What's new

Don't Draft Jabari Parker Thread!!!

Shocker00

Well-Known Member
At 6'8" 235lbs Jabari Parker will struggle in the post defending taller players. Jabari will also have a harder time getting his shot off against taller and more athletic players in the NBA. A lot of those contested shots he took in college will either get blocked or he will shoot a lower percentage.


PF projection:

Parker Will yeild a higher shooting percentage to his opponent in the post and he will take a lot of contested shots.
Parker Will require help defense in the post by double teaming. Other teams will take advantage and break down the defense (see example of problem)
Parker Will have a number 1 scoring mentality but score like a number 2.


Example of problem:

Tim Duncan post up Jabari Parker about 4 feet from the hoop, If Jazz don't help then Duncan easily gets his shot off over Parker. If the Jazz double teams him by having Hayward drop down and front him, Duncan simply passes out to Manu Ginobli, Trey Burke reacts by rotating to Manu Ginobli leaving Tony Parker wide open for the Three. The breakdown on defense started with Jabari requiring help on the defensive end. Jabari is then responsible for the points Tony Parker just scored. Here it made our Perimeter defense look weak but actually the problem started inside and Trey Burke takes the blame from the fans for leaving Tony Parker wide open...lol


SF Projections:

Jabari has terrible lateral movement and at 6'8" 235 lbs will have trouble all day long guarding someone like Kobe at 6'6" 205 lbs.
With bad lateral movement he will have to play a few feet off of whoever he guards at the SF position leaving them wide open from the outside.
Will have trouble creating a good shot from outside with quicker more athletic players guarding him.
At the SF position he might have to do a lot of reaching and grabbing as quicker SF in the league will be able to drive right by him. this may cause him to get in foul trouble.


While defense is easier to learn than offense, defense requires good physical attributes to play good solid defense. On offense you have a bunch of gimmick moves to help you ovecome any lack of physical attributes such as pump fakes, ball fakes, crossover dribbles, fake passes, and drawing fouls. To play good defense you have to have a good work ethic, the physical attributes, and a love for the game. Parker was benched on numerous occasions throughout the season in the second half of games for playing bad defense. While the work ethic might improve the chances of him growing a couple inches or losing 25 lbs is unlikely.

Offense and season overveiw:

He exploded to start the season shooting 59% 32-54 from 2 point range and 66.6% 12-18 on three pointers. Teams started learning how to play Parker on defense as time passed and his numbers started to decrease. Over the rest of the season he shot 45.8% from two point range and 29% 26-88 from three point range.
 
Last edited:
I have to say...I (very regrettably) agree with a lot of this. I have spent this entire season hoping that the Jazz could end up with Parker, but I've slowly come to the realization that he is a flawed player at the NBA level. Though I don't see him getting a whole lot of minutes at the 4, I do see him struggling to D up athletic NBA swingmen. Hell, even a guy like Paul Pierce who's not overly athletic will still beat Parker one on one and finish at the rim.

Between his defense and his offense which will have some of the issues that you mentioned, his +/- will not be what it has been against inferior talent. I do think he can work on these things, especially with the right coaching staff and trainers, but there are some things that are harder to coach than others. Defense, as I see it, is instinct, determination, quickness, and effort. At the very least, I don't see Parker's instincts changing enough for the better, and that's why I think he may not end up being a 12-time All-Star, 2-time MVP, and 3-time Champion like the media and hoops analysts would've had us believe at this time last year.

My projection for Parker is to be a solid NBA player, a 5-time All Star, maybe a 1-time Champion, but never more than that. I hope I'm wrong because I like Parker very much and I want him to succeed, but I think the hype may be a bit too much for this young man to live up to.
 
I'd draft Parker if I had the 6th pick in the draft. Having said that, if I'm guaranteed a 5 time all-star and 1 time champion, I might take him #1 overall.
 
Fair enough guys, but my basic point is that we all need to temper expectations for Jabari, regardless of where he ends up. As "NBA ready" as the talking heads seem to think he is, he's still a 19 year-old who needs a lot of work (and time) to become my last paragraph.
 
He can score from anywhere on the court and is very athletic. Melo is a good comparison. Regardless of what this board thinks because we all hated the Nugheads, Melo is one of the league's best players. Had we drafted him instead of Denver, we would have loved him... Until he left for NY.
 
I'd definitely take him if I had the chance, but I think it's funny that after 9 years of complaining about Boozer and Jefferson Jazz fans are embracing the idea of another offensively gifted, defensively challenged player.
 
I'd definitely take him if I had the chance, but I think it's funny that after 9 years of complaining about Boozer and Jefferson Jazz fans are embracing the idea of another offensively gifted, defensively challenged player.

KOC signature players...
 
I'd definitely take him if I had the chance, but I think it's funny that after 9 years of complaining about Boozer and Jefferson Jazz fans are embracing the idea of another offensively gifted, defensively challenged player.

LoL...
 
Disagree 100%.

Jabari will be a much better defender than everyone thinks. He's actually really athletic. I think lots of people are going to be surprised just how well his athleticism translates to the NBA.

Jabari is my pick for the best player in the draft. I think he is going to tear it up.

Can't wait to bump these threads in the future.
 
He is way ahead of Wiggins and Embiid in NBA readiness. I understand Cavs needing a big man but I think Jabari will contribute in a more valuable way than those two, so he should be #1 pick.

