If the Mavericks almost landed Jefferson without giving up picks while ALSO unloading their own bad contracts onto Minnesota, then I see no good reason the Jazz couldn't have landed Jefferson just for the TPE. RealGM was being generous with a B- if Jefferson remains the same player (complete garbage on D, even worse passer, doesn't feature any kind of prominence in pick-and-____ schemes).
If Jefferson was merely a victim of circumstance and he learns to fit in and expand what Utah does, then the grade changes.
If the Mavericks almost landed Jefferson without giving up picks while ALSO unloading their own bad contracts onto Minnesota, then I see no good reason the Jazz couldn't have landed Jefferson just for the TPE. RealGM was being generous with a B- if Jefferson remains the same player (complete garbage on D, even worse passer, doesn't feature any kind of prominence in pick-and-____ schemes).
If Jefferson was merely a victim of circumstance and he learns to fit in and expand what Utah does, then the grade changes.
The grade itself makes no sense to me. You should be the first to admit that getting a proven 20-10 PF while giving up two mid teen picks and KK, taking on less salary and years than the Boozer deal, and essentially getting the guy for nothing, is a huge win. Yes, whether he pans out does matter. But we're not grading Big Al's performance with the Jazz, he hasn;t even played with them yet. We're grading the deal.
You and I have discussed this and we've agreed, Boozer was valuable and his 20-10 status was a huge factor. You have to give Big Al the same respect. He even produced without the support Boozer had in Utah. He was the 1 focal point on his team and he dominated the competition offensively. Fighting through double and triple teams down low and putting up better numbers than Boozer before his ACL tear. Even though the grade doesn't account for any of this, a B- is still low when you think about it logically.
As for your assessment of his skill set, we disagree on a few things. For one I don't think we can properly assess his passing skills yet. He didn't pass much in Minni because his teammates sucked and most of the time he was able to create his own offense in the low block. As far as pick & ____ situations, the jury is again still out. But I have great confidence in him here. He's more of a roller than a pop guy, and I think the Jazz need that. Granted, Boozers pop game was great, but he never challenged opponents length. Big Al has and will dive inside and take it to the chests of Gasol's, Bynum's, Noah's, and Howard's. FINALLY!!!! Making this huge dudes work on both ends, Boozer always settled for the jumper instead of challenging length. This will be huge, trust me. We've both seen what Big Al can do offensively against the Jazz, he ripped us to pieces inside, which doesn't say much. But he also has taken it to the Lakers with great success. I'm telling you, we'll be more effective offensively at the PF/C against LA with Big Al.
Defense is where we agree and I think we've seen the same things. Against the Jazz he was almost worse than Boozer on defense. This is why I wasn't a big supporter of his acquisition this offseason. He was ****ing terrible on D. If you thought Boozer was a matador, oh man, Big Al wasn't even in the arena most the time. I remember really enjoying Big Al's offensive game with he played the Jazz, but thought his D was the worst, and it was. There is room for hope here. He's now on a team where his teammate will be playing defense, that at least gives him a little incentive to D up. He a shot blocker and has more length than Boozer, at least have this to work with where Boozer had nothing in this department. I'm not saying he'll become a defensive juggernaut, but he's young and motivated, and has a chance to improve. He at least publicly acknowledges his lack of defensive ability and his desire to improve. We heard Boozer chat all day about how defense was important, but not once did he admit his short comings or take any responsibility. Ultimately, Big Al will need a defensive center behind him, that hole still needs to be filled. But I think he'll alter shots better than Boozer.
Again, we've discussed this before, 20-10 means something. It's rare enough to earn Big Al some leeway and respect.
