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The We Should Try Juwan Morgan as a Backup Center Thread

I'm on The Captain Morgan bandwagon.

His G League numbers are too intriguing not to give him an opportunity.

And TB playing minutes in a seven game series against Dwight Howard, Montrez or hell, even Miles Plumlee is a non starter.
 
Bodhi said:
Tony played his best defensive game of the year.

Im shocked I’m defending Tony but the Morgan idea is just that. I love the idea of the dude but I can’t see us experimenting with him.

Even if we did, the reality is neither Morgan, Bradley or Davis get any real burn in the playoffs. We simply need another guy for that and he isn’t on the team right now.
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I don’t know why Morgan couldn’t fill those 10-12 playoff minutes. At very least we should find out if it’s an option before looking outside... like if something great becomes available go ahead and go for it... but we are shopping at the absolute bargain bin because we don’t have a whole lot... can likely pick up a second or two if we wanted to move Mudiay or Niang when Conley is healthy. We can’t assume something will get done.
 
Yup I'm getting back up on this soap box... was thinking today while listening to a podcast on a walk with my dog... what would we give up if Jamychal Green was available? He'd be kinda the perfect gap filler backup 4/5 that we need for the playoffs... and I keep coming back to... We. Might. Already. Have. Dat. Dude.

Last night he banked in a three... it was ugly AF, but you could tell he wanted to get up a shot... but he also switched out on Omari Spellman on defense... moved his feet to shut off the drive, basically blocked his jumpshot attempt (it was a great contest and really knocked the shot off a ways.) I saw him do something similar in the first game where he actually got meaningful minutes.

He won't anchor the defense like Rudy, but he's very disruptive... his block and steal number in the G League are bonkers and he was the biggest +/- guy there... he was playing center... they were winning every damned game. He shot 55% on three which is unsustainable... but his form is solid and I think he can get to the 35% mark really easily. Stop what you are doing and go watch his g league highlights... he gives you some pick and pop... a lot of pick and roll... catch off the pick and kick out... the mans hands have vacuum power... he catches the ball so cleanly. As a pick and roll guy I think he opens up the bounce pass lane a little better... similar to favors last year with Ingles. He has a lower center of gravity.

You won't see it a lot because its a highlight package and defense doesn't go in highlight packages... put you'll see a few times where he just shuts down the drive and reaches in and takes the ball or blocks the shot attempt after stonewalling the drive.

Guys that would be amazing backups for us and their semi official measurements...

Maxi Kleber - 6-9 - 6-10 with a 6-11 wingspan
Jamychal Green - 6-7 with a 7-2 wingspan
Montrez - 6-7 with a 7-4 wingspan
Juwan Morgan is 6-8 with a 7-0 wingspan … he gets his hands on the ball and he rebounds well enough... compares favorable to all those guys in that regard...

Look I think we know Niang and Bradley won't be good rotation players in the playoffs... Morgan could replace either if we gave it a shot. Tell TB... hey big fella ya did just fine... we want to see what Morgan looks like for 10 games or so... you haven't lost the job but we want to just see what Juwan looks like while doing it.

TB will still be there if it fails... Ed will still be there too... just flipping try it for hell's sake.
 
Daniel Theis is another kind of comp for this type of center... 6'8" and 6' 11" wingspan... moves well... shoots enough... gets his hands on balls.

Like it doesn't work if the other center is Joel Embiid… I get it, but before we commit resources either through trade or through our limited cap exceptions we should explore this route for 7-8 games. Its kinda killing me that I haven't seen it yet.
 
Ed is smaller (weight wise), can't shoot, can't finish, and can't catch the ball... the front office screwed the pooch on that signing because he's about as bad a fit as you can find for us. I hadn't watched him enough to know better... was supportive at the time.
 
HH and Cy are smart dudes. And I trust their instincts on this guy. But the Jazz FO and coaching staff have more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

Bradley has been playing well, and winning lots of 50/50 balls, our bench has become a strength and TB is showing improvement. I just don't seem them upsetting the apple cart right now.

