be in the D-league with Exum and Ingles and Millsap have made that even more evident.

[QUOTE]Both of those players have played a grand total of 1337 minutes this season, which isn't much over the course of 47 games. As a direct consequence head coach Quin Snyder has had to look elsewhere for starting material, even breaking down and starting Patrick Christopher for one game.[/QUOTE]

I'd guess he could be back if he gets healthy. They might even try to keep the roster spot open just for him if no one else blows them away.

[QUOTE]Right now the team has settled upon some sort of mix between Joe Ingles (27.1 mpg in January) and Elijah Millsap (20.1 mpg in January) -- with Gordon Hayward picking up most of the rest of the wing minutes. Furthermore, we are seeing more of the Trey Burke + Dante Exum combination, which we need to see.[/QUOTE]

But not this year.

[QUOTE]But even if we all have an idea who will be the long term starter going forward I think it's okay not to jump to conclusions on having to move one of them, even IF the trade deadline is approaching.

If you were going to get rid of a player because he doesn't mesh with the other players, the coach, the front office, or isn't with the game plan, then well, that's an option too. However, our collegiate atmosphere seems to have prevented that from happening.[/QUOTE]

Probably too early to deal any of the young pieces other than Kanter if they really think he has no future with them unless there is a deal that makes sense.

[QUOTE]The only other reason why the Utah Jazz WOULD be interested in a trade is if, for the first time ever, they wanted to get a return from a player that may be moving on. The Jazz got something out of Randy Foye 's unrestricted free agency (was involved in a three team trade that brought the Jazz back Andris Biedrins, Brandon Rush, and Richard Jefferson). But he was the exception, not the rule, as the Jazz let Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Mo Williams, DeMarre Carroll, Josh Howard, Marvin Williams, and countless others walk while taking with them thousands of minutes from the team.[/QUOTE]

They did get a return. It allowed them to make the trade with GS. cap space is a return. Could we stop saying that? Letting Jefferson and Foye was a return just so they were off the team.

[QUOTE]A number of Jazz players are going to be free agents this summer. Jeremy Evans is not going to get a lot of attention, and I think that if the team will have him back that he will come cheaply. (I wouldn't expect him to get much of a raise from his $1.8 million this year.) [/QUOTE]

He showed something last year. No doubt he could help some teams especially in the east. I'd trade him just to give him an opportunity elsewhere and make a roster spot for another player that might have a future with the team.

[QUOTE]Shooting guards Ian Clark and Joe Ingles will be free agents as well. Both will have qualifying offers that are under $1.2 million dollars, so those three guys could all be back for less than $6 million on the books. (Though, I think Ingles deserves at least Steve Novak money, and he will earn $3.75 million next year.)[/QUOTE]

I think Clark will certainly be gone too. Neto and a vet pg/combo guard need roster spots and he hasn't shown anything still. Might even want to consider eating his contract to open up a roster spot.

[QUOTE]The Turkish elephant in the room is Enes Kanter. Kanter was supposed to be pushed this season by Trevor Booker (who has only a partially guaranteed contact for next season), but I believe we know who is the superior player at this point. [/QUOTE]

Booker brings a lot to the table and is a guy that any team in the league would love to have I'd think. Problem is the Jazz have 3 young guys that need to play.

[QUOTE]The future RFA is only 22 right now, and as a #3 pick, his starting salary for his next contract will be at $7.4 million. The rest of the "C4" got paid. Fellow 2011 draft pick Alec Burks signed for a deal that starts at $9.46 million next season. Derrick Favors got locked in for $12 million per. And Gordon Hayward just got $15+ per season this past off-season on the open market.

Bigmen get overpaid, and the Jazz may not wish to over pay for Kanter. They have to find money (under the cap now, yes, but who knows what financial situation the team will be in a few seasons from now?) for Dante Exum, Rudy Gobert, and hopefully Trey Burke too. Balancing rookie deals with extensions will be the job for someone else, not I. But I could make a case for and against trading Kanter at this juncture.[/QUOTE]

Kanter is the only guy to be thinking about now. By the time it's time to pay Rudy and others Kanter, Favors, Burks, Maxi G could be traded and with the cap going up next year is really the only year to consider right now.

[QUOTE]His trade value is still pretty high, and while he is making only $5.7 million this season, the Jazz can take back plenty more salary. A cash strapped team would trade of Enes in a heart beat. He's an efficient player who can add a scoring punch, but like I said on this site a while ago, on a team that doesn't need his defense he could look really good.

