5 year plan-- Are the Jazz focused on winning a title?

[Lakers_Slapper]

I think I speak for many Jazz fans when I say- I am a little frustrated in the lack of motivation and intensity on the Jazz winning an NBA title. We all know that it is going to take 2 of the best players in the NBA to even get close. I understand that we are in a rebuilding stage, but we have been in that stage since the retirement of John Stockton. You cant tell me that the Jazz have done everything that they could of. We need a little bit of luck with this up coming draft, but what then? It seems to me that the Jazz are just content with being a playoff contender and thats it.

I dont question that everyone on the team has hopes of winning it all, but then again- what team doesnt? There's a difference of "wanting it" and putting the pieces in place to "get it".

 

[Chris]

I hear ya Slapper. I have felt this way too, especially in '03-'04 when our roster consisted of Curtis Borchardt, Keon Clark, Tom Gugliotta, Ben Handlogten, Raul Lopez, AK and a few others. The fact that we even came out above .500 that season astounds me and is further testament to Sloan's coaching prowess. The best thing that team ever did for us was get us a high lottery pick. What helps me keep the faith now is that we built a pretty decent team after that, starting with the lottery, and decent free agent signings. I do believe that, if we play our cards right this year, that we won't even have to look at free agents. I honestly feel that we have a good core group of guys right now that our fortune in this lottery can greatly enhance. While I do understand your frustration, I also think we're on the cusp of something great here. Should we end up with Kanter/Williams and Jimmer, I think the Jazz will be a lot better than people think this season. From there, the sky's the limit. Stay thirsty, my friend.

 

[Qman]

I think I speak for many Jazz fans when I say- I am a little frustrated in the lack of motivation and intensity on the Jazz winning an NBA title. We all know that it is going to take 2 of the best players in the NBA to even get close. I understand that we are in a rebuilding stage, but we have been in that stage since the retirement of John Stockton. You cant tell me that the Jazz have done everything that they could of. We need a little bit of luck with this up coming draft, but what then? It seems to me that the Jazz are just content with being a playoff contender and thats it.

I dont question that everyone on the team has hopes of winning it all, but then again- what team doesnt? There's a difference of "wanting it" and putting the pieces in place to "get it".

Every team that has won the championship recently has at least one all-nba player. So we need some players that are top-3 at their position. Such players are rare and teams usually only trade one all-nba player for another. So he usual way to get an all-nba player is to draft and develop them.

I would say Favors has the tools to be an all-nba player someday. Hayward has an outside chance of doing so. Whomever we draft at 3 hopefully has that kind of talent. Once you have a great player or two then you can worry about spending the money to fill in the gaps on your team. Spending money without the centerpiece player(s) is just stupid.

So what you are really saying is that you are feeling impatient.

 

[vj_74]

Too early for title aspirations. Jazz just broke up a team that was supposed to be competing for one. Right now Greggy boy would just look to make the playoffs and kind of break even. And then, depending on how many of our draft picks pan out and how many of them we are able to retain, we can talk about a title possibly in 2-3 yrs. Unless, the Jazz surprise all of us by making a trade or two and buying an instant contender package like the Heat.

 

[green]

The Jazz are fine. They are in a system that does everything it can to hold them back. They are in a system that encourages great players to play in 5 cities, and Salt Lake ain't even close to those 5. The fact that Utah has been so competitive is amazing. More than a good draft pick, we need to be rooting for a long lockout, which allows the owners to take back the league and give smaller markets a chance.

I mean, the luxury tax completely favors large markets. Can Minnesota, Utah, Oklahoma City, and other small markets ever be able to go over the tax and pay the fines long term? Heck no. For LA, Dallas, Boston, New York, etc it isn't near as big a deal as it is for small markets. Completely favors that large markets and kills small markets.

Given the circumstances, Utah has been quite remarkable.

 

[sepanol]

The Jazz are fine. They are in a system that does everything it can to hold them back. They are in a system that encourages great players to play in 5 cities, and Salt Lake ain't even close to those 5. The fact that Utah has been so competitive is amazing. More than a good draft pick, we need to be rooting for a long lockout, which allows the owners to take back the league and give smaller markets a chance.

I mean, the luxury tax completely favors large markets. Can Minnesota, Utah, Oklahoma City, and other small markets ever be able to go over the tax and pay the fines long term? Heck no. For LA, Dallas, Boston, New York, etc it isn't near as big a deal as it is for small markets. Completely favors that large markets and kills small markets.

Given the circumstances, Utah has been quite remarkable.

Detroit isnt a very big franchise but they played eastern finals 4-5 yrs consequtively, they didnt have any Kobe or Lebron but they had 5 very good players and a balanced team. I think the model we should follow should be theirs. We cant bring any superstar by free agency and even if we get by draft its hard to keep them, but if we have 5 good players, (Hayward and Favors r 2 of them, hopefuly 1 more this years draft) then we can have a chance of being contender.