I also don't see them making a trade FWIW. If they considered backup C a big issue then I think they'd be getting Morgan some burn to see if they need to scouring the market. But I think the plan will be to just survive the Gobert bench minutes in the playoffs, which I assume will only be about 5-8 minutes in close games. And I think Quin, Lindsey, and Z feel confident about being able to do that with the current roster.

But maybe this tough stretch before the ASB and trade deadline will change minds.
 
Bawse Dawg said:
HH and Cy are smart dudes. And I trust their instincts on this guy. But the Jazz FO and coaching staff have more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

Bradley has been playing well, and winning lots of 50/50 balls, our bench has become a strength and TB is showing improvement. I just don't seem them upsetting the apple cart right now.

I also don't see them making a trade FWIW. If they considered backup C a big issue then I think they'd be getting Morgan some burn to see if they need to scouring the market. But I think the plan will be to just survive the Gobert bench minutes in the playoffs, which I assume will only be about 5-8 minutes in close games. And I think Quin, Lindsey, and Z feel confident about being able to do that with the current roster.

But maybe this tough stretch before the ASB and trade deadline will change minds.
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Once teams scout and attack TB in the playoffs I think they you learn how not ready he'd be...

I know the FO knows their stuff... I know the coaching staff has data... but smart people miss on things like this a lot. Alex Caruso didn't get into LA's rotation until game 65 last year... now he's an important piece to that team.

Being happy with Niang and TB is great and they have worked hard... but I worry we have a "they were here first" mentality and are settling for something that won't be effective when it matters most. I think you can gameplan around Niang a bit by ramping up minutes for Royce, Bojan, Joe... I just think its a little bit of fools gold and we have a potential solution under our damned noses.

There are several older rookies contributing on playoff teams right now... I think we need to have some guts here and sacrifice "not screwing up" for something a little bigger.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Once teams scout and attack TB in the playoffs I think they you learn how not ready he'd be...

I know the FO knows their stuff... I know the coaching staff has data... but smart people miss on things like this a lot. Alex Caruso didn't get into LA's rotation until game 65 last year... now he's an important piece to that team.

Being happy with Niang and TB is great and they have worked hard... but I worry we have a "they were here first" mentality and are settling for something that won't be effective when it matters most. I think you can gameplan around Niang a bit by ramping up minutes for Royce, Bojan, Joe... I just think its a little bit of fools gold and we have a potential solution under our damned noses.

There are several older rookies contributing on playoff teams right now... I think we need to have some guts here and sacrifice "not screwing up" for something a little bigger.
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I don't really disagree. Just trying to be impartial. And I think making major changes to a very flawed 13-11 team is easier than making changes to a team currently on a 20-2 stretch.

Rayjon tucker was a beast in the G-League and often looks like he doesn't belong out there even when the benches are emptied on both sides. I don't think it's a lock that Morgan would be ready to be scouted and attacked in the playoffs just because he's not TB. Utah backup C has got to be one of the harder roles in the entire league.

Also important to remember that we just barely passed the season halfway point. A lot can happen. You can't really develop two backup C's at once. Bradley is getting his burn now, and he's put in the time to earn that imo. Morgan's time may still be coming.
 
Bawse Dawg said:
I don't really disagree. Just trying to be impartial. And I think making major changes to a very flawed 13-11 team is easier than making changes to a team currently on a 20-2 stretch.

Rayjon tucker was a beast in the G-League and often looks like he doesn't belong out there even when the benches are emptied on both sides. I don't think it's a lock that Morgan would be ready to be scouted and attacked in the playoffs just because he's not TB. Utah backup C has got to be one of the harder roles in the entire league.

Also important to remember that we just barely passed the season halfway point. A lot can happen. You can't really develop two backup C's at once. Bradley is getting his burn now, and he's put in the time to earn that imo. Morgan's time may still be coming.
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Bawse Dawg said:
I don't really disagree. Just trying to be impartial. And I think making major changes to a very flawed 13-11 team is easier than making changes to a team currently on a 20-2 stretch.

