Draft day, free agency, training camp, pre season...

[Xiao Yao You]

“This is unbelievable,” Gobert said. “I barely played my first year. All of the struggles and the hard work. All of the people who believed in me. This is for my mother, and honestly, I think this means a lot for the kids who feel overlooked and not where they should be. I want to motivate them. This is the story I want to tell.”
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic



In truth, the Jazz and Gobert were on the same page. The Jazz wanted Gobert to be with the franchise long term. Gobert wanted to be with the Jazz long term. He built a house in Utah. Much like his co-star Donovan Mitchell, he’s invested in the community. And he’s a loyal guy. How many Jazz fans remember his famous social media video when Gordon Hayward left the franchise for the Boston Celtics? Gobert has always spoken of being loyal to the Jazz and finding his way to a championship with this team. In that sense, it was just a matter of Gobert and the Jazz finding a number that worked for both sides.
– via Tony Jones @ The Athletic

[Xiao Yao You]

New guards coach Johnnie Bryant, who turned Donovan Mitchell into a superstar, has made an impact on Barrett, according to people with knowledge of the situation. “I just thought his rim reads were terrific,’’ Thibodeau said. “His all-round play. His ball pressure [on defense] got a lot better as time went on. Offensively he scored a number of different ways — transition, cutting without the ball, off the dribble, catch and shoot.’’
– via Marc Berman @ New York Post

the high usage/low efficiency one way superstar

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...nsion-nba-news

That’s why it was impossible not to see Gobert’s letter in direct contrast with another letter written to Utah back in 2017 by Gordon Hayward after his chaotic and unceremonious departure from the Jazz. It’s hard not to make comparisons across the board between the two players and how differently their stories have played out.

why make comparisons? Rudy has carried the team. Hayward was riding his coattails like Mitchell and the rest of the organization

So after all the hemming and hawing, all the worries from fans about getting a deal done, the wait is over. Gobert is here to stay, Mitchell is here to stay, and with Snyder leading the way they are looking to give Utah an NBA title.

Snyder and Mitchell would be the wildcards in that dream

[Xiao Yao You]

Eric Walden: Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum on the G League: “We’ve heard from our teams that they want to have players ready to call up.” Finalizing plans on how the G League tournament will work, and on how call-ups will function. “We’ll have more to talk about in a couple of weeks.”
– via Twitter tribjazz

[Xiao Yao You]

Stefan Bondy: Per source, the tentative G League schedule: Jan. 29: Training camp opens at bubble site. Feb. 8: Season starts March 5: Playoffs start *the hope is that the bubble site is Atlanta but that’s not set.
– via Twitter SBondyNYDN

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/449254/the-gob...ilbag-answers/

The Jazz are going to be strapped financially for the foreseeable future, so finding cheap veteran depth over the coming months is going to be critical. Getting first-hand experience with players like Ferrell and Miller with the Stars would pave the way for one of those two to become a low-cost rotation player if Conley leaves in free agency next season.

They could be with the team this year. Open roster spot, virus...Who knows. I imagine they like having a vet to teach Forrest and Miller for Hughes

Mitchell averaged 5.0 assists per game in the Jazz three preseason outings while playing just 23 minutes per game. If he can see his assists numbers climb to six or seven per game, he’d probably do more for the Jazz offense than simply shooting more to score more.

agreed. Better efficiency, better playmaking, better d

By that logic, Oni will likely get the minutes in case of an emergency.

Looks like Harrison and Niang to me

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...son-nba-lakers

1. Can Donovan Mitchell raise his game to another level?

they better hope he raises it several levels with the contract he just got

The Jazz made sure to lock up both of their main players with long-term extensions this offseason. Much like Mitchell, Gobert has been promised an incredible amount of money, and like Mitchell, Gobert has dominated on one side of the ball but will have to elevate things on the other side.

one of the best offensive weapons in the game

For Gobert, his defensive abilities are never in question. He anchors the Jazz and has won DPOY twice for a reason. But, there are shortcomings on the offensive side. He has trouble finishing sometimes, and can lack consistent strength when he goes to the basket. He said that during the offseason he’s been working on his finishing and his free-throw shooting. We’ll see if his work has paid off.