However, there's no real reason to believe he couldn't ALSO look really good with the Jazz. It's silly to expect him NOT to improve on defense at all. Sure, he may be the best disciple of Al Jefferson, but he also knows that if he wants to play in the NBA for a winner (not just get paid by a lotto team) he's going to have to play defense. Out of the three major bigmen for the Jazz (Favors, Gobert, and Kanter), he's the only one who is a legit face-up threat from a significant distance.[/QUOTE]

Favors is getting there. Rudy's hitting 3's in practice but as I've said I'm not sure anyone other than Love has Enes' skillset in the whole world.

[QUOTE] Snyder's offense relies upon dribble penetration from guards. In order for there to be space for penetration to occur you need a bigman who can shoot. Kanter's ability to go from "ZERO outside shooting reinforcement for his entire career" to being "a guy who can hit threes on the regular" is unprecedented. But the debate between "is Kanter good" and "do the Jazz need to trade him now" are two separate things.[/QUOTE]

Supposedly he was an outside shooter before the Jazz made him stay in the post as a rookie.

[QUOTE]And with the new cap space available, and the regular 'wait and see' approach, if the Jazz DO want him back, they will have the money available to match any offer. Personally, I don't think the Jazz have to make a trade. They aren't in "win now" mode. They aren't in financial #strugglemode either. There are many of young players that need minutes, and right now they are mostly all getting enough.[/QUOTE]

Rudy certaibly isn't and Enes isn't either.

[QUOTE]Renting an expensive vet for a few months doesn't seem like something Dennis Lindsey would do. But we'll see.[/QUOTE]

They need a vet pg. It's a joke that Burke is that guy right now.

[QUOTE]The deadline is in a little over two weeks. But we're not going to even scratch the surface of how good Enes can be in that time period. Who Enes could be in three seasons could be a dominant offensive force, and the lack of playing time early in his career kept his talents quite hidden. It would be silly to trade away a guy before you know how good he is.[/QUOTE]

That argument gets old too. He was obviously developing his talents as a rookie despite his 4th big man role.

[QUOTE]But that's the uncertainty in sports, and in life in general. Will the Jazz made a move?[/QUOTE]

Hopefully but since they are tanking I wouldn't count on anything with this team.

[QUOTE]Gobert

[QUOTE]While informing Burke that he would be replaced in the starting lineup by Dante Exum, Jazz coach Quin Snyder brought up multiple points about what the second-year player needed to do better.

One of the biggest points?

Gordon and Robyn Hayward are expecting a baby girl, due in mid-June.

"It

[QUOTE]"I think our defense is improved," Snyder said after his team held the Golden State Warriors to 100 points, 10.8 below their average, on Friday night. "I think there

[QUOTE]Rudy Gobert: Yeah the best rim protector of the @NBA gets dunked on sometimes Twitter @rudygobert15

Derrick Favors: @rudygobert15 @NBA lol second best Twitter @dfavors14[/QUOTE]

I hope Favors is joking because he's a joke as far as a defender. Funny that Rudy completely take Aldridge out of the game and almost single handedly wins the game and the dunk is what is talked about. Took until late in the 3rd before Harpring realized what Rudy had been doing to Aldridge for 2 quarters. Hard to believe these people are paid to work in basketball.

[QUOTE]What is going on with the Utah Jazz is really impressive. This is a collection of assets. The Jazz have not moved into team building mode. [/QUOTE]

I think it's obviously time to start. You have Rudy to build around.

[QUOTE] Yet, somehow Quin Snyder has formed a team that is beginning to get an identity and it playing the best in the NBA toe to toe each night. The Jazz have played the Clippers, the Warriors and the Blazers three of the top 4 teams in the West (4th one coming Wednesday) and looked like they belonged in every minute of these games.[/QUOTE]

At least one player looked like they belonged. This game is probably a blowout without Rudy. They had no answer for Aldridge. Aldridge had no answer for Rudy. Reminds of the game where AK completely shut down Kobe for a half in the Stockton/Malone era and Kobe couldn't even give him credit. Couldn't even get a shot off. Blazers started going after Favors at the rim with Rudy on the perimeter. Mentioned that problem yesterday.

[QUOTE]Tonight there were numerous chances for the Jazz to wilt and for the Blazers to run away and each time the Jazz fought back and at different times took the lead.

