Disgruntled Kessler?

[Bawse Dawg]

It definitely could be looked at as a slap in the face. Hopefully Kessler doesn't look at it that way and thinks of it as an opportunity to develop.

It's pretty rough to go from Team USA one summer to summer league the next summer.

If Kessler has any type of mental toughness, he should be alright.

There was plenty of opportunity to develop the second half of the season when winning didn't matter at all and all we cared about was getting younger guys reps. And he was still in the doghouse.

I don't know what happened. But I do think there is some fire with this smoke. I don't consider Kessler a key piece moving forward, or a very valuable asset. I think there is a good chance his value was at an all time high one year ago.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

The only way the Jazz could generate offense was to spread the floor and let our guards attack seams. With Kessler on the floor, it was more difficult to do that. If the Jazz want to do more offensively than to have Collin Sexton kamikaze into the paint, they'll need to put someone else on the floor who can dribble the ball and make a play with a pass. Even then, every team in the league wants to operate on a spaced floor, and Walker probably won't fit that scheme.

The Jazz's best 2-way lineup this season utilized three bigs--Lauri, Olynyk and Kessler--with Olynyk handling the ball much of the time. I haven't see the actual lineup +/-, but that's the lineup that closed and beat Milwaukee and OKC in back-to-back home games this year. Once Olynyk was traded and the Jazz stopped playing Clarkson, Keyonte and Colin were the only guys who could handle the ball.

Yes, our offense is that limited. With Kessler off the floor, our defense was also complete trash, but I think Will Hardy was more focused on seeing who could play offensively.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

There was plenty of opportunity to develop the second half of the season when winning didn't matter at all and all we cared about was getting younger guys reps. And he was still in the doghouse.

I don't know what happened. But I do think there is some fire with this smoke. I don't consider Kessler a key piece moving forward, or a very valuable asset. I think there is a good chance his value was at an all time high one year ago.

It sucks cuz I thought we were really on to something with the Walker Lauri frontcourt pairing as both had amazing rim protection numbers. Both regressed.

I don't know what happens but if Will thinks Collins or that player type is going to be an answer long term at center we might be in trouble.

 

[brooklynese]

Way back around here I remember a poster or posters attributing Kanter Freedom's rebounding prowess to never having been hugged as a child.
Well, Kessler I think was hugged too much.
Toughen up man you can be special.
And lay of the coach's wife, wisenheimer.

 

[KqWIN]

It sucks cuz I thought we were really on to something with the Walker Lauri frontcourt pairing as both had amazing rim protection numbers. Both regressed.

I don't know what happens but if Will thinks Collins or that player type is going to be an answer long term at center we might be in trouble.

The thing about Collins is that Hardy doesn't even use his biggest strength. The amount of PnR he gets is about the same as it was later in his ATL days. He was a full time 4 playing next to non shooting C's. As a full time 5 he's still not being used much as a roll man. I could get if Hardy preferred using a guy that was a perfect system fit, but truth is neither Collins or Kessler is that guy.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Walker is probably a frustrating player to coach. He's useless on offense if you arent running a spread teh floor, PNR heavy offense w/ a great playmaker. He has very little confidence in himself. He has the worst body language on the team (I guess you could debate Keyonte, but Walker's body language is worse IMO because it's usually very pathetic were as Keyonte's just reads as immature).

Also there is no way Walker made an inappropriate joke that offended anyone. Walker's humor is cornball PG rated. He probably blushes when he hears the word *****.

Walker's frustration is probably the Jazz played less ball-screen offense this year and were more experimental. If you're Walker, your value is not going to be maximized on a team that isnt heavily invested in making the pieces work for a ball-screen offense. Walker has to make going that direction a clear no-brainer with his play and he hasnt. He's a backup big currently and he has to prove he isnt and he probably thought that was already the case.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

There was plenty of opportunity to develop the second half of the season when winning didn't matter at all and all we cared about was getting younger guys reps. And he was still in the doghouse.

I don't know what happened. But I do think there is some fire with this smoke. I don't consider Kessler a key piece moving forward, or a very valuable asset. I think there is a good chance his value was at an all time high one year ago.

Walker in the doghouse? He averaged 23 mpg both pre ASB and post. I wouldnt call that the doghouse. He's just an immature young player who thought he had something locked up that he didnt.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

One thing I know for sure is that Jazz management was frustrated this year with the way Hardy used Kessler.

I can guarantee Danny Ainge has more issues with Walker than Hardy does.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Still hilarious to me Sip is on this thing that hte FO is frustrated with Hardy over Walker when the FO are the ones who purposefully traded for Collins to create a minutes crunch/competition for Walker.

Also, Danny's comments about playoff vs regular season doesnt really jive that he's high on Walker.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Feel like we have botched whatever we are doing with him. Saying he will play Summer League is completely insulting.

How is it insulting? Walker hasnt done a damn thing in the NBA. He's actually never even played a SL game. It's an opportunity for him to build chemistry with the young core. It's completely logical and if he looks at it as a negative he's even softer mentally than we know.

 

[KqWIN]

He's just a more sensitive guy. I'm not even saying that to dog on him, he's open about it. He takes things much harder than he should, whether that be losing or poor individual play. He's the only one who mentioned how difficult the losing streak was. He's also the only one who mentioned that he was disappointed with his play. He says this openly in interviews, it's also damn obvious when he's on the court. Other guys have unshakable confidence and don't seem to care if the team is losing or they are playing poorly, Kessler is the opposite.

In order to solve whatever beef is between Kessler/Hardy, that starts with Kessler toughing up a bit.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Walker is probably a frustrating player to coach. He's useless on offense if you arent running a spread teh floor, PNR heavy offense w/ a great playmaker. He has very little confidence in himself. He has the worst body language on the team (I guess you could debate Keyonte, but Walker's body language is worse IMO because it's usually very pathetic were as Keyonte's just reads as immature).

Also there is no way Walker made an inappropriate joke that offended anyone. Walker's humor is cornball PG rated. He probably blushes when he hears the word *****.

Walker's frustration is probably the Jazz played less ball-screen offense this year and were more experimental. If you're Walker, your value is not going to be maximized on a team that isnt heavily invested in making the pieces work for a ball-screen offense. Walker has to make going that direction a clear no-brainer with his play and he hasnt. He's a backup big currently and he has to prove he isnt and he probably thought that was already the case.

the joke thing was definitely a joke I pulled out of the air. Its not a serious consideration imo. I'm guessing some frustration boiled over and Hardy said something that pissed Walker off. Guessing he like walked out of practice or something and that is why Spence heard about it.

The body language felt like the year Gordon looked miserable out there. It was bad.