Kanter traded to OKC

[l Abach l]

Huh? They were semi conference fodder and were gifted that one trip to the WCF. If you know basketball, you know that team was hard capped because of zero interior defense. Fool's gold.
DL is building the team right, and already has the most important piece, an elite rim protector.

https://nyloncalculus.com/stats/rim-protection/

And you're wrong here - the most important piece to winning a championship is a superstar. Who was the vaunted rim protector for the heat when they won two years in a row?

 

[Flc]

The compensation we received for kanter blows. I dont see how a very late first round pick a second round pick and two d league guys equals kanter's value. To me that is equivalent of letting him walk at the end of the year for cap space. None of the assets we acquired will ever turn into a starting nba player. I really hate this trade. The only silver lining is gobert gets more game time.

He was going to walk at the end of the year due to us not matching him or he was going to take the qualifying offer and then leave anyway.

So yes, if you think that a D League project, a low first round pick, a second round pick, and a promising European project is equal to nothing, you're right. You're a total ****ing moron, but you're right.

 

[Fishsticks]

The compensation we received for kanter blows. I dont see how a very late first round pick a second round pick and two d league guys equals kanter's value. To me that is equivalent of letting him walk at the end of the year for cap space. None of the assets we acquired will ever turn into a starting nba player. I really hate this trade. The only silver lining is gobert gets more game time.

Well, Obviously he had NO VALUE! We got whatever we could. Disappointed, but the reality. The only thing DL could have done differently was try and move him last year.

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

... Just admit that you have an agenda...

How about this agenda? Winning.

 

[Stoked]

And you're wrong here - the most important piece to winning a championship is a superstar. Who was the vaunted rim protector for the heat when they won two years in a row?

I'd agree that having that superstar is more important then an elite rim protector.

 

[b_line]

Really? His 2pt%, 3pt%, and FT% are all somehow down this season, from last year's already dismal numbers. His Ast/min are also down. DL spent TWO first rounders on that guy. Exum has been even worse. By the beginning of next season Hood and Burks will have both missed a substantial number of games due to being injury-prone.

Seriously though, since reality isn't working try to think of some imaginary scenario where you could possible conceive of DL being a not-so-good GM. Is it even possible?

Burke was picked ninth in that draft, are there more than nine players who will be in the league a few years from now? Burke will be a decent backup.

Since reality is not working for you, why don't you imagine a scenario where the Jazz are playing .500 basketball with some promising prospects who have room to improve? How about a point differential that is steadily improving, and a team that is headed in the right direction?

How is a person supposed to plan for injury? It's not like Burks and Hood were chronically injured players.

Also, I fully admit that Exum has been bad. But we are not judging him on his stats this year. The guy clearly has potential. He is quick and smart, and has elite size for a point guard. If you would like to pass burke off as a bust, do that for everyone in that draft except for Giannis, Gobert and Schroeder, but at least give exum a little more time before calling him a bust.

 

[Stoked]

How about this agenda? Winning.

Winning what? A playoff berth and a first round exit? Or the WCF and a shot at a title?

Nice dodge of the rest of my post were I had a paragraph talking about my repeated posts pushing for, gasp, winning.

 

[b_line]

Well, Obviously he had NO VALUE! We got whatever we could. Disappointed, but the reality. The only thing DL could have done differently was try and move him last year.

I agree here, but I would add that last year, he still had some perceived potential, and that is probably why Lindsay did not move him.

 

[Stifle Tower]

That's exactly it.

Things are happening quicker than expected. No one thought Rudy would develop this fast, but he is. So we have to make decisions on the fly.

If Rudy never emerges like this, then the whole story is different. Then we continue to go with Kanter. We wouldn't even have thought of trading him.

Yep. I think the whole plan was to have Kanter and Favors play 35 mins each with Gobert getting 13-15 as a backup, developing center. Last year he was ok, but often looked lost. Of course in Corbin's "system" I don't think ANYONE knew where the hell they should be on the floor. And then the summer league and World Cup showed Gobert was ready for more. He struggled a bit to start the season and then exploded. And Kanter could see it happening, especially when he was hurt. This league is all about competition. When a player beats someone else out, the loser goes elsewhere - unless he is willing to step aside and be the backup, which Kanter (for good reason) was not. In some respect, this parallels the Stockton situation. Jazz had a former all-star in Ricky Green. He was still playing at a very good level. But Layden knew what he had in John, and Green was traded.

I hope the same competition can happen at SG. Bring in another player to compete with Alec. Best man wins! And if Exum doesn't develop, do the same at PG. Draft position be damned...you want the BEST players you can find at each position. Jazz can't POSSIBLY keep all their picks over the next several years. So if a second rounder beats out a lottery pick, then so be it. It's not a wasted pick, it's that we found someone better.

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

He was going to walk at the end of the year due to us not matching him or he was going to take the qualifying offer and then leave anyway.

So yes, if you think that a D League project, a low first round pick, a second round pick, and a promising European project is equal to nothing, you're right. You're a total ****ing moron, but you're right.

Fine, maybe the Jazz did extract some minimal value from Kanter, but that just cements the fact that they blew the 3rd overall pick in the draft. Since then they spent four first rounders on Burks (sketchy), Burke (bad), Exum (terrible). Now they're tanking, again, to get another pick. Fun.

 

[JazzAvenues]

There is another point to the trade besides the movement of players and the transfer of draft picks. For years people on this board have complained that we weren't moving the older / temporary players without a future with the Jazz out of the way to properly develop our young players. Well, Kanter had become an older player standing in Gobert's way. He had become the new Marvin Williams.

This trade sends a strong message to Gobert that he is valued and the team is counting on him today and in the future. We never sent that message to Favors or Hayward or even Kanter when they first joined up.

What if we had not made this trade? Gobert might get disgruntled that he is coming off the bench and not getting enough minutes. He would wonder if the Jazz really believed in him. He might start to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and look forward to where he might play next.

But now Gobert knows the organization is committed to him. Keeping top players is not easy for the Jazz. Perhaps part of the reason is that we don't send messages early on that tell the players we want to retain that we are committed to them for the long haul. That we are going to give them opportunities before they are ready for them rather than two years after they were ready.

For me the biggest point of the trade is that it says we are placing our bets on the young players we have, and we are willing to commit to them and their development. I think that is a pretty important message that we have not always sent effectively in the past.

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

Nice dodge of the rest of my post were I had a paragraph talking about my repeated posts pushing for, gasp, winning.

Let's discuss those points over in the 2015/2016/2017/2018 Draft Prospects threads. Only relevant reading material in the Jazz forum going forward, it seems.