Wade Baldwin and the Utah Jazz

 Wade Baldwin isn’t in the mix for the Jazz. DX is just artificially inflating his stock because they got access to one of his workouts. 

The Jazz have plenty of PG options and they don’t really need another that hasn’t proven himself in the league. The team is still all-in on Exum, which they should be. If I had to pick a backup of their current crop (Burke, Neto, Mack)….I’d go with Mack. 

Plus, when you see guys like Shelvin Mack, and Ish Smith play at a servicabe level in the NBA, it becomes clear that if anytime needs a stop-gap at PG, they can find one easily, and on the cheap. 

I think the Jazz are going to look at Luwawu, Korkmaz, Poeltl (if still available, too good to pass up), Richardson, Beasley and Maker. 

 Wade Baldwin isn’t in the mix for the Jazz. DX is just artificially inflating his stock because they got access to one of his workouts. 

The Jazz have plenty of PG options and they don’t really need another that hasn’t proven himself in the league. The team is still all-in on Exum, which they should be. If I had to pick a backup of their current crop (Burke, Neto, Mack)….I’d go with Mack. 

Plus, when you see guys like Shelvin Mack, and Ish Smith play at a servicabe level in the NBA, it becomes clear that if anytime needs a stop-gap at PG, they can find one easily, and on the cheap. 

I think the Jazz are going to look at Luwawu, Korkmaz, Poeltl (if still available, too good to pass up), Richardson, Beasley and Maker. 

I have zero insight into Jazz personnel’s thinking, this is justmy opinion:

 Are guys like Raul Neto and Shelvin Mack really good enough to warrant basing your draft on them? Teams dont generally go into a draft with 0 players on the roster, so theres going to be some incumbent guys who play the same position as the guy(s) you draft. Doesnt mean you avoid drafting a guy at that position if you feel hes the best talent on the board.

Baldwin projects to maybe have a floor similar to that of George Hill, a big guard who struggles some as a playmaker but offers above average defense at 2 positions and high percentage long range shooting. There’s room for that in any lineup. Its an even easier fit for Utah since a lot of their offense is actually run through Hayward and Hood, so Baldwin’s lack of playmaking doesnt hurt as much, and he can play to the strengths he offers as an off-ball shooter.

Even if hes not some franchise-changing starting PG, and even if Exum miraculously became one, theres still room in the rotation for someone like Baldwin. Starters dont play 48 minutes a game, and lineup possibilities in the modern game are endless.

I have zero insight into Jazz personnel’s thinking, this is justmy opinion:

 Are guys like Raul Neto and Shelvin Mack really good enough to warrant basing your draft on them? Teams dont generally go into a draft with 0 players on the roster, so theres going to be some incumbent guys who play the same position as the guy(s) you draft. Doesnt mean you avoid drafting a guy at that position if you feel hes the best talent on the board.

Baldwin projects to maybe have a floor similar to that of George Hill, a big guard who struggles some as a playmaker but offers above average defense at 2 positions and high percentage long range shooting. There’s room for that in any lineup. Its an even easier fit for Utah since a lot of their offense is actually run through Hayward and Hood, so Baldwin’s lack of playmaking doesnt hurt as much, and he can play to the strengths he offers as an off-ball shooter.

Even if hes not some franchise-changing starting PG, and even if Exum miraculously became one, theres still room in the rotation for someone like Baldwin. Starters dont play 48 minutes a game, and lineup possibilities in the modern game are endless.

 I honestly think the Jazz will package #12 and Burkes for a vet, but who would that get them?

 I honestly think the Jazz will package #12 and Burkes for a vet, but who would that get them?

The Jazz are likely very committed to Exum, and he may make these speculations seem worse in hindsight. A trade of the #12 and Burke is also not out of the question (the Jazz have the Hawks number to call for Jeff Teague). Baldwin is the best fit otherwise. He has size, athleticism, he can shoot, and he is a fiery competitor (his interviews are not dissimilar to Russell Westbrook). I would bet Baldwin is better than Dunn in five years. If Exum is great, Baldwin would be a great combo guard off the bench, and could possibly make Burks trade bait. 

