Utah Jazz Select Walter Clayton Jr, Pick 18 (Trade)

[Coach Ellis]

What’s the plan now? Ace & WCJ made for a very solid draft last night, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz have four, maybe 5 major roster pieces that don’t really fit the current trajectory of the timeline.

Do they trade Walker Kessler, or will his extension be worth the price?

Do they trade Lauri Markkanen and cash in on his value before it deteriorates any more?

What sort of deals can they get for Collins, Sexton and Clarkson? I’d rather they not make the same mistake they did with Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, NAW and Vando. It’s okay to lose the trade a bit if it clears the way for more playing time by the young guys - which definitely helps the tank.

Do they still have any interest in bringing Procida over?

There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Hopefully something happens today.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

What’s the plan now? Ace & WCJ made for a very solid draft last night, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz have four, maybe 5 major roster pieces that don’t really fit the current trajectory of the timeline.

Do they trade Walker Kessler, or will his extension be worth the price?

Do they trade Lauri Markkanen and cash in on his value before it deteriorates any more?

What sort of deals can they get for Collins, Sexton and Clarkson? I’d rather they not make the same mistake they did with Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, NAW and Vando. It’s okay to lose the trade a bit if it clears the way for more playing time by the young guys - which definitely helps the tank.

Do they still have any interest in bringing Procida over?

There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Hopefully something happens today.

Ehh, I think things fit even more now. They took a senior and a player that projects to develop into a star.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Ehh, I think things fit even more now. They took a senior and a player that projects to develop into a star.

So, do you like the current makeup of the team? I’m pretty happy with the Ace pick and hope the team can effectively build around him. Just not sure if an expensive Walker Kessler and an aging Lauri Markkanen still fits.

 

[fishonjazz]

What’s the plan now? Ace & WCJ made for a very solid draft last night, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz have four, maybe 5 major roster pieces that don’t really fit the current trajectory of the timeline.

Do they trade Walker Kessler, or will his extension be worth the price?

Do they trade Lauri Markkanen and cash in on his value before it deteriorates any more?

What sort of deals can they get for Collins, Sexton and Clarkson? I’d rather they not make the same mistake they did with Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, NAW and Vando. It’s okay to lose the trade a bit if it clears the way for more playing time by the young guys - which definitely helps the tank.

Do they still have any interest in bringing Procida over?

There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Hopefully something happens today.

I feel very confident that we keep Kessler.
No idea about the rest.

 

[Coach Ellis]

I feel very confident that we keep Kessler.
No idea about the rest.

I’m more confident about Kessler, and I actually hope that he and the Jazz can come to a workable, reasonable contract extension. I’d love to just lock him in as the starting center for the next 4 years.

Markkanen I love, but if the plan is to legitimately tank he can’t be on the roster next year. And I think the plan should still be to tank. AJ or Boozer with Ace would be a successful tank IMO.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

What’s the plan now? Ace & WCJ made for a very solid draft last night, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz have four, maybe 5 major roster pieces that don’t really fit the current trajectory of the timeline.

Do they trade Walker Kessler, or will his extension be worth the price?

Do they trade Lauri Markkanen and cash in on his value before it deteriorates any more?

What sort of deals can they get for Collins, Sexton and Clarkson? I’d rather they not make the same mistake they did with Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, NAW and Vando. It’s okay to lose the trade a bit if it clears the way for more playing time by the young guys - which definitely helps the tank.

Do they still have any interest in bringing Procida over?

There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Hopefully something happens today.

I mean, the timeline fit is very weird because Ace is like 4-5 years away and Clayton is ready to go right now, but I guess the Jazz just picked two guys they liked.

Philosophically, it's kind of funny to take two blackholes to join a roster full of blackholes. At least these guys have defensive upside.

Clayton is such a bad fit with Keyonte, Sexton, and Clarkson that I assume we're trying to trade all three, but they've been trying and failing to trade a lot of these guys for minute.

 

[The Midnight]

What’s the plan now? Ace & WCJ made for a very solid draft last night, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz have four, maybe 5 major roster pieces that don’t really fit the current trajectory of the timeline.

Do they trade Walker Kessler, or will his extension be worth the price?

Do they trade Lauri Markkanen and cash in on his value before it deteriorates any more?

What sort of deals can they get for Collins, Sexton and Clarkson? I’d rather they not make the same mistake they did with Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, NAW and Vando. It’s okay to lose the trade a bit if it clears the way for more playing time by the young guys - which definitely helps the tank.

Do they still have any interest in bringing Procida over?

There’s still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Hopefully something happens today.

Ainge Jr’s philosophy is keep stacking up good decisions.

To me good decisions include:

Keeping Lauri.
Keeping Kessler.
Let Ace and Clayton develop.
Trade pieces that don’t fit (Collins, Sexton, Clarkson)
See where the team lands by the end of the season & re-evaluate.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Ainge Jr’s philosophy is keep stacking up good decisions.

To me good decisions include:

Keeping Lauri.
Keeping Kessler.
Let Ace and Clayton develop.
Trade pieces that don’t fit (Collins, Sexton, Clarkson)
See where the team lands by the end of the season & re-evaluate.

See, I could see it go a completely different way tbh.
1.) Trading Lauri for the best haul they can get and fully commit to the young players timeline and another year of tanking for a top pick to team up with Ace Bailey.
2.) Not over-paying for Kessler and having it bite them in the *** like Conley and Clarkson have. Granted, I don’t see this one as much of a concern as other decisions that have to be made. . . but money decisions matter in the new CBA.
3.) Absolutely agree that the Jazz should trade players that don’t fit. I think the Jazz should still be in full-blown asset accumulation mode right now.
4.) Waiting until after the season to see “where things land” could be more detrimental than decisively picking a lane and moving forward with it.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

I keep seeing Jalen Brunson while watching his highlights

yeah he definitely has some Dame like vibes to his game

Didn’t you guys get the memo? It’s already been determined that this is Steph efffing Curry.