Rayjon tucker was a beast in the G-League and often looks like he doesn't belong out there even when the benches are emptied on both sides. I don't think it's a lock that Morgan would be ready to be scouted and attacked in the playoffs just because he's not TB. Utah backup C has got to be one of the harder roles in the entire league.

Also important to remember that we just barely passed the season halfway point. A lot can happen. You can't really develop two backup C's at once. Bradley is getting his burn now, and he's put in the time to earn that imo. Morgan's time may still be coming.
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Fo sho… I was just offering a counterpoint to the "the GMs and coaches are smarter than us" argument. Sometimes there are politics and things that play into these types of decisions... and yes a lot can happen... right now is just critical with the trade deadline coming. Put our limited resources into a trade to mask a need that we could take care of with an in-house option. If we found another wing maybe that's the bigger ultimate need.

I'm cool with Tucker, but he's the classic "G League gunner that puts up monster stats and may end up in China next year" guy. You can tell he has great athleticism, you can tell he is a little too amped up when he gets in, and his defense needs massive improvements before he's useable. I do see why they picked him up... solid lotto ticket... but Morgan is different to me. His movement, his hands, and his instincts I think are really good... his physical tools are adequate. I think he can play a role immediately.

Think of it like this... when we play Dallas and Maxi Kleber is running pick and pop with Brunson/Barea, which big gives us the best chance to cover that? What about the clips and Lou Will and Harrell? How about in the playoffs if he is switched onto Lebron or AD?

A lot of the things TB does well will be marginalized (just like Kanter) and his weaknesses will be magnified and exploited.
 
More interested in seeing if Morgan play the four alongside Gobert, everyone is worried about the minutes Gobert is off the floor but Im concerned by what happens in the last couple of minutes in a close game where Rudy switches and is forced away from the basket and who can be the one to cover for him in this situation. Royce does a good job it for now but if he is trapped on the perimeter then we really need an extra option to be able to either protect them rim or secure the rebound. I think this is where Morgan could potentially be the guy we turn too, we have the offensive talent to close games but defensively we are a little suspect.
 
Tom349 said:
More interested in seeing if Morgan play the four alongside Gobert, everyone is worried about the minutes Gobert is off the floor but Im concerned by what happens in the last couple of minutes in a close game where Rudy switches and is forced away from the basket and who can be the one to cover for him in this situation. Royce does a good job it for now but if he is trapped on the perimeter then we really need an extra option to be able to either protect them rim or secure the rebound. I think this is where Morgan could potentially be the guy we turn too, we have the offensive talent to close games but defensively we are a little suspect.
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If he works he could provide serious flexibility... could replace Niang and maybe the get a shooting 5... or like you said play in a more supersized lineup against the Lakers for a spell... they need to work him in... all the buyout guys are likely going to better markets... we don’t have assets to fix the playoff rotation holes... if we take Niang and TB to the playoffs as our 8th and 9th men then we are trying to make a cute playoff run like Porty did and not really trying to win the title.
 
I'm not convinced that Morgan is the answer. I'm also not convinced that Bradley isn't the answer.

But I'd be happy giving Morgan more minutes just to see. I've been wanting to give Morgan and Brantley minutes all year. It would be beneficial to know what we have. I know the Jazz know what they have better than we do because they are around them all the time. But seeing them in the gleague or in practice is a completely different animal than seeing them in nba games. And it's a different level of experience that they are gaining.
 
Not sure if the Jazz could pull this off, but I could see them try to acquire a physical PF and play him as our backup center. Someone like Thaddeus Young or Marcus Morris would get minutes at both the 4 and the 5, the latter giving us a 5-out option. Tony Bradley would then be third-string or matchup dependent. The key is that this player would have to commit to defense and rebounding.

A 6'9", 235-lb dude who is tough, but still skilled offensively might turn the trick.
 
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