Off-season roster improvements

- To put it in KOC's wording, Jeff Green's agent will be asking for the Sun, the Moon, Mars and probably Saturn. KOC would stop listening before the Moon enter the talks.

- We really need to shake things up starting now or we're going to suffer from another 5-6 seasons of goodness but not greatness

- I still want my PG and my jumpshooters...

outerspacefan wrote:

- To put it in KOC's wording, Jeff Green's agent will be asking for the Sun, the Moon, Mars and probably Saturn. KOC would stop listening before the Moon enter the talks.

- We really need to shake things up starting now or we're going to suffer from another 5-6 seasons of goodness but not greatness

- I still want my PG and my jumpshooters...

Well, of course you're right. And I like KOC's way of spending smartly, but I"m hoping theres a starting quality player added to this bunch. And really, looking at the players out there, we really should be going after some of them.
Is Al or Paul being traded a foregone conclusion? I guess for me, I'm hoping it is. We are young enough, but talented enough to start getting good. So hopefully Al is moved in a trade. Up above I listed SF's(slash PFs) but forgot about Ilyasova.
So between Josh Smith, Ilyasova, Gay, Iggy, Dragic, Lowry, and then Jeff Green, there are some players out there that play the position and do the things we also coincidentally will need. Aside from Smith, they all shoot the 3 which is one of our most glaring needs, but collectively all those SF's do alot of things really well, which is what this Utah Jazz team has been building. (ie. Hayward). And having an open starting SF spot on a young but good and building team, I feel like those young players above will be really attracted to that.

But like you said Outerspace we're going to suffer from another period of good not great if we dont make moves. And I dont want average bench player additions, or old vets looking for one last contract, temporary lay-over guys, or guys that are cheaper because of injury, all these "swap meet" bandaid fill ins, with the Jazz trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip, lets get some young good player(s) and start our own championship building ala OKC. We have a solid start, lets make it a solid core.
And with what we have, and what will be out there, I feel like we can make those moves. Come on KOC!

(also to go along with this, the entire list of FA's restricted and UFA:
http://hoopshype.com/free_agent_rankings.htm )

Mutangclan wrote:

outerspacefan wrote:

- To put it in KOC's wording, Jeff Green's agent will be asking for the Sun, the Moon, Mars and probably Saturn. KOC would stop listening before the Moon enter the talks.

- We really need to shake things up starting now or we're going to suffer from another 5-6 seasons of goodness but not greatness
- I still want my PG and my jumpshooters...

Well, of course you're right. And I like KOC's way of spending smartly, but I"m hoping theres a starting quality player added to this bunch. And really, looking at the players out there, we really should be going after some of them.
Is Al or Paul being traded a foregone conclusion? I guess for me, I'm hoping it is. We are young enough, but talented enough to start getting good. So hopefully Al is moved in a trade. Up above I listed SF's(slash PFs) but forgot about Ilyasova.
So between Josh Smith, Ilyasova, Gay, Iggy, Dragic, Lowry, and then Jeff Green, there are some players out there that play the position and do the things we also coincidentally will need. Aside from Smith, they all shoot the 3 which is one of our most glaring needs, but collectively all those SF's do alot of things really well, which is what this Utah Jazz team has been building. (ie. Hayward). And having an open starting SF spot on a young but good and building team, I feel like those young players above will be really attracted to that.

But like you said Outerspace we're going to suffer from another period of good not great if we dont make moves. And I dont want average bench player additions, or old vets looking for one last contract, temporary lay-over guys, or guys that are cheaper because of injury, all these "swap meet" bandaid fill ins, with the Jazz trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip, lets get some young good player(s) and start our own championship building ala OKC. We have a solid start, lets make it a solid core.
And with what we have, and what will be out there, I feel like we can make those moves. Come on KOC!

(also to go along with this, the entire list of FA's restricted and UFA:
http://hoopshype.com/free_agent_rankings.htm )

I see what you guys are saying, but I think the sense of urgency is a product of your boredom and not rational thinking. We're not going to get where you guys are talking about (greatness) through free agency this year, and we're not going to get there using the OKC model unless Burks and/or Hayward turn into all-stars because we don't have any draft picks this year and probably won't have another top 5 pick for quite some time.

