[OhCanada-Participant]

With obvious holes in the wing, and no true Center other then injury prone Okur,Utah has holes to fill. The Jazz GM believe they can build around Harris at PG, Watson gives them a great backup so that position seems fine although Earl is expiring. They are stacked at PF with Millsap, Favors, and Jefferson who is a true PF playing C. Hayward gives them one good wing for the present and the future, and can play SG or SF. Miles and Bell have been extremely inconsistant from their positions, and Miles didnt have the breakout year many were hoping he would have.

What makes this pick so difficult is the fact that utah does not simply take best player available. They take the best player available for thier system.

From 1 to 5 who is the best fit for Utah and who is the worst.

Enes Kanter- I actaully think his game is very similar to Jefferson. Very big, skilled, and mobile for thier size yet is he another black hole. Is probally a big PF, with the size to play C lik DeMarcus Cousins.

Jan Vesely- Seems like the perfect player to develop and grow as a Jazz wing. Hayward and Vesely would give teams fits at the wing position defensively. With their athletisism, and the fact that teams would have the defend them all the way from the free throw line it would be a long night for anybody trying to gaurd them. Hard worker who plays his role. Jazz type guy.

Brandon Knight- The Jazz could choose to slowly develop Knight as thier backup and sort ofsee what they get with him instead ofn resigning Watson. He is a strong PG who knocks down jumpers, can create his own shot, and plays solid defense. He is also an underrated distributor.

Alec Burks- I really think he would be great for this Jazz team cutting and diving to the hoop for athletic baskets similar to how Gordan scores. If he extends his game and adds some range he could be a steal even at 5-7.

Jonas Valanciunas-Utah always seems to do well with project bigs. How they do without Sloan unknown. A project C would not be a bad pickup for Utah with injury prone Okurs contract expiring after next season, and since they are likely not going to compete for the Championship anytime soon. Also they have a 2nd pick to draft a ready player like Morris, Fredette, Leonard, etc.

 

[CodySLCParticipant]

I think they will keep Jefferson at center. He played really well their all year. They also have Favors who can play the 5. Right now they have a really good 3 big man rotation. So I doubt they go big. The biggest hole on the team is on the wing at sg and sf. Word is the Jazz won’t pay A.K. that much to resign. So its very possible he’s out also. Which makes them even thinner. And I think C.J. might be better suited as a scorer of the bench. Possibly in the 6th man role. Hayward will be a starter next year. So with that being said I hope the Jazz draft with the Nets pick first Alec Burkes. I think he’s style of play is just what we need. If not I hope its Brandon Knight. We could bring along behind Harris for a year or two. And go small with 2 pg’s. Tho they may try and get Jimmer with their second lotto pick. Its looks like Knight and Burkes could both be special players. Id be happy with either. Harris who is a good pg. But isn’t the long term future.

[M-DYMESParticipant]

By fit…

1.  Alec Burks- they desperately need a 2-guard.  I see 2 gaping holes on this team, SG and C (Big Al is a PF).  PG could use an upgrade as well, but Alec would fill the 2 and could play PG on occassion.  He has tremendous upside and could end up the best prospect in the draft.

2.  Brandon Knight- Is Harris the answer at PG?  I don’t think the Jazz think so.  Nevertheless, if they would choose to keep him, he can also play the 2 as he did in Dallas.  Knight is not that far off from Irving in his value as a PG prospect.  He is a superb talent who has a mature feel to his game, a perfect fit for the Jazz.

3.  Jonas Valanciunas- C needs an upgrade.  Okur has dropped off a bit and is gettin older.  Big Al is better served as a PF and isn’t the best defender.  Jonas could complement Al very well and allow Al to focus his efforts more on the offensive end. 

4.  Jan Vesely- My fav. prospect in the draft.  They just took Hayward so the need is not huge.  That being said, he is a tremendous talent who is versatile and adds a spark to the team. 

5.  Enes Kanter- Arguably the most talented and nba-ready of these 5, but he is very very similar to Big Al IMO.  He’s not the best defender and has that "black hole" element to his game, just like Big Al.  Not saying it wouldn’t work out, but I think I’d rather address other needs with other talents rather than bringing in a clone of a player you already have. 