Can't expect the best finisher to do much more there

3. Can Mike Conley’s success from the playoffs and late last season carry over to this season?

No. He's back to being 3rd, 4th or 5th option

4. Will Joe Ingles be able to operate effectively off the bench?

he better be since they extended his contract despite declining the year before last

If Ingles is able to be as productive on offense and as effective on defense with the second unit as he was with the starters then the Jazz could have one of the best benches in the league. If he flounders in a reserve role this season, the Jazz might have to think about going in a different direction.

need to be thinking it anyway but they are too sentimental

For all of the reasons listed above (protocols, injuries, the schedule) there is likely to be a lot more opportunity for some of the end of bench players to take a big step this season and earn a larger role. Georges Niang, Shaquille Harrison, Juwan Morgan, Miye Oni, Udoka Azubuike, Elijah Hughes, Jarrell Brantley and Trent Forrest are all going to have a chance.

way to dodge it! Niang, Morgan, Harrison and Oni appear to be in the mix somewhat anyway. They let Niang do more in the pre season which he can do. Morgan looked like he should start. Oni and Harrison look like they can defend. Can they hit shots?

The question isn’t about whether the Jazz have the personnel to maintain a massive amount of 3-pointers and early shot-clock offense. They do. The question is what happens if Bojan Bogdanovic goes through a shooting slump or is out for a few games? What happens if Ingles, as he’s been known to do, passes up open shot opportunities? Can the rest of the roster pull them out of a rut in order to maintain pace and efficient shooting? And, if not, will they revert back to late-clock offense and the blender?

When has Bojan slumped? O'Neale needs to be more aggressive not Ingles.

8. Where are the Jazz defensively?

that's the biggest question. If they defend they should be one of the top teams in the league but if defending better means Favors/Gobert together than the offense takes a dive

9. Can the Jazz hang with the best in the West?

couldn't last year and Favors in the corner was their answer

Can they do more than just make it to the playoffs? Can they make a deep playoff push? It’s possible, but they’re going to have to answer all the other questions from above in order to have a chance.

those and more. You didn't even mention COTY or EOTY. Clarkson's selfish play...

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/reader-qa-...eir-all-stars/

This is great news for the Jazz and their fans. Gobert has an elite impact on winning and is still refining his game, while Mitchell appears to be en route to join him among the league’s top 15 or so talents. The Jazz now how their All-Star core secured for at least five more seasons — this coming year, plus the four years of their extensions before each player has an option during the 2025 offseason.

Unless usage and scoring are all we look at than Mitchell is nowhere near top 15

In either scenario, they won’t be able to keep Conley and use the full MLE while staying under the apron. So that’s the third variable: does Mike want to stay, and at what price?

and do they want to keep him

The Jazz love Mike. They love the idea of what he can be and how he can complement Mitchell in the backcourt, and they saw in Orlando just how tough the Jazz are when Conley is playing well next to Mitchell and Gobert. In a vacuum, I’m sure they’d love to keep him, but he’ll be entering his 15th season at that point, and even a modest salary would cost the Jazz a bunch more in taxes. That might not bother them — it sounds like the new ownership recognizes that almost all contending teams venture into the tax sooner or later — but it certainly will factor into the decision.

which is why it's stupid to pay tax this year for this team

So yes, you should be excited about Conley-Fav. And Ingles-Fav. And Conley-Gobert. And Mitchell-Gobert. This team has mutliple solid P&R creators, and two above-average to elite finishers. Be excited about all of the various combinations that yields.

I'd say ideally you'd like to see Mitchell Gobert be the heart of everything

What SI is referring to here is the mechanism where a G League team can claim the rights to a certain number of guys that their NBA affiliate had in camp and waived. The number used to be four. A few years ago, they quietly changed it to five (without ever updating the G League website), at least temporarily. We noticed that the Jazz actually signed and waived a total of six players, and we weren’t sure if that meant the number had been bumped up again, or if the Jazz/Stars braintrust had simply decided they didn’t like what they were seeing from one or more of the guys they signed primarily to secure their G League rights.

appears to be 6 now

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/the-downbeat...-2020-contract

Per CleaningTheGlass, the Utah Jazz have had the 81%tile offense and 92%tile defense over the last 4 seasons with Rudy Gobert on the floor. Off the floor, they’ve had the 46%tile offense and 49%tile defense.

oh but Mitchell!