Really all that leaves is trades, and quite frankly there is no team in the league with more trade assets than Utah. We have a $10 Mil TPE (good till December), two first round draft picks (own and GS) in '13, and $30 million worth of expiring contracts that also happen to come with quality players (good till trade deadline in Feb). But these assets only become more valuable after the season starts and teams start having buyers remorse.

So I don't think KOC is in a hurry to do anything. He's not going to overspend for any of the free agents in this years crop, he's not going to give up much to get into this years draft. I've seen several quotes form him saying that the prices that people are asking, both for trades and draft picks, are way way too high.

I think he's super active looking for deals, and with the trade assets the Jazz have I think it is only a matter of time before they get the opportunity to land a starting quality player.

And here's a second scenario... Suppose he doesn't do anything, just keeps the draft picks and lets the expiring contracts expire. The only guys left on contract will be the 4 young guys so things will have to change in a major way for better or worse. On top of that the Jazz will have enough cap room to sign 2 Max contract players, or more likely, they will have enough money to extend them all AND sign another Max player. So I don't think we will be treading watter being "good but not great" for very long.

I would still like to see them go after Dragic and Nash with the TPE, and a I realy like the Smith for Jefferson idea (that's a win-win trade if you ask me), if that doesn't happen then I think bringing back AK for a reasonable price would be an outstanding move, but I won't have too much heartburn if we get to training camp with basically the same roster we have now.

I agree with Mags, what is the hurry to be "great" next year in this off-season - ain't gonna happen. BUT, the Jazz can definitely get better with either a quality established veteran using the TPE and/or a below radar youngster with a small contract and the Jazz would be in a ridiculously good situation in '13 -- Chris Paul, anyone? Pretty darn sure CJ and Mr. Rajaexpiring won't be on the roster this fall but will be shocked if Al or Millsap aren't. Trust in KOC - he is not thinking about winning it all with a gambling move this summer, he has as noted the best trade assets in the league coming into the new season and I expect him to parlay that into a contracted roster that peaks right as the young guys have 3-4 years in the league. Either Al or Milly will not be re-signed, but one of them will for that roster, and that will likely be determined by the development (or not) of Kanter. Speaking of Kanter, I would not be the least surprised if he comes back twice the player with a full off-season of coaching and work. And Burks? If that guy comes back with a bankable jumper...Jazz make it into the second round next year.

MTJazz wrote:

I agree with Mags, what is the hurry to be "great" next year in this off-season - ain't gonna happen. BUT, the Jazz can definitely get better with either a quality established veteran using the TPE and/or a below radar youngster with a small contract and the Jazz would be in a ridiculously good situation in '13 -- Chris Paul, anyone? Pretty darn sure CJ and Mr. Rajaexpiring won't be on the roster this fall but will be shocked if Al or Millsap aren't. Trust in KOC - he is not thinking about winning it all with a gambling move this summer, he has as noted the best trade assets in the league coming into the new season and I expect him to parlay that into a contracted roster that peaks right as the young guys have 3-4 years in the league. Either Al or Milly will not be re-signed, but one of them will for that roster, and that will likely be determined by the development (or not) of Kanter. Speaking of Kanter, I would not be the least surprised if he comes back twice the player with a full off-season of coaching and work. And Burks? If that guy comes back with a bankable jumper...Jazz make it into the second round next year.

You guys misunderstood. I never said we should or even could make moves to be great next year. Outside of Dwight Howard or Deron Williams, this team cannot possibly be great next year.
I said we have a solid start and should make moves to get us a solid core started now. Lets start building. What I agreed with is I too dont want to get 5-6 years of decent or good seasons.
Think about this: Durant is 23 years old. Westbrook close to it, Harden too. They've been together, what, 4 years? And now they've made it to the Finals in their fourth year. Utah needs to be looking at this team as where do we want to be in 3, 4 or 5 years. When Favors is hitting his prime, along with Gordo, Burks and Kanter. But it needs to start now. There are some very good, very young missing pieces available this offseason, and like Mags said, we have a ton of trade assets. I want to add our starting SF if Al goes, or something along those lines, so that our young crew can play and grow together. I dont want Utah to miss the boat on these offense and defense SF's who also just so happen to have that competitive fire. Those SF's and Dragic/Lowry are all young and talented and would fit in great and all of them fill immediate voids for what this team needs on the court.
That team would eventually be more like the champion Pistons with 5 very good players vs the Thunder with their two/three absolute studs, but it would be a champion team nonetheless.