We are not a very good final 5 minute team yet. The Jazz entered the game with the 2nd lowest FG in the final 5 minutes and the lowest 3 pts percentage in the final 5 minutes of a game within 5 points.[/QUOTE]

Bigger problem has been stops especially when Rudy is pulled.

[QUOTE] With 5:00 left tonight it was Portland 90-87 and within 90 seconds the Jazz were down 9. In three possessions Mathews hit two three’s and Aldridge got 2 ft’s while the Jazz went empty Burke missing a 3, Favors missing inside and Burke missing a runner.

The Jazz started the 3rd quarter with Rudy Gobert on LaMarcus Aldridge and Gobert completely shut him down. Aldridge had 0 points in the 3rd quarter on 0 for 4 shooting. In the 4th quarter Aldridge made one great move to hoop when he brought out all the bag of tricks but that was it he went 1 for 3 in the 4th quarter. Aldridge was 1 for 7 while being guarded by Gobert.[/QUOTE]

Really? You completely forgot the 2nd quarter where he shut him down too. After the other bigs let him go for 16 in the first. That's why he started the 2nd half. Aldridge didn't want anything to do with Gobert. Even missed FT's. He was obviously in his head.

[QUOTE]Favors had a big game on the pick and roll playing from the top coming straight down the lane to the rim.[/QUOTE]

Not doing much on the boards of late.

[QUOTE]The Jazz had the best pick and roll sequence I have seen from them all season. Trey hit Favs on back to back plays going to the basket. Then Trey drove faked the pass to Favs and finished at the rim. Then the Blazers began adjusting and Trey hit a pull up 15 footer. Finally, Trey passed to Favors who swung it to the corner for a Hayward 3. How good is that sequence.

Favors and Gobert played a little more than 20 minutes together on the floor. The Jazz were +1 in those 20 minutes with the two of them on the floor.[/QUOTE]

And what was Gobert without him?

[QUOTE]The Jazz are playing a slow pace and it is disrupting teams. If Gobert is going to be a core to this team[/QUOTE]

if? I'm just blown away! Am I the only one paying attention? I can't believe how anyone can watch this team and not see the impact Rudy is having. :wtf:

[QUOTE]there is a value to playing slow and keeping teams in the half court where he can impact games the most. Fast breaks are a low percentage of plays in the NBA, about 10% if you can be great in half court defense you got a chance to do big things.[/QUOTE]

says Jerry Sloan anyway. Trey also prefers a slower game.

[QUOTE]Trey played the pick and roll tonight really well.

Enes Kanter got yanked after 2 plays of the game and then was put back in the game after being coached by Quin.[/QUOTE]

Booker was playing well when he put Enes back in. They certainly aren't looking to win games.

[QUOTE]Enes has a part of his game that is elite, offensive rebounding and a part of his game that may be his downfall, no passing. Tonight he had 4 offensive rebounds. He has been averaging 4 offensive rebounds a game over the last 10 games. This is mammoth. Assuming he scores 6 to 8 points on those plays it has a crazy large impact on the game. The other issue is he doesn’t pass. More specifically, he never passes in a way that he creates for teammates. He had 3 assists in over 300 minutes in January and had 0 tonight in 22:54 minutes. He is assisting at the same rate he did as a rookie when he had 8 assists in 800 plus minutes.[/QUOTE]

And the scouting reports are starting to reflect it. They are doubling him knowing he is unlikely to pass or make a bad pass. Definitely needs to work on it still.

[QUOTE]Jazz starting guards were 1 for 8 with 5 points and 3 assists.[/QUOTE]

That's a joke!

[QUOTE]I hope we are not taking this for granted – Hayward 27-5-5 . On 16 shot attempts. WOW. That is a huge night. He has gone over 20 scored or more in 5 of his last 6 games. He is 20 of his last 42 from 3.

Elijah Millsap had another good defensive game.

I have tonight’s game at 86 possessions so allowing 103 points to the Blazers is not going to be a good defensive rating. Jazz got in the penalty early in the 3rd and then allowed 28 points in the 3rd and 31 in the 4th.

Jazz threw the ball all over the gym in the 3rd quarter but where really solid with the ball other than the 3rd quarter.

Solid night. Great fight. Super experience gaining games. Still a long process but progress is obviously being made.