Looks like Jamal Murray to me

That’s actually low key a great comp

Ainge Jr’s philosophy is keep stacking up good decisions.

To me good decisions include:

Keeping Lauri.
Keeping Kessler.
Let Ace and Clayton develop.
Trade pieces that don’t fit (Collins, Sexton, Clarkson)
See where the team lands by the end of the season & re-evaluate.

lauri might be starting or in the down slope of his career by the time we are ready to contend. I’d hate to lose out on getting an elite prospect at what is to be a strong top of the 26 draft for nothing because Lauri doesn’t fit the time line like at all.

 

[KqWIN]

After sleeping on it, I like this pick less and less. Doesn't have much to do with Clayton as it does our current position. Just a weird fit here.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

After sleeping on it, I like this pick less and less. Doesn't have much to do with Clayton as it does our current position. Just a weird fit here.

very weird fit here. jazz must be convinced he's that damn good.

 

[stitches]

very weird fit here. jazz must be convinced he's that damn good.

I think there is a chance he's really that damn good...

 

[The Midnight]

See, I could see it go a completely different way tbh.
1.) Trading Lauri for the best haul they can get and fully commit to the young players timeline and another year of tanking for a top pick to team up with Ace Bailey.
2.) Not over-paying for Kessler and having it bite them in the *** like Conley and Clarkson have. Granted, I don’t see this one as much of a concern as other decisions that have to be made. . . but money decisions matter in the new CBA.
3.) Absolutely agree that the Jazz should trade players that don’t fit. I think the Jazz should still be in full-blown asset accumulation mode right now.
4.) Waiting until after the season to see “where things land” could be more detrimental than decisively picking a lane and moving forward with it.

Ok so we’ve drafted more or less “ready to go” talents in this draft compared to previous one, would you agree?

Ace is as ready a talent as they come this draft and Clayton is 22 years old.

Based off of that I’m gonna say AA had moved up our timeline significantly now (not just empty words in the introductory press conference).

If we’re bad again next year we’re gonna get another “ready to go” talent in a top #5 pick.

Add to that the fact that talents like Lauri and Kessler don't grow on trees.

So to conclude, I’m gonna say AA will be keeping those 2 with a view of going full trottle this time next year.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Ok so we’ve drafted more or less “ready to go” talents in this draft compared to previous one, would you agree?

Ace is as ready a talent as they come this draft and Clayton is 22 years old.

Based off of that I’m gonna say AA had moved up our timeline significantly now (not just empty words in the introductory press conference).

If we’re bad again next year we’re gonna get another “ready to go” talent in a top #5 pick.

Add to that the fact that talents like Lauri and Kessler don't grow on trees.

So to conclude, I’m gonna say AA will be keeping those 2 with a view of going full trottle this time next year.

I think they keep Kessler and trade Lauri, Collins, Sexton and Clarkson. They’ll try to stock up on ‘26 picks and then pivot hard to adding new veterans next offseason.

 

[KqWIN]

very weird fit here. jazz must be convinced he's that damn good.

At 18, the biggest concern should probably be getting an NBA level player of any kind. If the Jazz thought WCJ was the best bet, I'd understand it. He was 12th on my board, but a big part of WCJ's case is the certainty of his skillset and ability to contribute right away. Don't think that has any value to us right now.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

I think there is a chance he's really that damn good...

same. i'm always enticed by length and positional size in general, so he wasn't the guy i wanted (didn't not want him either), but i think with his shot making, change of pace, bball iq and competitive nature, he could be pretty special.

 

[Isaiah 1:13]

Yeah, but if you look at the guards that the Ainge’s actually draft, there’s guys like this scattered throughout their record. I probably would’ve gone with Traore or Kas, but I still like the pick. Watching him ball out in the tournament made a fan out of me.

So you’re a fan but you still would have taken Traore or Kas. It’s like the FO wants to look at these guys in a vacuum without any consideration for what we already have. Sexton has to be on the trade block for sure at this point I imagine which means in the short term we’re still moving backwards. And if Cody takes his quantum leap where does that leave Isaiah? Collier had way too good of a season last year to be marginalized before he was even given a chance.

 

[Coach Ellis]

At 18, the biggest concern should probably be getting an NBA level player of any kind. If the Jazz thought WCJ was the best bet, I'd understand it. He was 12th on my board, but a big part of WCJ's case is the certainty of his skillset and ability to contribute right away. Don't think that has any value to us right now.

He’s older, but still only 22. My assumption is that the Jazz pivot HARD next offseason from tanking to competing and I think he’ll spend this year getting his feet underneath him and contributing more the following year and moving forward.

 

[Coach Ellis]

So you’re a fan but you still would have taken Traore or Kas. It’s like the FO wants to look at these guys in a vacuum without any consideration for what we already have. Sexton has to be on the trade block for sure at this point I imagine which means in the short term we’re still moving backwards. And if Cody takes his quantum leap where does that leave Isaiah? Collier had way too good of a season last year to be marginalized before he was even given a chance.

I had both Traore and Kas rated higher, but I’m still a fan of the pick. I think he’ll be a solid role player on a competitive team. I prefer length and upside at this point. . . but he definitely has a bankable skill set to work with. And while he’s an older draft prospect, I don’t think 22 is “OLD” for a guard. Still see lots up upside for him. He’s a bit of a Dawg and we can use more of those guys.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Confidence like this will always be 100% hilarious.

Yeah. I don’t see the Jazz making a move to the top of the 2nd round this year. Still pissed about that trade. Shouldn’t have to make a trade to lock up another solid prospect today.