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

There is no way in hell the Jazz are taking a big man with their first pick sorry. Jefferson, Favors, Millsap and Okur — when healthy that’s a stacked front line.

But this is arguably the worst jump shooting team in the league, with a gigantic hole at the 2. I honestly think at this point they’ll target Knight cuz any other 2 guard would be a reach and Knight’s combination of quickness/length/upside will be tempting and I could see him playing next to Harris.

[mj23mj23besteverParticipant]

utah needsa starting 2 guard and imo burks can step right in and fill that void i do think utah is gonna pick jimmer wiht their second pick hed be a huge fan fav in utah and a solid backup guard

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 Utah really hasn’t had much success with Centers let alone project centers. Remember Ostertag. Started forever and could never seem to be that good. Okur is the best one Utah has had but he is not at all a true Center. He can shoot 3’s for crying out loud. Not many center’s can shoot 3’s but he is old. And what about Fez. He has his good days and bad days, but no matter what it seems that can’t play without fouling. And then there’s the disaster Koufos. He was never that good, and he nevere showed any sort of potential, not to me at least. Thank goodness he’s gone.

I really don’t think Utah will go big, because really the only big man that is truly a center is Jonas Valanciunas, yet he has buy out problems and so he will stay in Lithuania for at least a year or two before he comes over. Kanter is more of a 4 because he is probably only 6’10. This site has him listed at 6’11 but I doubt that. He may end up measuring in at 6’10 and what’s more, he might have knee problems. And besides the Jazz are already stacked down low with Jefferson, Favors (both of which can play the 5), Millsap, Fez, and Okur. Okur may not be healthy but even without they have 4 bigman and there would be no room for a 5th.

So with that being said, I think the choice comes down to 4 maybe 5 players. Alec Burks, Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, Jimmer Fredette, and maybe Jan Vesely. The reason why I say maybe about Vesely is that even though he is athletic, hard worker and improving his 3pt range; he also is a horrible ball handler. With his ball handling skills I don’t think he’ll be able to play the 3 that well in the NBA. He might be better off as a 4, which as I said before the Jazz are already stacked at.

Burks, Knight and Jones are really the best fits for the Jazz. Both Burks and Jones can pass really well which is exactly how the Jazz’s offense works and Knight is improving his passing ability with every game so he isn’t that far off. PG to me is not that big of a need. It is certainly a need but not as big as a 2 and a 3. Utah has Harris, who is not that bad at PG and he is still on contract for next year. Behind him they have Price, who also is not a bad backup. (I doubt Watson will be coming back because Utah is rebuilding and even though I do like Watson, Utah will be rebuilding for probably the next two years and Watson, Bell, and AK are all in the late stages of their careers so they will want to end their careers on a high note not losing a bunch of games with Utah, so all 3 of them will be gone by next year)

Burks, like already been mentioned is the best fit, but if he in not available for the first pick, then Knight would come next. At 12, there are also 2 players I am looking at. First Jimmer, who would be a very nice 6th man. (Even if Miles is coming off the bench he is still inconsistent, and I would like my 6th man to be more consistent) but if Jimmer is not available than Terrance Jones. (I wouldn’t mind having Hayward start, which is why Jimmer is mentioned first but besides there really is no bench player that is worthy of going in the lottery so filling the 3 wouldn’t be so bad. Jones and Hayward would just fight for the starting spot which makes both better anyways)

• Jersey pick: Alec Burks but if not available, Brandon Knight
• 12th pick: Jimmer Fredette, but if not available, Terrance Jones

[NashyMingParticipant]

From what I have read, the Jazz management doesn’t like Al Jefferson because he played too selfishly for the Jazz system.  Also the new coach not liking Big Al much (there were incidents when Big Al argued with the coach).

With Favors, Millsap, Okur (coming back from injury), the Jazz would probably explore trading Al Jefferson.  I wouldn’t be surprised that they would draft a C and trade away Al Jefferson for a decent package.

[bankjungParticipant]

I hope the jazz get center from  free agent market like greg oden (from the team that steal metthew from us) and focus to draft the pg or sg.

this summer they can play everything , they have cap room , they have two first round pick.

ps. i have a question about the draft. how many first round draft from the jazz that i remember jazz get 1 first round pick from memphis(from brewer trade) and 1 first round pick (from d.will trade)

[omphalosParticipant]

You would take Jimmer over Jones? That’s a pretty bold call right there.