Gobert has played with slew of immensely talented players like Gordon Hayward, Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Derrick Favors, etc., while also consistently sharing the floor with flawed players such as Boris Diaw, Shelvin Mack, Dante Exum, etc.

He was a lot better with the flawed Mack and Diaw than Favors in the corner

#3 - Donovan needs to step up

yep. Big time

During Donovan Mitchell's career, the Jazz are +8.3 PTS per 100 possessions when he shares the floor with Rudy Gobert and -2.3 when he plays without Gobert.






Andy Bailey



@AndrewDBailey




During Rudy Gobert's career, the Utah Jazz are +5.8 PTS per 100 possessions when he's on the floor and -2.7 when he's off. The swing is positive on both ends of the floor.

Thank you Rudy

Notice the blue graph take a dive around game 180? That was approximately 15 games into last season. Defense has been a rollercoaster for Donovan and last year had a profound impact as the Jazz swapped solid perimeter defender Ricky Rubio for overrated perimeter defender Mike Conley.

the Matador was the overrated one

Rudy will also pass Andrei Kirilenko and Adrian Dantley to assume 3rd place behind “The Statues” in career win shares, projecting to be around 110.0 win shares (nearly 34 win shares ahead of 4th place).

He's already 3rd in Jazz history anyway you look at it. The statue needs to be designed now

Disagree

The Miller’s, Larry in particular, were very competitive. During his ownership, the team he owned won the 2nd most games of any NBA team. Keep in mind, he was dealing with a small market, players who rejected trades to Utah (Rony Seikaly), free agency, etc.
To keep his team’s revenue up to remain competitive he got the Delta Center built in record time. They poured the foundation and built the ground floor before the blueprints were done for the upper floors.
Now, could they have spent more, perhaps. We’ll never know what deals they tried to make or which teams backed out.
What we do know, it that in an era of free agency, he kept 2 hall of fame players and a hall of fame coach together for 19 seasons. If it weren’t for Michael Jordan, the real GOAT, Utah would have a championship.
Let’s hope Ryan Smith is equally successful.

Posted by socaljazzfan on Dec 21, 2020 | 5:13 PM

a compeitive cheap skate that became a billionaire because of the Jazz and his thrifty ways

[Xiao Yao You]

https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/20/ut...ert-extension/

Considering the predicament the Jazz found themselves in, paying dearly to keep Gobert in Utah was necessary. While Gobert is an important piece of the puzzle, Donovan Mitchell is the most important element, and keeping the most competitive team possible around him is of vital importance.

hard to take you seriously

[Xiao Yao You]

https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/20/ut...starting-five/

Is this the best starting five the Utah Jazz have had this century?

with no 4?

If anyone doubts that Donovan Mitchell is not the best player on the Utah Jazz roster right now, take a look at the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 36.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 37.7 minutes per game.

Starter No. 3: Bojan Bogdanovic.

Conley brings a lot more to the table

Starter No. 4: Derrick Favors

not yet. Royce has an argument for 2 as the only other guy playing both ends

Despite being the highest-paid player on the Jazz roster this season, Mike Conley would be the easiest to replace in the Jazz system. When he was injured last season, Joe Ingles showed that he could come in and take over the production of Conley and the team would still succeed.

if your definition of success is getting beat up by the best teams than ok

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/...-21-nba-season

Not only could this game serve as a preview of what could come in the playoffs, it gives the Jazz a chance to test out the theory that if they’d had the services of Derrick Favors last season, the Lakers wouldn’t have walloped them so badly.

bet they were real worried about Favors in the corner

This is probably going to be a case where Gobert and Favors start together in order to limit the damage of Anthony Davis and Gasol. It’s the first opportunity for the Jazz to see if they have what it takes keep the Lakers from feeling too confident about their chances of winning back-to-back rings.

[Xiao Yao You]

While we’re here, seven other players figure to almost certainly be on the trade market and have some value: The four veterans in San Antonio (LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Rudy Gay), and the three in Oklahoma City (Al Horford, George Hill and Trevor Ariza). These guys won’t have the seismic impact on the title chase that a Harden move might, but at the margins they could move the needle for an already-elite team (like the defending champs, say) to add one more plus rotation player.
– via John Hollinger @ The Athletic

All those guys but DeRozan could fit