Also, yes, I was saying it all season long while Calgary was looking for negatives, that when Kanter, for the first time ever, actually gets real coaching, experience, full off-season plus training camp, and most likely a big-mans camp or two, watch out. I'm probably most excited to see UnderKanter next year, and not just because of CC's doom and gloom, heh.

I like the Detroit analogy - a five stud starting roster, no weakness at 1-5. This Finals is a classic of example of the opposite, 2.5 superstars with a capable set of role players, something that the Jazz had in the Stock/Malone/Horny days and not likely to happen any time again soon, not a realistic model. In my mind that goes back to the real missing piece, the starting PG in 2-3 years, and therefore, Dragic/Lowery, EXCEPT it is never worth overpaying for an unproven asset and these guys are going to take exceptional money to acquire and I'm not convinced yet that they are going to be exceptional starters. I'd rather, if overspending is called for, see the Jazz acquire a known quantity. And, why not Chris Paul in '13? I think Hayward is the starting 3 forever, why the burning need in your mind for an expensive 3? I think Carroll will be a solid multi-tool backup there for cheap.

I hope you all didn't miss me to much.

I know Mu, you didn't know I was gone.

Improvements:
I would like to see one trade and one FA pick up. I also think we let CJ, Watson and Bell walk this year, with Bell being an anesty candidate.

I want Nash, yes he is the true veteran we need to get our young guns the experience to compete every night.

I also agree that Kanter will have a huge jump in his sophomore year stats and play with a full year of professional off season conditioning and coaching.

I would like to see the Jazz try to keep Jefferson and Milsap for one more year, but use the trade exception and Harris for our SF (Smith/Gay). I sat behind Gay on the way home from Maui. It must have been a sign of him becoming a Jazz man.

ONe more year of this team together and Nash puts them in the 2nd round or better, add Gay or Smith and we become strong candidates for deeper run.

MTJazz wrote:

I like the Detroit analogy - a five stud starting roster, no weakness at 1-5. This Finals is a classic of example of the opposite, 2.5 superstars with a capable set of role players, something that the Jazz had in the Stock/Malone/Horny days and not likely to happen any time again soon, not a realistic model. In my mind that goes back to the real missing piece, the starting PG in 2-3 years, and therefore, Dragic/Lowery, EXCEPT it is never worth overpaying for an unproven asset and these guys are going to take exceptional money to acquire and I'm not convinced yet that they are going to be exceptional starters. I'd rather, if overspending is called for, see the Jazz acquire a known quantity. And, why not Chris Paul in '13? I think Hayward is the starting 3 forever, why the burning need in your mind for an expensive 3? I think Carroll will be a solid multi-tool backup there for cheap.

I actually think Hayward is a better fit at 2, and honestly I think he may be a dynamite PG if he was forced into that role. I think it also depends on Burks.

If Burks makes a reasonable jump in his production (primarily through improving his jump shot) he could easily become an elite level volume scorer. He's got a knack for getting to the rim and drawing fouls and he's got a shooters mentality, if he can knock down a couple 3's a game he's a 20 Pts per game type scorer. Kevin Martin is the guy I would compare him to. Martin wasn't a great shooter when he first came into the league, but as soon as he started hitting 3's he became one of the most efficient scorers from the wing in the NBA. That's best case scenario for Burks and the Jazz, a guy like that on the wing would be a game changer. Some people think Hayward is that guy but he's not, that's not his game, he's a facilitator not a volume scorer.

Worst case, Burks is CJ Miles v2. In which case we'd need to find another starting wing.

But in either case we need another wing or two before next season because we only have Burks and Hayward on the roster right now (Bell isn't playing for hte Jazz again), it just depends on whether you think we need a good one to start or a couple decent ones to come off the bench.

Since I think that Jefferson should be traded, and that Favors and Kanter are centers, I think adding a super versatile combo forward like Smith or AK makes a lot of sense.

I have a question about trading draft picks for veteran players.
What value is put on the rookie, each has an amount that their draft position allows them to be paid. So if the Jazz wanted to get rid of Al's contract and a team wanted him for let's say a #6 pick would the contracts have to match up or are there other considerations that would play into this.
If a team like New Orleans with a $35 million dollar contract could absorb Al's contract could the trade be made, I'm not saying that NO would even consider the trade but as an example could this be done, I'm assuming it can, anybody know differently?

