What's new

Jaren Jackson Jr. traded to the Jazz

I believe in Keyonte. I also believe he can actually up his defense if he just cares about it every possession (which he still doesnt, but cant blame him).

Offensively he is what you hope a #1 overall pick looks like in year 3. He also leads all players under 23 in PPG and APG, despite not having a massive usage.
Yup, so adding a DPOY player who spaces the floor seems like a no brainer given the asset cost was fairly minimal.
 
Jalen Smith is not a good defender in the slightest.
Let me start by being very clear, at no point have I said Jalen Smith is better or equal to JJJ in totality, I am saying if the two most important things he does is block shots and shoot the basketball, there are better ways to spend.

$240 million/5 years + 3 1sts and 2 rookie scale players of considerable investment vs.
$9 million/1 year + … Sensabaugh and/or 2nds?

1.8 blocks per36 vs
1.4

36% from 3 (5.7 attempts per 36, .328 attempt rate) vs
38% from 3 (7.3 attempts per 36, .535 attempt rate)

15.4 PER vs
17.2

.574 TS% vs
.602

I understand the scoring volume is an important part of the appeal. I just think we’re paying a crazy premium for what we’ll ultimately be getting.

That being said, having a real two-way player at the most important position + spacing is really cool! And maybe Smith could be the Walker substitute (he is also not nearly as good as Walker but a much better bargain which we’re going to have to get really good at now).
 
I had been intrigued by JJJ for awhile now, but it was mostly under the condition that he would come cheap. I wouldn’t say this price was cheap, but I am very interested in how this will shake out. Think JJJ has been an overrated player, but a good one nonetheless. Fit isn’t perfect, but we needed defense badly.

Perimeter defense is a much higher priority. You can find decent (but one-dimensional) rim protectors from the scrap heap. We just haven't gone down that route this season for obvious reasons.
 
Its a valid concern though as part of the offense humming has been Nurk's passing and we added a core piece who is an average or bad passer.... to a group with a deficit there.
I think thats a completely fair concern. We are #2 in the league in assists though, and that has a lot to do with how we play, not about the "passing talent" we have.

But there is risk that too much falls on Keyonte once Kessler takes Nurks spot in the starting lineup. I hope Kessler has been paying attention watching Nurks DHO actions... The backdoor passes and bounce passes to cutters are not the toughest passes/reads but Nurk does them so well.
 
I'm not sure that the overall implications are for this (not enough time to process it), but IF this means that we've pivoted out of the tank and intend to compete, then HELL yes.

For those complaining about "taking shortcuts," I'd ask just how much longer you wanted to keep losing, particularly since sticking with the tank to its logical conclusion offered no empirically reasonable guarantee of success. Teams that get on the lottery treadmill are as, if not more, likely to remain there for an extended period (e.g., Detroit, Minnesota, Charlotte, Sacramento, New Orleans, Washington) than turn things around in five or fewer years.

While this also has no guarantee of success, it seems to signal that the tank is officially over, or will be by the end of this year.

RIP tank (I hope), and good riddance.
 
Back
Top