 

[JFFR]

Try to be a little more realistic. It's difficult to win a championship and the Jazz have put together teams that compete for a championship every year for the past 5 years. The DWill-Boozer-AK-Memo and company team was very close. If we could have had Fisher for another year, we would have been right there The Jazz have had great teams, they've just had bad luck. (The Jazz took a real hit when they lost Fisher. Not only did they lose a big asset, they got nothing in return for him. That was really, really bad luck. They've also had bad luck with injuries)

This year's team believed that they had every piece necessary to win a championship and fan's believed it back in November. Remember when they were the "come back kids" When they only played 3 quarters of basketball and beat even the best teams in the league?

Every team that has won the championship recently has at least one all-nba player.

What about the Detroit Pistons? (I'm being honest here, I was on my mission!)

I have no doubt that the Jazz are focused on winning a championship. And I'm optimistic for our future. But just remember, it's really hard to win a championship. It took Mark Cuban $100+ million/year for 11 years to get it done. The Jazz can't spend that kind of money, but they do a good job with what they have.

I think its ridiculous when Jazz fans feel they are entitled to a championship. It's just not that easy to get one in the NBA.

 

[green]

Detroit isnt a very big franchise but they played eastern finals 4-5 yrs consequtively, they didnt have any Kobe or Lebron but they had 5 very good players and a balanced team. I think the model we should follow should be theirs. We cant bring any superstar by free agency and even if we get by draft its hard to keep them, but if we have 5 good players, (Hayward and Favors r 2 of them, hopefuly 1 more this years draft) then we can have a chance of being contender.

Detroit is the 11th largest tv market in the US. They are a large market. Detroit also had 5 top ten draft picks on that team. They were stacked. I don't buy this argument at all. They had multiple All-Stars on the team. They had talent, and had to pay for that talent. Again, advantage large market. Until the CBA changes, you will continue to see large markets win over small markets. Heck, has a small market won a title in the last 10 years?

 

[green]

Dallas - 6th largest tv market
Lakers - 2nd
Lakers 2nd
Celtics 7th
Spurs 37
Heat 16
Spurs 37
Pistons 11
Spurs 37
Lakers 2
Lakers 2

Those are champions and their market size. The Jazz need to follow SA, not Detroit. We need to draft a Tim Duncan and put role players around him to win. We need to hope Favors or this year's #3 pan out. If that doesn't happen, we don't have a chance until we get a top three pick again. That is reality with the current CBA.

 

[vj_74]

The Spurs were in the luxury tax as well at some points. You cannot have a Duncan like player and then also have good players around him for cheap. If Favors pans out he'll need the big bucks. Jazz need to be smarter than ever about spending money. Another AK-like contract and they are doomed.

 

[vj_74]

Try to be a little more realistic. It's difficult to win a championship and the Jazz have put together teams that compete for a championship every year for the past 5 years. The DWill-Boozer-AK-Memo and company team was very close. If we could have had Fisher for another year, we would have been right there The Jazz have had great teams, they've just had bad luck. (The Jazz took a real hit when they lost Fisher. Not only did they lose a big asset, they got nothing in return for him. That was really, really bad luck. )

Bad luck? You werent around here at that time, maybe. A lot of fans here were giddy when Fisher left, since he was starting at SG and shooting a poor FG%. They wanted more mins for Brewer. Jazz saved some money too. It was supposed to be a win-win situation for LHM and Fisher at that time.
Even in hindsight, looking at the way Fisher's game has declined you cant say he would have been the difference maker playing 10mpg behind Deron. And if he were the starting SG it would have been even more difficult. Yes, his veteran savvy and championship experience would have helped win a few more games. But it wouldnt have helped us beat the Spurs/Lakers

 

[margodydek]

First off, I would sacrifice a reproductive organ to see the Jazz win the big one, but at the same time I consider myself a realist. We live in Utah, a small market, and not really considered a hot destination for young African American's who enjoy the nightlife. I never see us being able to lure a top 10 NBA talent through free agency, so let's hope that the new CBA will allow us to more easily keep our homebred talent going forward. For those that throw out the Pistons and their great run in the early 2000's, first off they were playing in the Eastern Conference. I GUARANTEE you that had the Jazz played in that conference during those years that we could have put a similar run together, and second, as has been previously mentioned, they were stacked.

I guess my point is that I do believe the Jazz can get to the top, but we are already at a disadvantage so we will have to be twice as effective as the bigger market teams, but I don't think you can criticize the Millers for not wanting to win as we had the 5th highest payroll last year. You can criticize them for their personnel decisions, but not opening the wallet.

