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Following potential 2015 draftees

Jazz4ever said:
Indiana is a strong threat at 11 to draft WCS. Hibbert expires in a year.
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He can opt out this year. They would have no problem taking him.

Miami would take him... Whiteside is not mr. Reliable. Denver would give him a long look. Charlotte would likely consider him too. I don't see a scenario where he falls to us.
 
Chad Ford has his new column up about team needs and the draft... here's what he writes for the Jazz's picks:

https://insider.espn.go.com/nba/dra...-makes-picks-gm-every-nba-team-2015-nba-draft

Utah Jazz

Needs: backup PF, backup SF, shooting

Round 1 (12) Kevon Looney, F, Fr. UCLA
Round 2 (42) Aleksandar Vezenkov, SF, Cyprus
Round 2 (54) Anthony Brown, G/F, Sr., Syracuse

Analysis: The Jazz are one of the few teams in the lottery without any glaring needs. Their starting five of the future is pretty set: Dante Exum at point guard, Alec Burks at SG, Gordon Hayward at SF, Derrick Favors at point forward and Rudy Gobert at center. That starting five has a chance to be awesome someday, and I don't think anyone in Utah is going to mess with it. Burks is the biggest question mark of the group, but given his recent contract extension, they're going to try to make it work. And even if it doesn't, the way Rodney Hood played toward the end of the season gives them hope that his replacement might already be on their roster.

That frees them to take the best player available, and I think that's Looney. If there is a third tier in this draft, it ends around No. 12 and Looney is the last guy in it. He has the talent of a top-five pick, but it's still unclear where his position will be in the pros, and he's seen as a longer-term project than most. I'm not sure he is a long-term project, and I think in Utah he could get minutes right away backing up both Favors and Hayward. He's one of the most versatile players in the draft and a steal at No. 12. Vezenkov is really intriguing, as well. He might be the most skilled young forward in Europe right now. He's just not an elite athlete, and that limits his upside somewhat. But the Jazz have always valued basketball IQ, players who can execute and he could be a steal down the road for them. Brown is just a solid senior who can shoot the basketball and defend. He could end up being a Wesley Matthews-type pick for them late in the second.
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Weird why he would think we need a backup PF more than a backup C. In his current mock draft we pick Looney at 12 with Stanley Johnson, Kaminsky, Portis, Booker still available.

On a side note, Vezenkov had a double double against Panathinaikos last week(11pts(5/11FG) and 11rbs) and today he had 19 pts(7/15 FG, 2/4 3P, 3/3 FT), 4rbs, 2 ast, 2 stl against Euroleague final 4 participant Olympiakos. That's pretty much the only reason I have hope for him performing on the next level even with his athletic limitation - because he seems to perform well(at least offensively) against the best competition Europe can offer.
 
stitches said:
Chad Ford has his new column up about team needs and the draft... here's what he writes for the Jazz's picks:

https://insider.espn.go.com/nba/dra...-makes-picks-gm-every-nba-team-2015-nba-draft



Weird why he would think we need a backup PF more than a backup C. In his current mock draft we pick Looney at 12 with Stanley Johnson, Kaminsky, Portis, Booker still available.

On a side note, Vezenkov had a double double against Panathinaikos last week(11pts(5/11FG) and 11rbs) and today he had 19 pts(7/15 FG, 2/4 3P, 3/3 FT), 4rbs, 2 ast, 2 stl against Euroleague final 4 participant Olympiakos. That's pretty much the only reason I have hope for him performing on the next level even with his athletic limitation - because he seems to perform well(at least offensively) against the best competition Europe can offer.
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That is interesting--- most people see Johnson as a superior prospect to Looney.
 
stitches said:
Chad Ford has his new column up about team needs and the draft... here's what he writes for the Jazz's picks:

https://insider.espn.go.com/nba/dra...-makes-picks-gm-every-nba-team-2015-nba-draft



Weird why he would think we need a backup PF more than a backup C. In his current mock draft we pick Looney at 12 with Stanley Johnson, Kaminsky, Portis, Booker still available.