Jazz Dog wrote:

I hope you all didn't miss me to much.

I know Mu, you didn't know I was gone.

Improvements:
I would like to see one trade and one FA pick up. I also think we let CJ, Watson and Bell walk this year, with Bell being an anesty candidate.

I want Nash, yes he is the true veteran we need to get our young guns the experience to compete every night.

I also agree that Kanter will have a huge jump in his sophomore year stats and play with a full year of professional off season conditioning and coaching.

I would like to see the Jazz try to keep Jefferson and Milsap for one more year, but use the trade exception and Harris for our SF (Smith/Gay). I sat behind Gay on the way home from Maui. It must have been a sign of him becoming a Jazz man.

ONe more year of this team together and Nash puts them in the 2nd round or better, add Gay or Smith and we become strong candidates for deeper run.

I like a lot of what you said here. My only issue is where you talk about Kanter making big leap AND keeping both Sap/Jefferson. I don't think both of those things can happen. If Paul and Al (and of coarse Favors) are on the team, then there just aren't enough minutes for Kanter, which means little chance of taking a "huge" jump forward.

MTJazz wrote:

I like the Detroit analogy - a five stud starting roster, no weakness at 1-5. This Finals is a classic of example of the opposite, 2.5 superstars with a capable set of role players, something that the Jazz had in the Stock/Malone/Horny days and not likely to happen any time again soon, not a realistic model. In my mind that goes back to the real missing piece, the starting PG in 2-3 years, and therefore, Dragic/Lowery, EXCEPT it is never worth overpaying for an unproven asset and these guys are going to take exceptional money to acquire and I'm not convinced yet that they are going to be exceptional starters. I'd rather, if overspending is called for, see the Jazz acquire a known quantity. And, why not Chris Paul in '13? I think Hayward is the starting 3 forever, why the burning need in your mind for an expensive 3? I think Carroll will be a solid multi-tool backup there for cheap.

Watching Gordo I think he makes a much better 2 guard. He is a facilitator, and its good to have him doing that from the 2. He's tough to guard there, and he does a good job guarding opposing 2's, meanwhile struggles guarding alot of the SF's. So in my book, Gordo is the starting 2 forever. Only thing that makes that tough is that I think the coaching staff knows that and it puts Burks in a weird spot. I was hoping that Burks and GH would be the starting wings forever. But I think GH is really really successful at the 2.
As for Burks, if he became an awesome starting PG then all our problems are solved. He's a good scorer, and it seemed to me that whenever he did take jumpers he was successful. I'd be interested to know his percentages on jumpers....seemed he usually hit.
Mt, you really think CP3 is coming anywhere near UTah????? Not me, sadly.

Jazz Dog wrote:

I hope you all didn't miss me to much.

I know Mu, you didn't know I was gone.

Improvements:
I would like to see one trade and one FA pick up. I also think we let CJ, Watson and Bell walk this year, with Bell being an anesty candidate.

I want Nash, yes he is the true veteran we need to get our young guns the experience to compete every night.

I also agree that Kanter will have a huge jump in his sophomore year stats and play with a full year of professional off season conditioning and coaching.

I would like to see the Jazz try to keep Jefferson and Milsap for one more year, but use the trade exception and Harris for our SF (Smith/Gay). I sat behind Gay on the way home from Maui. It must have been a sign of him becoming a Jazz man.

ONe more year of this team together and Nash puts them in the 2nd round or better, add Gay or Smith and we become strong candidates for deeper run.

JD!!! You're back!!! I've been DYYYYYING over here

I'll tell you what, if we could use the TPE and Harris for Smith or Gay I'd be blown away. I'd bet though, that those teams are looking for alot more than saving money on those two. So Al or Paul would have to be included for Smith, and most likely Al since ATL has Horford. Gay I think is almost impossible, unless they want something like the TPE and Kanter or GH, or even Burks. While I'm not fond of dropping any of those 3, doing it for Rudy I could be happy with.

Nash??? I'm over it. He's already 38, and adding him isn't the missing piece to a championship. Had we gotten the draft pick and Lilliard, that'd be another story.