But when you try to pick the best, you should also look out for your needs, fill the holes in your boat. I think the defense issue is the worst part of Utah Jazz's game according to last year's performance. I mean, it's whole on another level. Defense is the way you get your place in a starting line up, your minutes. Last year, the roster was so full of young players that many of them stayed in their game's level and did not push it hard defensively because they've had no real fear of losing the job. We saw that on many players, but the most shocking thing to me was the contract wall Derrick Favors' defense hit. Has it already been one year since the last time we've talked how effective he is like Dwight or Amare in his blocked or altered shots? I have a lot of respect and love for Favors, and I really would like him to play as long as he can. But he needs to shaken up and get back to his rage level against any opponent. I understand, last year was with a lot of problems. The players did not seem too much into their coach. I hope this year, the new coach kicks their asses and sets them straight for work. The right amount of effort needs motivation and motivation needs the right motive. So a new coach who will kick you out of your minutes is a good start. Would be a good start. I don't know the guy. The second good motive would be to stop tanking and trying to dead-win every ****ing game.
 
The only reason the jazz aren't going to draft Jabari is he's already going to be gone at #5.
 
And Gordon will learn how to shoot.

I don't get where this thinking comes from

You do know that we are talking about 18-19 year old kids right? Do you actually believe they are done learning and developing this early into their very young careers?
 
Do you actually believe they are done learning and developing this early into their very young careers?
No, I don't. But I don't think you can assume glaring weaknesses will just go away once players get to the NBA or as they get older. Sometimes a wart is just a wart. The players who dramatically improve a weakness in the NBA are far outnumbered by players like CJ Miles who never really improve and are who they are when they come into the league. Parker is a pretty good athlete, but he's not particularly explosive, or laterally quick, and doesn't really battle in the post. So what makes you think that when gets to the NBA against bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled players that he's going to transform himself into a good defensive player. What are the indications that make you believe that? "This kind of thinking" comes from years of watching players come and go in the NBA. He may work his butt off and prove me wrong, but I think it's more likely he becomes a Boozer, Hardin type player. Just my opinion.
 
Last edited:
No, I don't. But I don't think you can assume glaring weaknesses will just go away once players get to the NBA or as they get older. Sometimes a wart is just a wart. The players who dramatically improve a weakness in the NBA are far outweighed by players like CJ Miles who never really improve and are who they are when they come into the league. Parker is a pretty good athlete, but he's not particularly explosive, or laterally quick, and doesn't really battle in the post. So what makes you think that when gets to the NBA against bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled players that he's going to transform himself into a good defensive player. What are the indications that make you believe that? "This kind of thinking" comes from years of watching players come and go in the NBA. He may work his butt off and prove me wrong, but I think it's more likely he becomes a Boozer, Hardin type player. Just my opinion.

Boozer and Harden aren't in the same class. Both bad defenders, yes, but can't be compared. Harden is on a whole other level when it comes to offense. Boozer was a sorry *** player in so more ways than just not being able to defend. Namely, his attitude sucked and just wasn't a competitor.

Comparing Jabari to Boozer is just retarded.

I think you and others aren't assessing Jabaris athletic ability accurately. I don't see a slow non athletic player. He looks pretty explosive to me. And again, we are talking about a young man who could become even more athletic as time goes on. This is what working out is for.

It boggles my mind that no one around here understands that you can improve speed, agility, and jumping ability. And you can improve shooting, and all sorts of other things.

I see a kid who is extremely advanced for his age, and has a ton of room for improvement. I don't see a finished product. It feels like that's what everyone is judging him on. Like as if he won't improve at all. But somehow other prospects can. There isn't one player in this draft who is done developing. Especially the 18 and 19 year olds. Since when was it decided that at 18 or 19 you are who you are? I think a lot of people are just looking for something to dog Jabari on. Nitpicking the crap out of him. Why? He has so much talent already at such a young age. Who in this class is more polished than him? If Jabari isn't going to be anything because of these perceived weaknesses, then by that logic no one else will either. Everyone in class has holes in their games.
 
Boozer and Harden aren't in the same class. Both bad defenders, yes, but can't be compared. Harden is on a whole other level when it comes to offense. Boozer was a sorry *** player in so more ways than just not being able to defend. Namely, his attitude sucked and just wasn't a competitor.

Comparing Jabari to Boozer is just retarded.

I hate how people on this board think they have resort to words like 'retarded' or 'idiot'. Like that somehow strengthens their argument. The point of the discussion was whether Parker can become a good defensive player in the NBA. I wasn't saying Parker, Harden, and Boozer were similar players. Only that they are offensive minded players who don't defend.

I think you and others aren't assessing Jabaris athletic ability accurately. I don't see a slow non athletic player. He looks pretty explosive to me. And again, we are talking about a young man who could become even more athletic as time goes on. This is what working out is for.

It boggles my mind that no one around here understands that you can improve speed, agility, and jumping ability. And you can improve shooting, and all sorts of other things.

I see a kid who is extremely advanced for his age, and has a ton of room for improvement. I don't see a finished product. It feels like that's what everyone is judging him on. Like as if he won't improve at all. But somehow other prospects can. There isn't one player in this draft who is done developing. Especially the 18 and 19 year olds. Since when was it decided that at 18 or 19 you are who you are? I think a lot of people are just looking for something to dog Jabari on. Nitpicking the crap out of him. Why? He has so much talent already at such a young age. Who in this class is more polished than him? If Jabari isn't going to be anything because of these perceived weaknesses, then by that logic no one else will either. Everyone in class has holes in their games.

Nice rant, but I didn't say he was a slow, non athletic player, or that he was a finished product, or that he wasn't going to be anything. I just said he was a poor defensive player. It's hard to dispute that. I said in the beginning I would take him if he were available, but I don't think criticizing his defense is really 'nitpicking'.
 
Top