The Jazz are likely very committed to Exum, and he may make these speculations seem worse in hindsight. A trade of the #12 and Burke is also not out of the question (the Jazz have the Hawks number to call for Jeff Teague). Baldwin is the best fit otherwise. He has size, athleticism, he can shoot, and he is a fiery competitor (his interviews are not dissimilar to Russell Westbrook). I would bet Baldwin is better than Dunn in five years. If Exum is great, Baldwin would be a great combo guard off the bench, and could possibly make Burks trade bait. 

"Wade Baldwin isn’t in the mix for the Jazz. DX is just artificially inflating his stock because they got access to one of his workouts."

Hype, I couldn’t have said it better myself.  All you have to do is watch DX’s mock closely and you’ll see that they updated it based on who gives them what.  Basically the same reason why Simmons wasn’t #1 on their board until recently.

And the moment they moved him to #1 was the same day they moved Chriss to #3.  The second move there generated more buzz which really took away from the fact that they finally moved Simmons to the top spot…

DX may have a larger following at this point, but that’s because they are sell outs IMO.  Not that making money isn’t a good thing for them, but the way they go about it is wrong.

I personally just like their scouting videos that Schmitz does.  Other than that I steer clear of their site.

"Wade Baldwin isn’t in the mix for the Jazz. DX is just artificially inflating his stock because they got access to one of his workouts."

Hype, I couldn’t have said it better myself.  All you have to do is watch DX’s mock closely and you’ll see that they updated it based on who gives them what.  Basically the same reason why Simmons wasn’t #1 on their board until recently.

And the moment they moved him to #1 was the same day they moved Chriss to #3.  The second move there generated more buzz which really took away from the fact that they finally moved Simmons to the top spot…

DX may have a larger following at this point, but that’s because they are sell outs IMO.  Not that making money isn’t a good thing for them, but the way they go about it is wrong.

I personally just like their scouting videos that Schmitz does.  Other than that I steer clear of their site.

The Jazz have been banging on the "pick BPA" drum for years now. They don’t care if that would create logjams, they want the best talent and they think they can give their prospects enough time to develop them. Also they are pretty set on every position with great young players/talents, so that really allows them not to worry about needs.

Starting PG seems to be the most shaky position, but they seem to have put great trust in Exum and everything they’ve done so far points to them really believing he’s going to be great in the league.

I personally don’t want them to trade the pick for 1 year rental of Jeff Teague. I think this would be horrible – you either give up the 12 pick for 1 year of Jeff Teague, or you give the 12 pick for the privillege of paying Jeff Teague 4-5x 25 next year going into his 30s. I honestly don’t know which one is worse, but I hate both options.

If it were me, I’d shoot for the moon with this pick – if Skal is there, get him and develop him slowly. We don’t need him to contribute right away. Strenghten the bench in FA or via trades(Burke, Pleiss, Burks, future picks?)…

With all that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked a player at any position really and I wouldn’t be taking drafting a player at any position to mean anything about what they think for their current roster of players. 

The Jazz have been banging on the "pick BPA" drum for years now. They don’t care if that would create logjams, they want the best talent and they think they can give their prospects enough time to develop them. Also they are pretty set on every position with great young players/talents, so that really allows them not to worry about needs.

Starting PG seems to be the most shaky position, but they seem to have put great trust in Exum and everything they’ve done so far points to them really believing he’s going to be great in the league.

I personally don’t want them to trade the pick for 1 year rental of Jeff Teague. I think this would be horrible – you either give up the 12 pick for 1 year of Jeff Teague, or you give the 12 pick for the privillege of paying Jeff Teague 4-5x 25 next year going into his 30s. I honestly don’t know which one is worse, but I hate both options.

If it were me, I’d shoot for the moon with this pick – if Skal is there, get him and develop him slowly. We don’t need him to contribute right away. Strenghten the bench in FA or via trades(Burke, Pleiss, Burks, future picks?)…

With all that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked a player at any position really and I wouldn’t be taking drafting a player at any position to mean anything about what they think for their current roster of players.