What scares me for Thursday is

[Stifle Tower]

Were not going to be a Finals team until we get a more aggressive OWNER and COACH

Fixed.

KOC has had to carry out the wishes of Larry H (now Greg) and Jerry. When he's allowed, he's made some decent moves (signing Okur and Boozer, trading up for Deron, etc). But the Millers and Sloan value stability. They want the same guys back year after year. What other team would carry Jarron for so long?

It was Larry who stopped the trade for AK. It was Greg who told KOC he had to dump Harpring's contract (which also cost us Maynor) and then Ronnie B.

Outside of the Snyder and Humphries draft, KOC has done a nice job. And even then, many so-called experts gave the Jazz A's for those two picks. KOC often finds himself backed into a corner by Sloan (e.g. Arroyo and Giricek).

Until this season, when the Jazz HAD to match Millsap's offer, the Millers NEVER exceeded the tax. And they wouldn't have if Carlos had done the expected and opted out.

Given the constraints of working in Utah and working for an ultra-conservative ownership group and head coach, I'd say O'Connor has done one helluva job. He's in the top-10, probably top-5 of GM's.

 

[TroutBum]

I can't wait for the darft to be over so I can stop reading stupid **** from the OP.

Enough already, Judas.

 

[VINYLONE]

Wow Dave. Little emotional tonight?

 

[richgates]

There was a sports radio guy whose name eludes me, who was talking about the trade of Thurl Bailey in 1991. A caller asked why the Jazz would trade such a great guy, and the reply was fitting, "Nice guys don't win NBA championships."

EDIT: It was Dave Blackwell. Not surprising really, he was always a guy who spoke his mind. I miss him.

 

[TroutBum]

Wow Dave. Little emotional tonight?

Well, you know Dick, I did lose my softball game tonight -- so yes, I am a little pissy.

 

[Guitaro]

Fixed.

KOC has had to carry out the wishes of Larry H (now Greg) and Jerry. When he's allowed, he's made some decent moves (signing Okur and Boozer, trading up for Deron, etc). But the Millers and Sloan value stability. They want the same guys back year after year. What other team would carry Jarron for so long?

It was Larry who stopped the trade for AK. It was Greg who told KOC he had to dump Harpring's contract (which also cost us Maynor) and then Ronnie B.

Outside of the Snyder and Humphries draft, KOC has done a nice job. And even then, many so-called experts gave the Jazz A's for those two picks. KOC often finds himself backed into a corner by Sloan (e.g. Arroyo and Giricek).

Until this season, when the Jazz HAD to match Millsap's offer, the Millers NEVER exceeded the tax. And they wouldn't have if Carlos had done the expected and opted out.

Given the constraints of working in Utah and working for an ultra-conservative ownership group and head coach, I'd say O'Connor has done one helluva job. He's in the top-10, probably top-5 of GM's.

+1

I would have to agree that ownership has been a little shortsighted or maybe too attached to certain players out of loyalty over winning more games. I can respect this but I can also appreciate the effort and sacrifice it takes to win a championship.

If anyone's bored, look up the average championship team's salary compared to the average of the league every year. I would think that it would be near the top every year. The only exception would've been the younger Spurs and/or maybe Pistons? (Trying to remember when guys like Hamilton, etc, signed their big extensions.)

 

[David Stern]

There was a sports radio guy whose name eludes me, who was talking about the trade of Thurl Bailey in 1991. A caller asked why the Jazz would trade such a great guy, and the reply was fitting, "Nice guys don't win NBA championships."

That pretty much sums up the title teams for the past decade.

 

[unluckyseventeen]

2003- took Sasha and passed on Barbosa, Perkins, Travis Outlaw, Josh Howard
2004- Worst draft ever Took Snyder and Humphries. Passed on Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, JR Smith , Jameer Nelson, Kevin Martin, Tony Allen, Trevor Ariza
2005- Great draft with D will and CJ
2006- Good, not great took Brewer but trade him away 3 years later, not a lot of talent in that draft
2007- Took Morris Almond, passed on Aaron Afflalo, Aaron Brooks, Big Baby Davis, Marc Gasol, carl Landry
2008- Took Doufus, passed on Ibaka, Batum, George Hill, DeAndre Jordan, Mario chalmers, Chris Douglas Roberts
2009- Took Eric Maynor and traded him the same year. Passed on Omri Cassipi, Darren Collison, Taj Gibson, Beaubois, Chase Buddinger, Marcus Thorton. Worst off this draft was getting Goran sutton, ended up cutting him in TC

I really hate it when people do this, acting as if it's legitimate beef to say "they passed on this guy, this guy...". Well, guess what, you could say the same thing about every other GM in the NBA. 29 teams passed on Millsap. 29 teams passed on CJ Miles. 29 teams passed on Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. 30 teams passed on Wesley Matthews. Therefore, every GM in the NBA is stupid... I have the evidence to support that point. See?

Here's the truth about the draft: Being able to tell how college talent is going to translate to NBA production is a complete crapshoot. You go off them playing in an incomplete offense against inferior "NBA-level" talent for a few minutes at a time, while several different scouts form an estimation and they collaborate in an attempt to see who might be better than the other. You base assumptions off this, and take a chance. Sometimes it pays works, sometimes it doesn't. You really never know what you're going to get. The higher your pick is, the better chance you're going to get a player that will contribute meaningfully. That's all it is.. a chance.

So, let's not get into the "he passed on this player, and that player..." crap. It's a baseless argument and can be said about every other GM in the NBA.

 

[NUMBERICA]

2006 was an amazing draft for the Jazz (as that draft sucked as a whole and they got the steal of the draft and a future draft pick).

In 2007, you left out possibly the biggest mistake in passing on Tiago Splitter.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

2006 was an amazing draft for the Jazz (as that draft sucked as a whole and they got the steal of the draft and a future draft pick).

In 2007, you left out possibly the biggest mistake in passing on Tiago Splitter.

You mean the guy who may never play in the NBA? Yeah, too bad we missed out on that.

 

[mellow]

What scares me for Thursday is.....missing out on the free hotdog coupon or an announcement that the Jazz have reached an extension agreement with Boozer. Anything else I can deal with. I've been a fan since the Jose Ortiz debacle nothing would suprise me.

 

[NUMBERICA]

You mean the guy who may never play in the NBA? Yeah, too bad we missed out on that.

He probably will. Teams/Players aren't bound by the rookie scale after 3 years (I thought otherwise). Add that to the tanking Euro, and there's plenty of incentive for him to come over next season. If he is Pau Gasol-ish (but tougher), then the Spurs aren't going away anytime soon. Especially if Jefferson stops sucking.