I have no idea whether CP3 has a Utah phobia or not. I do know that he will want to go to a team that can become a contender. If the Jazz youth breakout next year one would think that he could see that potential. Plus, there aren't going to be that many teams who have the salary room to take on a max contract and Utah may be the sexiest of that bunch. Of course, its likely that the Fakers will somehow, someway, have that ability simply because its them and I'm sure CP3 would like that market.

Interesting point on Gordo at the 2. I'm thinking that if Burks shows starting chops Gordo starts at the 3. Otherwise they are log jammed unless Burks takes on a Harden-like role.

TheMagnus wrote:

But in either case we need another wing or two before next season because we only have Burks and Hayward on the roster right now (Bell isn't playing for hte Jazz again), it just depends on whether you think we need a good one to start or a couple decent ones to come off the bench.

Since I think that Jefferson should be traded, and that Favors and Kanter are centers, I think adding a super versatile combo forward like Smith or AK makes a lot of sense.

Well we still will have DC and I like that. Really liked his game, and I think when Corbin put him on the bench for the entire playoffs, it was an EPIC FAIL on his part. Josh Howard shit the bed, and DC had all the things we needed out there and Corbin just sat him. Really huge fail for Corbin. Thankfully, Josh will be gone, along with Raja and CJ. So DC is there, as will be Evans. I think DC is a great backup, and pretty good starter too for a pretty good team. I'd like to be great team though eventually....

Agreed adding AK again or my man-crush Smith is ideal. Only thing I struggle with is I think Burks is going to be really good and he should start. Actually no, nevermind. Burks can be Harden or Ginobli, and be a sick dominant 6th man. There we go.

**Edited: heh, great minds MT.

I dont think he has a phobia, I just think it's going to be Blake and CP3 retiring together in big city LA.

Has anyone mentioned the fact that Josh Smith is a Javale McGee-quality knucklehead and a horrible human being?? Or are we writing that latter off to the effects of having his parents lording it all over the arena like they were "Do you know who I am?" type royalty?

Sure, the Jazz have held their noses and taken sketchy players who weren't "good people" (John "Vacuum Cleaner Nose" Drew, for one), and some of our greatest players were far from perfect, but I've read a lot of things about Smith that put him in a class by himself. A bad class.

Seriously, given the tolerance the NBA has for thugs, knuckleheads and amoral miscreants who can dunk, how bad do you have to be to constantly not get named to the All Star team, when you're as good as Smith??

I suspect the Jazz will steer clear, as has every other team for these last five years when Smith wanted to leave the Hawks and the Hawks would have taken any deal. For five, six years, he's been shopped and 29 teams have said..."Nah, we're good." How does that even happen?

Trollificus wrote:

Has anyone mentioned the fact that Josh Smith is a Javale McGee-quality knucklehead and a horrible human being?? Or are we writing that latter off to the effects of having his parents lording it all over the arena like they were "Do you know who I am?" type royalty?

Sure, the Jazz have held their noses and taken sketchy players who weren't "good people" (John "Vacuum Cleaner Nose" Drew, for one), and some of our greatest players were far from perfect, but I've read a lot of things about Smith that put him in a class by himself. A bad class.

Seriously, given the tolerance the NBA has for thugs, knuckleheads and amoral miscreants who can dunk, how bad do you have to be to constantly not get named to the All Star team, when you're as good as Smith??

I suspect the Jazz will steer clear, as has every other team for these last five years when Smith wanted to leave the Hawks and the Hawks would have taken any deal. For five, six years, he's been shopped and 29 teams have said..."Nah, we're good." How does that even happen?

I'd really be interested on what you're referring to Troll with Smith.

Trollificus wrote:

Has anyone mentioned the fact that Josh Smith is a Javale McGee-quality knucklehead and a horrible human being??

I talked about it when trading for Smith was first brought up in this thread but nobody else seemed to agree about it, I myself said that I would rather have Beasley if the Jazz are willing to deal with a knucklehead his game is more rounded than Smith's is. Beasley is a lot better at hitting outside shots where Smiths struggle with his outside shooting and this Jazz team needs a SF that can hit those shot's IMO otherwise they could play Milsap at that position.

There is a free agent that I have not seen anyone talk about that I think would make the Jazz a contender right away and that is Eric Gordon the kid can flat out shoot the ball anywhere on the court, he has been injured a lot in his first few season's in the league but that is not going to happen all of the time. He also has the skills to be the starting PG for a team I would love to have this kid on the Jazz if they could sign him as a free agent that would alow them to keep everyone they had on the team from last season and wouid make them a very hard team to beat.

dongibby wrote:

Trollificus wrote:

Has anyone mentioned the fact that Josh Smith is a Javale McGee-quality knucklehead and a horrible human being??