[the27guyParticipant]

I think those of you saying Burks is the right guy need to step back and look at the Jazz’s needs for a minute. Do they need a wing player? Heck yes! But, more importantly, they need a big time shooter. They point about the Jazz being the worst jump shooting team in the league was dead on. They’re awful, and they’ll address that with their picks.

I think the talent coming out this year, and where they’re picking does not necessarily match up well for the Jazz. I believe they’ll trade at least one of the two first rounders. But if they do use the picks, at least one of them is going to be used on a guard that can shoot (Jimmer, Walker, Knight).

[Lotto StudParticipant]

This may sound crazy, but I would go with both Brandon Knight & Terrence Jones, which both fills needs. AK47 may not be back, I just can’t see Miles playing the 3 his whole career in Utah, he is a pure 2 who happens to be able to play the 3. Brandon Knight is an upgrade over Harris & Watson because he does not have to have the ball & he can play in some sets with a line up of Harris, Knight, Miles, if Utah wants to run a 3 guard set.

[dmo21Participant]

With Charlotte not having any big men, I could see them maybe wanting Jefferson, which would solve one of their team needs. How about Jefferson for Diaw(expiring contract) and Augustin(young pg to be Harris’ backup) and maybe the 19th pick(New Orleans’ pick). I don’t know if throwing in that last pick is needed, but I’ll just put it in for now.

Charlotte then drafts Kemba Walker with their pick and have a lineup of Walker(Livingston), Henderson(Carroll), Jackson(Najera), Thomas(White), Jefferson(Diop).

Utah will now have 3 first round picks and I would have them taking Burks, Leonard, and Biyambo. They would have a lineup of Harris(Augustin), Burks(Bell), Hayward(Leonard), Millsap(Diaw), Okur(Favors/Biyambo). The lineup could be severely different as many guys can play multiple positions, but they would have a good future lineup with lots of young guys.

[kobyzParticipant]

for their first pick of course Alec Burks, they badly needs a SG, Burks is a great fit and has huge potential.

after that with their second pick it might be acceptable for them to go even if it a little bit a reach at #12 for Jimmer Fredette that we all know Utah would love to bring as being a local kid, this will also give them a nice 3 guards rotation of Harris, Burks and Fredette.

 

[scootover7Participant]

IF Utah by some miracle gets the first pick I think you take Derrick Williams.  He is a SF who I feel has game.  I feel that he will provide this team with some toughness.  They could also take Kyrie Irving here and play Devin Harris at the 2.  If Utah gets a pick around 5 I like the idea of taking Burks because he is a combo guard and is 6’6".  IF Williams isn’t already taken you take Terrence Jones with the second pick.  Another option which might be crazy is to go and trade Jefferson and the two picks and get a really good veteran.

[elevation1013Participant]

They should try and deal with the Wiz to dump Jeffferson. He fits great on that team at PF next to McGee and that would give Utah a chance to develop Favors more at the 4. I would package him and Raja to them and take on Rashard Lewis and his albatross of a contract if it netted good draft picks as well. It works out to an extra $5mil for 2 years. Anyone else think this would be a good potential trade? Could swap Nick Young for CJ as well to give the Jazz some shooting, but one would imagine Washington would give up a lot to get a player like Jefferson while dumping Lewis.

Who wins in this trade? Wash gets Jefferson, Raja while Utah gets Lewis, Young and 2011 top 7 pick?

[elevation1013Participant]

Here’s the visual. 

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=424jsoy

You gotta think Washington would like to add two starters this offseason over future prospects, and Utah is almost halfway between rebuilding/8th seed, meaning they should probably rebuild more. Utah already have 2 2011 and 2 2012 picks, this team could be scary if they’re willing to aquire more from Wash and build through the draft for two seasons. If they got Washington’s 1st this year the Jazz could say goodbye to their 3 point shooting issues with this lineup:

PG: Harris/Jimmer

SG: Hayward/Knight

SF: Miles/Lewis/Terrence Jones

PF: Millsap/Favors/Evans

C: Okur/Fesenko

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