Posted in Emptying the Noggin[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Is there a more fascinating player this Utah Jazz season than Enes Kanter? Probably not.[/QUOTE]

Rudy easily. I'm not even that interested in watching them when he's on the bench. So much fun to watch him. :cheers:

[QUOTE]Understandably, much of the conversation has been directed elsewhere. Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors are quietly putting together All-Staresque campaigns. [/QUOTE]

:banghead:

[QUOTE]Rudy Gobert has taken a massive leap forward. Dante Exum and Trey Burke have given us a lot to talk about. But what

[QUOTE]After a lowly 6-19 start to the season, Utah has gone 11-12 since then.[/QUOTE]

Rudy! :rockon:

[QUOTE]Grading the performance: All in all, Utah put forth an excellent performance on the road. The Jazz were not intimated in the slightest and played with great energy and hustle. The Jazz were hitting from the perimeter and had a nice inside-outside attack. Rudy Gobert did a fine job helping contain all-star forward LaMarcus Aldridge in the second half. There were some costly turnovers and once again, some foul trouble and missed free throws were issues.[/QUOTE]

Fine job? He completely took one of the best players in the game out of the game and it started in the 2nd qyuarter. Really no one noticed what he was doing in the 2nd besides me and the head coach? :facepalm

[QUOTE]Utah Jazz grade: B+

The Blazers have struggled recently and almost let this game go. In the end, however, Portland made several crucial plays down the stretch to help seal the much-needed win. As is the case with most teams, Damian Lillard gave Utah fits. His emphatic dunk on Gobert was one the NBA season

[QUOTE]Tuesday

[QUOTE]LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazer player who didn

[QUOTE]Evans said he's dedicated himself in practice to improving his ball-handling and his outside shooting so that he might be able to play on the perimeter in addition to using his dunking prowess.[/QUOTE]

If he could hit the 3 or play some wing he might get some time. I think he makes a lot of sense with Kanter if Gobert and Favors are sitting.

[QUOTE]The 27-year-old is in the last year of his contract with the Jazz, and his basketball future in Utah is uncertain.[/QUOTE]

I think it's certain. Was nice knowing you. :applause:

[QUOTE]"I think I'm here for a reason," Evans said. "I feel like I'm blessed and whatever is going to happen will happen."

'Hawk talk

The heartbreak Seahawks' Super Bowl defeat was still lingering around the Pacific Northwest, even before Seattle native and longtime 'Hawks fan Snyder arrived in Portland.

Snyder has rooted for the team since childhood, but said there's more to his admiration for the team than nostalgia.

"I think they're one of the great communicative teams, if that's a word, in any sport," the Jazz coach said. "We showed our guys some of Richard Sherman, not talking to the camera, but talking to his teammates."

Jazz juniors

On his website Tuesday, Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward announced that he and his wife, Robyn, are expecting a baby girl due in June. Maybe next year's Jazz practices could become a standing playdate; Derrick Favors and his longtime girlfriend Shivolli Da Silva are expecting twins.

Dunk champs

Evans knows what it takes to win a Slam Dunk contest, having taken home the crown in 2012. So who does the Jazz forward like from a field of Victor Oladipo, Zach LaVine, Mason Plumlee and Giannis Antetokounmpo?

"This year, I think my money's gonna be on Zach LaVine," Evans said. "I've seen him jump a few times in in-game dunks and he looks like he gets pretty high."

Defensive pride

Snyder is starting to see some of the defensive progress he's been preaching since taking this job, but he'll be the first to caution there's still a long way to go."I think our defense is improved," Snyder said after his team held the Golden State Warriors to 100 points, 10.8 below their average, on Friday night. "I think there's just more pride across the whole team, top to bottom, from our guys. I don't think it's an identity yet. But that's certainly what I would like to see continue to evolve."

The Jazz have slowly crept toward defensive respectability, improving each month of the season. In December, Utah allowed 107.1 points per 100 possessions. Last month, that number was down to 102.1.

"They've worked at it," Snyder said. "There's been a lot of film. And we drill. Sometimes, that's monotonous, but our guys have embraced it. I think we're starting to see some of the benefits of that work."

[email]afalk@sltrib.com[/email]

Twitter: @tribjazz[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]"If Rudy doesn't get dunked on, then he's not being Rudy," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said after his team had fallen to 17-31 on the season. "The alternative is he could be hugging his man on the weak side and not be there. He'll get plenty of those. He didn't get this one. Damian Lillard is a great player. But I guarantee you he'll be there next time."

The Jazz are young and rebuilding

[url]http://www.ksl.com/?sid=33347856&nid=304&title=lillard-has-25-and-blazers-hold-off-jazz-in-103-102-victory[/url]

No mention of Rudy! :roll: