Kyle Korver picks for Jazz in mock draft

[calijazz]

I was actually thumbing through this article today.

As far as Korver being the representative I don't think it means anything. I think the magazine was literally getting in contact with whatever players they could get to agree to appear. I mean, DaJuan Summers is representing the Pistons. I feel like I pay a lot of attention to the league and I don't know who that is.

The other interesting thing about the players mock draft was that, to a man, every player picked guys who they wouldn't have to beat out in the event they were drafted. This makes a certain amount of sense. Korver's job with the Jazz looks a lot more secure if the Jazz take Udoh than if they were to take Luke Babbitt for instance.

Other instances, where this came up: Thaddeus Young lobbying for Derrick Favors over Evan Turner (drafting Turner probably sends Young to the Bench unless Iggy is traded). Dejuan Summers lobbying for Cole Aldrich at #7 (Summers is probably barely holding onto an NBA job as it is, drafting a player at his position would probably get him released). Kevin Love, learning from GM David Kahn, picked three wing players.

Biggest WTF: Brandon Jennings selected "Tiny Gallon" with the #15 pick. Gallon isn't even a lock to get drafted as of this writing.

Yeah, I don't think Korver being the representative is a huge deal either, I just think it at least shows he plans on being back with them. Who knows what the Jazz are thinking though.

Joakim Noah picking Derrick Caracter at 17 would have to be in the "WTF" category as well.

 

[VINYLONE]

Koufos's upside to me is that of Greg Foster, perhaps. A guy that can come off the bench and maybe knock down a few mid range jumpers...not ever gonna be a starter IMO.

Foster is and will always be light years ahead of Doufos. And that's not saying much.

 

[Michael]

Viny has it right

I couldn't give 2 ***** about Doufos, I wouldn't mind keeping Fes just for the big body and 6 fouls.

 

[mellow]

LOL. How do Kosta and Fess feel?

Here the Jazz have two big healthy centers and everyone, including their own teammates, are talking about drafting new players to (replace) them.

Really? Is there any question in thier minds? After Okur went out, their biggest contribution was helping him to the locker room.

 

[InGameStrategy]

You keep telling yourself that. Also, in other news, when the Jazz are 100 percent healthy, they are championship contenders.

Um, Vinyl, the notion of Utah being contenders with last season's team is as much the Jazz FO's line as any JazzFanz's.

But the two claims are related. As has been pointed out by other posts in this thread, Fes didn't get enough minutes to develop; practice and/or the NBDL aren't enough. Even with his poor physical condition, raw offense, and subpar off-court work ethic, Fes alongside Boozer or Millsap was still better defensively (and usually net offensively) than the matador D by Booze and Okur or the undersized defense of Booze and Millsap. Sloan's poor in-game strategy (see screen name) did not take into account how often putting Fesenko, even if he didn't score much, alongside a PF worked during the regular season and the playoffs alike. And if Fes had gotten more burn, he could've contributed more than that.

Koufos's situation is less clear IMHO, but his rookie scoring rate was only 4 points per 30 minutes less than Okur's, his rebounding rate was similar to Okur's, and his blocking rate was better. It's not clear what happened to Kouf from year 1 to year 2, but I can't help but think that his progress and morale were curtailed when he was nearly completely benched in February of 2009 and then saw his playing time slashed from about 7 minutes per game available to about 3 last year. His game is still raw also, but he rebounded at a higher rate than EVERYBODY during the regular season by a significant margin, including Boozer, and his steals, assists, and blocks were at a similar to higher rate to Boozer and Okur, too. Maybe much of his minutes came in garbage time, but he could've easily felt that he wasn't being rewarded for his production on the court and his purported effort off the court. Sloan evidently wasn't into even trying to develop these bigs; he was too enamored with throwing an extra 5 minutes or 10 minutes to Millsap or the supposed threat of a slow-footed Okur making a trey every once in a while. Fes and Kouf are far from Perkins' level, but if K-Perk had been healthy for Game 7, it's very possible that the outcome would've been different.

In other words, I don't buy that Sloan is a particularly good in-game strategist or player developer. It seems that Deron, Millsap, and Matthews developed as much from their own initiative as anything that Sloan did for them. Boozer and Okur have improved only naturally since coming here, and the centers are underdeveloped, as it has been described here.

 

[VINYLONE]

So you agree with me? Doufos is absolute garbage.

 

[richgates]

I know I'm new here, but has InGameStrategy ever made a post that wasn't just complaining about Jerry Sloan?

 

[VINYLONE]

I know I'm new here, but has InGameStrategy ever made a post that wasn't just complaining about Jerry Sloan?

You don't get to ask questions until you've been here a little longer...noob.

 

[InGameStrategy]

I know I'm new here, but has InGameStrategy ever made a post that wasn't just complaining about Jerry Sloan?

To answer your question, Rich, I do sometimes make posts that do not "complain" about Jerry Sloan, but only when Jerry Sloan isn't a key part of the problem.

I don't aspire to hate on ol' Jer; the chicken (observing poor in-game decisions and poor player development) came before the egg (looking for ways to criticize Sloan). I would love to say that the coaches, FO, and players have done everything they can to maximize Utah's success, but it seems to me that being a little more astute on substitution patterns, on-court combinations, and consistency in rewarding players (e.g., play a player more if he's doing well, bench him briefly if he's not) is a lot easier to do than land a team-transforming trade or signing an x-factor free agent.

As for the FO's role, drafting is partially a guessing game, and trades and signings depend on other entities outside the organization (players, teams, agents, or any or all of the above). The Jazz organization could be smarter in that department, but those events number a handful of per year. Effective in-game coaching, on the other hand, is tested 82 to 100+ times in every season. While the impact of FO decisions (i.e., signing AK to a max 7-year deal instead of waiting a year and signing him to a max 5-year deal or less) can be far-ranging, coaching decisions can tweak the outcome of a given game more directly.

 

[Hopper]

I know I'm new here, but has InGameStrategy ever made a post that wasn't just complaining about Jerry Sloan?

That is indeed a primary theme with S2, but I think it's actually secondary to his main point and overriding theme, which is that he would do a better job than any of the coaches or front office personnel and that the Jazz would be much more successful if they would all only seek, and defer to, his advice on every action they take.

 

[InGameStrategy]

That is indeed a primary theme with S2, but I think it's actually secondary to his main point and overriding theme, which is that he would do a better job than any of the coaches or front office personnel and that the Jazz would be much more successful if they would all only seek, and defer to, his advice on every action they take.

I would welcome the opportunity, and would be happy to take any of the coaching positions at 1/50th Jerry's salary plus expenses. Deference not necessary--at least not on Day 1 .

Your petty and hyperbolic whining is unfounded, though, Hopper, because part of the draw of websites such as JazzFanz is to vicariously assume the role of coaches, FOs, owners, players, agents, and their handlers. (Or in your case, Hopper, hick fans.) RealGM, a predecessor website to even the earlier incarnation of JazzFanz, was formally named with that purpose in mind.

That being said, I wouldn't be so adamant on my stance on player development and coaching decisions if I didn't think that it is the #1 most easily changeable problem that the Jazz have. Not renewing Jerry to solve the problem might not be necessary, but it would take a stiffer spine from Greg Miller or the assistant coaches to point out these glaring, repeated errors in strategy. What also causes my views to stand out from the others, though, is not just their thoroughness but also their rarity; for many JazzFanz, picking out exciting trades or FAs is more fun that analyzing the actual operations that are under the team's control already.

(The #2 most easily changeable problem is to stop bending over and granting contract extensions to players who don't deserve it. Exhibit A is AK; Exhibit B is Memo. Exhibit C might be Boozer. Not sure if it's KOC or Greg or someone else in the organization who is so paranoid about retaining these players, sometimes even before their previous contract is through. Oh, and there you go, Hopper and Rich and others: an example of a comment that doesn't likely involve Jerry Sloan.)

 

[squareinthecircle]

He needs to be moved to another team. Utah was his first so other teams will be interested to see if their system can get any production out of him. We have no freakin use for him at all so why not package him up and ship him off?