I talked about it when trading for Smith was first brought up in this thread but nobody else seemed to agree about it, I myself said that I would rather have Beasley if the Jazz are willing to deal with a knucklehead his game is more rounded than Smith's is. Beasley is a lot better at hitting outside shots where Smiths struggle with his outside shooting and this Jazz team needs a SF that can hit those shot's IMO otherwise they could play Milsap at that position.

There is a free agent that I have not seen anyone talk about that I think would make the Jazz a contender right away and that is Eric Gordon the kid can flat out shoot the ball anywhere on the court, he has been injured a lot in his first few season's in the league but that is not going to happen all of the time. He also has the skills to be the starting PG for a team I would love to have this kid on the Jazz if they could sign him as a free agent that would alow them to keep everyone they had on the team from last season and wouid make them a very hard team to beat.

With Smith, his being a knucklehead while certainly a deterent on one hand, may prove to be a bit of a boon on the other. Everybody know about his issues, which means he is readily available, easy to acquire and should come at a discount. The hope would then be he gets a fresh start on a new team and has gained the maturity, knowledge, etc. to take advantage of the opportunity.

I agree Beasley does have the better outside shot, which has been a key need for the Jazz now for quite some time. The question is what is it going to take to get him in comparison to Smith.

As for Gordon, I agree he is a really good shooter. Once again, this is a case where his history represents both a deterent and a boon. Dongibby makes a good case for the boon side. I agree and think he is certainly worth consideration given the pieces we already have in place. Its a very similiar situation to our considering signing AK, knowing there's a high chance he will miss some games. The downside of him getting hurt is mitigated to some degree by the depth of the team, making the upside this much more appealing.

I'd really really like to know what this knucklehead label is for Josh Smith. Aside from saying he wants to be traded from Atlanta (who has made it known they're all for being mediocre for years), what else has he done? Maybe a bit of immaturity after coming straight from highschool, but that was years ago. I can't think of one incident that he's been involved in. Not one. I can however think of a gazillion monster games. And he's also a guy that play hard nightly on BOTH ends of the court. I think he's incorrectly labeled.

Beasley on the other hand got in trouble as a rookie for smoking weed, and then the moron got busted for doing it again before last season!! Not to mention, theres a guy that doesn't even play defense. I dont know why you guys want him.

One more enigmatic message by KOC:

Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor on trading into the first round of the draft: "Just because we're quiet doesn't mean we're not working. We're talking to a lot of people about a lot of things."

By Steve Luhm's Twitter.

OJ Mayo is now an unrestricted free-agent the Grizz don't want to resign him and won't extend him a offer he is a guy that could fill the wing player needs the Jazz are looking for let's hope the Jazz can find a way to sign him. Mo Williams and Mayo in the back-court for the Jazz could be very very good and would without a doubt open up the paint with their shooting ability giving their big's the room they need to operate in the paint. If the Jazz are able to add 2 quality guys like these two without having to give up Jefferson, Milsap, Harris or any of the other young guns they turn into one of the top team's in the West. From top to bottom they would be full of very good players witch would make them a very deep team one of the deepest in the league.

I might be ecstatic. Yea, I think I am. This was a genius move. Use the TPE so it doesn't really cost anything. Get a talented player, that has been dying, DYING to be a starting PG again in this league; felt like he deserved it, and also felt like it was a slap in the face when CP3 was obtained when he thought it was going to be the Blake Griffin and Mo show. He was pissed all last year, and you all know it, yet still managed to average what, 14pts and 5 ast or something?? On top of all that, this is a former all star that has 5-6 great years in front of him, is a very good 3pt shooter, very good passer, has a chip on his shoulder that'll bring toughness to the entire team, very good scorer mid-range and getting to the bucket, and is a good defender. Lastly, he wants to be in Utah and here's a team that wants him. Again. He wants to lead this young team, and they'll all grow together. We needed a solid talented PG that can pass and lead, and we needed 3pt shooting. We got it in one player, for really nothing.

