Small Pieces of KOC's rebuilding plan revealed

[Stifle Tower]

I think rebuilding means you're going to tear something down and completely redo it. That part is virtually done. The Jazz have a foundation in place: a young 4/5 rotation of Favors, Jefferson and Millsap; a SG (or SF) in Hayward. Harris is signed for another couple of years. What the Jazz needs is another starting wing and a young PG to develop. Another solid big wouldn't hurt, either. Adding three players and maybe signing a veteran backup is not rebuilding. And maybe "remodeling" means with all the youth, the Jazz will look to play more up tempo.

 

[billyshelby]

But where are you going with Devin Harris and Al Jefferson? Perhaps one of the PG's available to the Jazz will be better for the team. I think that having Jefferson is going to hinder the development of Derrick Favors to some degree.

You say that these young guys played because there was no one better ahead of them, but those teams got rid of the guys that would have taken minutes from them (Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas). How much worse would the Jazz be by having say Kyrie, Knight, or Walker play instead of Devin Harris?

I hate that KOC tries to say we are not rebuilding. You traded the best player the Jazz have had in the past decade for draft picks. That sounds like rebuilding to me. If you're going to rebuild, then REBUILD. Get rid of the veterans that demand time/the ball to make room for guys to develop which is exactly what OKC did. Hayward and Favors are a nice start. A few more young pieces and we are there.

Where are we going with Al/Devin? Don't know. The point is they already are good NBA players. We need to see them play to figure out how much they figure into the future. As for Favors, what I saw of him last year is he's absolutely not ready to be a 30 plus starter. His offensive game is so raw. But he'll be 20. If he only got 25 minutes a game next year, that's plenty for him to show he should get 30. If he deserves 30 from the jump, he'll get it.

How much worse would the Jazz be playing Kyrie, Knight, Walker over Harris? 99% chance A LOT. John Wall didn't set the world on fire last year. PG is absolutely the toughest position to transition into the pros. Yeah, there's a small chance they'll come in awesome. But the overwhelming odds are they won't.

OKC 'totally rebuilt' because they HAD to. They started with absolutely nothing. They got Durant (and Green), added Westbrook, added Harden. But they had absolutely NOTHING behind those guys. If they had the guys we had, they wouldn't have rebuilt the way they did. Alternatively, the list of teams trying to rebuild through superstar draft picks like they did is long and hasn't gone well -- Clippers, Detroit, Toronto, Sacto, GS, and on and on.

 

[Stifle Tower]

I watched the entire interview and mellow has that one quote blown completely out of proportion. All through the interview KOC talks about the need for patience, that the Jazz have a lot of young players. He said whoever the Jazz pick may not be able to contribute much right away. Then Aldridge brings up the term "rebuilding" and KOC responds appropriately. What do we want him to say, that he wants the team to lose 60 games? Basically the Jazz have the same team that started 27-13, except for Harris replacing Deron. The depth is better with Favors, an improved Hayward and a top 3 rookie. No, the Jazz won't duplicate that great start, but I'd be disappointed if they aren't in the 40-win range (if the NBA goes 82 games).

 

[freakazoid]

As a Jazz fan I would be okay losing for a few years to have a strong team for 10 years.

The problem with this is that a losing mentality can be hard to overcome once it becomes habit. Not only that, but I doubt very much that Jazz fans would accept losing for two years, regardless of the situation. Half this board would want to trade everybody and fire Corbin about half way through the first season.

 

[billyshelby]

Any player getting regular minutes has ample opportunity to prove he should get more. Or start. Or be a superstar. But development never supersedes winning. There is no team in the NBA that has ever consciously decided to lose in order to develop players.

Memphis is the absolute best example of this. Before this year, they were young and crappy. Then Gay got hurt which should have meant they were crappier. The young talent on their team was Mayo and Thabeet (and maybe even Henry). All those guys were HIGH 1st round draft picks being paid a lot of money. What did they do? They played Thabeet as little as possible because they had guys ahead of him that were better, namely Arthur. They CUT Mayo's minutes by 12. That's enormous for a guy who averaged 38 the previous 2 years. But Allen made them better. And Henry couldn't find his way on the court.

Should they have committed to Thabeet, Mayo, or Henry to develop them? No.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Should they have committed to Thabeet, Mayo, or Henry to develop them? No.

No, because those players aren't good. Hayward and Favors are, and you can be pretty confident that whoever the Jazz are going to be bringing in over the next few years will have a much better chance of being good WHEN IT MATTERS.

My distaste for Al Jefferson is well-known and long-tenured (long before he was ever on the team), but at least his game won't age poorly and he's not that old at the end of the day. However, while I like Harris more NOW, he's coming up on 30 and there's simply no way he is going to be the primary PG on this team if it ever sniffs contention again. Harris is a dead-end and a waste of time. By the time the Jazz might be a middle-tier playoff team, Harris will be past 30 and the Jazz will either have to re-sign an aging veteran or lose him for nothing. Let's lose him while there's still time to get something for him.

Harris = Dead-end

 

[vj_74]

Nothing KOC has said is surprising. The idea in Jazzland is to always field a "competetive" team.. Their bottomline is making the playoffs ASAP. Anything beyond that is gravy. And for that you need Al, Devin and Millsap. If this team is serious about contending for a championship it would be looking to trade Devin Harris and either Al or Millsap for a wing and a PG, not calling them the core players whom the youngsters should look up to.

 

[theNBAnerd]

Basically the Jazz have the same team that started 27-13, except for Harris replacing Deron. The depth is better with Favors, an improved Hayward and a top 3 rookie. No, the Jazz won't duplicate that great start, but I'd be disappointed if they aren't in the 40-win range (if the NBA goes 82 games).

there's all kinds of problems with that logic, but let's start with the fact that you're shrugging off the difference between deron and devin, which is actually a pretty big one.

 

[NUMBERICA]

there's all kinds of problems with that logic, but let's start with the fact that you're shrugging off the difference between deron and devin, which is actually a pretty big one.

Thank you. And that's forgetting Sloan and Johnson to a guy that's never coached.

 

[Stifle Tower]

there's all kinds of problems with that logic, but let's start with the fact that you're shrugging off the difference between deron and devin, which is actually a pretty big one.

And I also said I don't expect the jazz to be that good (27-13). 41 wins means a .500 team. I think the Jazz SHOULD be a .500 team. They have decent talent and will have a better bench, not to mention two rookies who looked they were starting to grasp the game in Hayward and Favors. Assume Harris-Hayward-Jefferson-Millsap-CJ. That means Watson, Favors and the #3 pick off the bench. And maybe a veteran wing if AK isn't re-signed. Bell and Okur COULD make nice contributions as well, but I'm not counting on that in my assumptions.

Yes, Corbin is a drop-off from Sloan. But Sloan lost the team last year. Corbin won't alter the style much, but he should bring more energy and that will translate well with the young guys. I'm still thinking 38-42 wins.

 

[UB]

Great now KOC is selling the team to Vegas all because of what some kid overheard a guy saying in the mother****ing BEST BUY PARKING LOT. Great.

 

[theNBAnerd]

oh don't get me wrong, i think with the right kind of summer and enough growth from within, they can exceed 41 wins. i just think the logic of "essentially the same team" is bogus. that's like saying that the cavs had essentially the same team after they replaced lebron james with joey graham. they lost their BEST player by far, and then they lost the coach that has given the team its identity for two and a half decades. the two faces of the franchise, gone within two weeks of one another.

so yes, i'm optimistic about the future... and no, this is absolutely not "essentially the same team" as last year.