 

[sepanol]

Detroit is the 11th largest tv market in the US. They are a large market. Detroit also had 5 top ten draft picks on that team. They were stacked. I don't buy this argument at all. They had multiple All-Stars on the team. They had talent, and had to pay for that talent. Again, advantage large market. Until the CBA changes, you will continue to see large markets win over small markets. Heck, has a small market won a title in the last 10 years?

Mabe they are slightly larger than Utah but they arent LA or New york or Boston at all. And i think, we can put 5 all stars in our team together more easily rather than 2 superstars like kobe and shaq. We already had Memo, deron, boozer, kirilenko, 3 allstars one superstar. So its doable. Just we failed with that team becuz of their personality clash and bad chemistry. We gotta find players with better character i think, who wouldnt make a mess in the franchise after losing 2 games

 

[sepanol]

I guess my point is that I do believe the Jazz can get to the top, but we are already at a disadvantage so we will have to be twice as effective as the bigger market teams
.

i agree

 

[JFFR]

Bad luck? You werent around here at that time, maybe. A lot of fans here were giddy when Fisher left, since he was starting at SG and shooting a poor FG%. They wanted more mins for Brewer. Jazz saved some money too. It was supposed to be a win-win situation for LHM and Fisher at that time.
Even in hindsight, looking at the way Fisher's game has declined you cant say he would have been the difference maker playing 10mpg behind Deron. And if he were the starting SG it would have been even more difficult. Yes, his veteran savvy and championship experience would have helped win a few more games. But it wouldnt have helped us beat the Spurs/Lakers

I agree that Fisher had no business starting at SG (how many people dropped 50 points on him?) But he was an asset and the Jazz got nothing in return for him. That hurt the Jazz.

You make a great point about him as the backup behind DWill. If he can't guard the 2 and DWill deserves 35 minutes a night, what is his role? Well, he's a lot better than BKnight, Hart, Price, etc. He also provided leadership in the lockerroom and on the floor. And I would have rather seen DWill and Fisher on the floor in the final minutes than DWill and Brewer (people had to guard Fisher, this created more room for Okur and others to hit big shots.)

 

[sportsnut1232]

We are in a much better position as we were with Dwill, IMO. We couldn't get that second star next to Dwill, and that's what it was gonna take. Now we have Favors and Hayward to build around, and we absolutely must get the best player we can at number 3.

To be optimistic, if Favors reaches his potential and becomes an elite big man, we will be in good shape. Another starter/borderline all star like Dwill2.0 or Kanter, and a solid rotation player at 12, and we have a deep, solid team that will grow together and could reach contender status.

Of course, there are many questions to be answered. How will Big Al fit into all this? And Harris? Will Ty be able to give us that defensive philosophy?

 

[sepanol]

We are in a much better position as we were with Dwill, IMO. We couldn't get that second star next to Dwill, and that's what it was gonna take. Now we have Favors and Hayward to build around, and we absolutely must get the best player we can at number 3.

To be optimistic, if Favors reaches his potential and becomes an elite big man, we will be in good shape. Another starter/borderline all star like Dwill2.0 or Kanter, and a solid rotation player at 12, and we have a deep, solid team that will grow together and could reach contender status.

Of course, there are many questions to be answered. How will Big Al fit into all this? And Harris? Will Ty be able to give us that defensive philosophy?

if we draft kanter, big al will probably get frustrated cuz he cant get enough mins, and he will be traded

 

[vslice02]

We need to draft a Tim Duncan and put role players around him to win.

Sign me up for this plan.

 

[Qman]

Detroit isnt a very big franchise but they played eastern finals 4-5 yrs consequtively, they didnt have any Kobe or Lebron but they had 5 very good players and a balanced team. I think the model we should follow should be theirs. We cant bring any superstar by free agency and even if we get by draft its hard to keep them, but if we have 5 good players, (Hayward and Favors r 2 of them, hopefuly 1 more this years draft) then we can have a chance of being contender.

The year they won the championship Ben Wallace was All-NBA 3rd team player. The next year Ben Wallace and Billups were All-NBA players. It only works if at some point 1 or 2 or your best players are All-NBA caliber.

 

[sepanol]

The year they won the championship Ben Wallace was All-NBA 3rd team player. The next year Ben Wallace and Billups were All-NBA players. It only works if at some point 1 or 2 or your best players are All-NBA caliber.

i dont agree Ben wallace was at the same level with other all nba players, he may be a very good defender, and he did good job defending Shaq when they beat la, but i wouldnt compare him to Shaq, Garnett or Duncan. Same with Billups, he is a very very good player but not as good as kidd nash, or even deron n paul.

Thats my opinion, in order to be champion,u gotta have 2 kobe- shaq class players and some standard players around them or a real good team like Detroit, Spurs