That there is our starting all star type PG. (going to average 15 and 9, you heard it hear first.)
Now we'll have Gordon at the 2 that also facilitates and does it all. Paul at the 3, Derrick at the 4 and Al at the 5:

Mo Williams
Gordon Hayward
Paul Millsap
Derrick Favors
Al Jefferson.

That is a nasty, talented, score everywhere, defend everything, grab every rebound lineup. I freaking love it......Burks coming into score, DC hustling and defending, Kanter double double off the bench and whoever we get as our shooter for Devin (I bet). Thats all I'd like to see now, is to get a Shane Battier type 3pt gunner. I'm gravy with that!!

(still one more big trade coming??? I just dont know.....Big moving on for a wing??? Crazy!!!)

I agree that we've gotten better in the last few days, but we will NOT be moving a big.

We have Kanter, Favors and Jefferson. Millsap is an undersized "big". Evans is a "big" who weighs 180. Where do you see a "big" we can move on this roster? The only reason it seems crowded is because they're all good, all deserve to play, and minutes are scarce. But we're a single injury away from being short-handed on the front line.

On the wing, well...there's always room for improvement. Burks/Murphy are both 6'6", but not really SF/SG swingman types. Carroll is SF-only. Millsap's SF/PF status is matchup-dependent. And that's it.

Murphy seems to duplicate a lot of Burks' skillset, but a better shooter. One or the other of them will need to emerge as someone who can score from the SF spot and defend SFs. Hayward is already there, whichever one of them can outplay opposing 2nd string SFs will get plenty of minutes. Whichever one can ONLY play SG will be less valuable.

Now. Having said all that, the IDEAL solution would be to get someone who can defend SFs and also be effective if pressed into duty at PF. Maybe a defensive-minded veteran. And if he could speak Russian, that would be a plus...yeah, you heard me!!

Wouldn't signing AK now be a perfect need-based roster move?

Trollificus wrote:

I agree that we've gotten better in the last few days, but we will NOT be moving a big.

We have Kanter, Favors and Jefferson. Millsap is an undersized "big". Evans is a "big" who weighs 180. Where do you see a "big" we can move on this roster? The only reason it seems crowded is because they're all good, all deserve to play, and minutes are scarce. But we're a single injury away from being short-handed on the front line.

On the wing, well...there's always room for improvement. Burks/Murphy are both 6'6", but not really SF/SG swingman types. Carroll is SF-only. Millsap's SF/PF status is matchup-dependent. And that's it.

Murphy seems to duplicate a lot of Burks' skillset, but a better shooter. One or the other of them will need to emerge as someone who can score from the SF spot and defend SFs. Hayward is already there, whichever one of them can outplay opposing 2nd string SFs will get plenty of minutes. Whichever one can ONLY play SG will be less valuable.

Now. Having said all that, the IDEAL solution would be to get someone who can defend SFs and also be effective if pressed into duty at PF. Maybe a defensive-minded veteran. And if he could speak Russian, that would be a plus...yeah, you heard me!!

Wouldn't signing AK now be a perfect need-based roster move?

Yes. Really would. So what are you saying then though Troll, our starting 5 all year is our own big 3? Paul/Derrick/Al with Mo and Gordo???? AK off the bench? As much fun as the Big BIG 3 was, I'm still not sure it's the way to go all season. I dont know, tough tough call. I love AK coming back, he's the perfect addition, and like Magnus mentioned, I think he'd love the topic of raising his jersey to the rafters.
Personally, I think we need a starting SF to *tweak* this roster now to make it perfect. And I think we can get a very very good one using one of our bigs either Paul or Al, possibly Devin included for like Iguodala and Spencer Hawes or something.
I wish I could believe that our own big 3 is the best way to go, I just can't shake the feeling it cant work for 82 games...... I dont know.
Do think Fez should be our 13th addition. For realz.

I've been thinking that the Sixers have something in the works to bring in a big man. They amnestied Brand, and their only replacement so far is Kwame Brown <sad>. Lots of talk about Iggy being traded. I really like what I've seen from him so far on team USA.

I know this has already been discussed, but he loss of Brand and addition of Marvin to the Jazz, who can play PF, makes me think this is worth revisiting.

Philly seems to be going into a completley different direction. Giving up on L.Williams, dropping Brand, shopping Iggy, etc.

The Jazz currently have a nice, balanced roster. But the fact remains that Millsap, Jefferson AND Favors all deserve to be starters. Something still may going down. Even KOC has hinted as such.