On a side note, Vezenkov had a double double against Panathinaikos last week(11pts(5/11FG) and 11rbs) and today he had 19 pts(7/15 FG, 2/4 3P, 3/3 FT), 4rbs, 2 ast, 2 stl against Euroleague final 4 participant Olympiakos. That's pretty much the only reason I have hope for him performing on the next level even with his athletic limitation - because he seems to perform well(at least offensively) against the best competition Europe can offer.
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Thank you for the info. Looney is interesting but I'd Muuuuuuuuch rather have Johnson. Ford has been really high on Looney all year. I think if the plan is to play Looney as a stretch/face up 4 then I'm on board with that pick (assuming Johnson is gone). I don't see any advantage to playing him as a 3. He may be able to guard some of those guys, but on the other end he isn't really going to punish them with his post game. If he can shoot and a 4 has to chase him around I could see it being a great advantage. I think Ford is too high on the guy but that DX is too low.

All and all I think we get a really good prospect at the #12. I really like 12-13 guys in the top half of the draft and there is only a couple guys I wouldn't want (Myles Turner and Jerian Grant).
 
Qman said:
That is interesting--- most people see Johnson as a superior prospect to Looney.
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I'm not sure what he's done, but it does feel like he is dropping a bit. He wasn't good in that last game in the tourney, but there were some crappy circumstances.

I can see Johnson doing some of the same things Draymond Green is doing. Athletically he's superior... not sure he has the attitude that Green does though.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
Thank you for the info. Looney is interesting but I'd Muuuuuuuuch rather have Johnson. Ford has been really high on Looney all year. I think if the plan is to play Looney as a stretch/face up 4 then I'm on board with that pick (assuming Johnson is gone). I don't see any advantage to playing him as a 3. He may be able to guard some of those guys, but on the other end he isn't really going to punish them with his post game. If he can shoot and a 4 has to chase him around I could see it being a great advantage. I think Ford is too high on the guy but that DX is too low.

All and all I think we get a really good prospect at the #12. I really like 12-13 guys in the top half of the draft and there is only a couple guys I wouldn't want (Myles Turner and Jerian Grant).
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I think I just talked myself into being okay with Turner. Chad Ford said in his chat that he hired a running coach and now runs like a normal basketball player. He was one of the top rated dudes coming into this year and is a really good kid from what I've read. If he is a worker and his knees check out he could be a good get at 12.

The awkward running seems like such a stupid issue, but if you watched him there is no way that is good for his body. I wish he would have gone to a school that had a better coach so we could have a better understanding of what he is.
 
Handlogten's Heros said:
I think I just talked myself into being okay with Turner. Chad Ford said in his chat that he hired a running coach and now runs like a normal basketball player. He was one of the top rated dudes coming into this year and is a really good kid from what I've read. If he is a worker and his knees check out he could be a good get at 12.

The awkward running seems like such a stupid issue, but if you watched him there is no way that is good for his body. I wish he would have gone to a school that had a better coach so we could have a better understanding of what he is.
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Yah, I'm good with Turner, too. The tools are there, the right attitude seems to be there, he's not the most athletic dude, but his timing in defense is great. His shot looks good... As long as we accept that he'd be another project for us and not expect great things right away, I'm OK with picking him.

The awkward running is indeed a weird issue to have with a player, but it's not only that it's awkward... it's that it seems incredibly inefficient and slow to me. I would love to see what his new coach has done with his stride...
 
Chad Ford also mentioned that he wouldn't be surprised if the magic traded their pick if it wasn't top 3. What do you think it would take for us to get it.
 
Doublea said:
Chad Ford also mentioned that he wouldn't be surprised if the magic traded their pick if it wasn't top 3. What do you think it would take for us to get it.
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Favors probably... in other words, it's not happening.
 
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