So... what was the backup plan?

[Jack Strop]

I'm not 100% sold on Hill. I think Mitchell eventually becomes the starter at the 2 (give him a couple of years). The Rubio, Exum, Mitchell rotation at the 1/2 would be amazing defensively.

And Hood is too frail to play the 3 on the defensive end. I'd see what he and Favs can bring on the trade market at the deadline.

 

[bigmike]

I think DM could play PG eventually. He's not the playmaker Rubio is but he shows more of it than Hill did. I've been impressed with his lead guard skills in SL, he would have had 8-10 assists last game playing with real pros.

 

[jazzfan1971]

Seems like Ingles was the backup plan to me.

He's not the scorer that Hayward was, but I actually like him running the offense better. I thought he was excellent as a creator when given the assignment.

And who knows, maybe he can tolerate a bit higher usage.

 

[Coach Ellis]

Seems like Ingles was the backup plan to me.

He's not the scorer that Hayward was, but I actually like him running the offense better. I thought he was excellent as a creator when given the assignment.

And who knows, maybe he can tolerate a bit higher usage.

I also thought that Jingles proved towards the end of the year that he could be an adequate starter in the NBA. I'm assuming he'll get the first shot at it.

 

[candrew]

Right now, The Jazz are top 15 in payroll and probably do not have a top 15 team.

Knowing this FO's history, what do you think the back-up plan is?

They're certainly not going to shell out another 10+ mil just so they can become a fringe playoff team.

More than likely they'll go in the opposite direction.

 

[Sugarless]

I understand the cautious approach given the team's salary situation and how they'll need to re-evaluate 4 or 5 guys just a year from now, however I would have expected the Jazz to go hard after the S&T option as soon as they knew about Hayward's decision. We obviously don't know exactly how far they've been willing to go, but to me Jae Crowder is just too good of a fit and he's on too cheap of a contract to let him go. Considering how the Celtics added just another forward and Ainge's love for hoarding picks, I have a hard time seeing him rejecting a top-12 protected future 1st, and to me Crowder at 7M per season and 3 years left is well worth it, as you have to be lucky to get a player like that on the middle of the 1st round, where more often than not you end up getting just another perennial bench guy or someone who's out of the league just a few years into his career.

Other than that, I would have loved for the Jazz to get their hands on Patrick Patterson as he too would have been excellent with this roster at a cheap price, and I still would like them to try and move a couple of pieces like Favors (just a matter of fit once again) and get something in return for Diaw's NG contract (for instance, the Rockets have never been willing to trade Trevor Ariza, but since they're trying to get Melo they could definitely use a heavier non-guaranteed contract to send NY's way).

 

[Miggs]

Right now, The Jazz are top 15 in payroll and probably do not have a top 15 team.

Knowing this FO's history, what do you think the back-up plan is?

They're certainly not going to shell out another 10+ mil just so they can become a fringe playoff team.

More than likely they'll go in the opposite direction.

Opt out of Diaw. Play 30-40 games to see what we have and likely trade JJ. Maybe trade Favors.

 

[ratatat213]

Last Friday on 1280 the Zone, Spence Checketts asked Dennis Lindsay what the contingency plan was for losing Hayward, and Lindsay gave a really poor response. He did mention the acquisition of Rubio and Mitchell, but then he gave some lame answer about how having Exum have the full summer to train is like getting a "new" player.

I didn't like that he threw Exum in the mix, because retaining the same player that is already under contract is not a plan B.

I just felt like Lindsay didn't really have an answer for the question.

 

[MattNie]

Last Friday on 1280 the Zone, Spence Checketts asked Dennis Lindsay what the contingency plan was for losing Hayward, and Lindsay gave a really poor response. He did mention the acquisition of Rubio and Mitchell, but then he gave some lame answer about how having Exum have the full summer to train is like getting a "new" player.

I didn't like that he threw Exum in the mix, because retaining the same player that is already under contract is not a plan B.

I just felt like Lindsay didn't really have an answer for the question.

Well he can't come out and say all the other free agent options sucked so we've got to roll with what we've got.

 

[gomretat]

Hayward was 30m dollars in limbo, its hard to make a backup plan with 30%+ of your salary as an unknown.
Ultimately it was the wrong call not to trade him since he left, but so hard to do that when the Jazz were
rolling people with a healthy Gobert/Hayward/Hill

Well said. Given the timing of how Gordy said no and the speed with other things happened not sure there are other options. It was a matter of giving up on Gordy before he said no or waiting. I see no way to fault the FO for that. The very thing that Dennis was upset about was how much a predicament Gordon put us in by his timing and the deals they admitted they had to pass on. Bad form by Gordy because it seems like he already knew the answer.

 

[mellow]

Listening to Locke's version of Nerdward's big decision, with a few reminiscences of days past it starts to become apparent that Heywood is a strange strange dude.

Not suprising he kept the FO believing he was their guy until the very end.

 

[SCS]

Last Friday on 1280 the Zone, Spence Checketts asked Dennis Lindsay what the contingency plan was for losing Hayward, and Lindsay gave a really poor response. He did mention the acquisition of Rubio and Mitchell, but then he gave some lame answer about how having Exum have the full summer to train is like getting a "new" player.

I didn't like that he threw Exum in the mix, because retaining the same player that is already under contract is not a plan B.

I just felt like Lindsay didn't really have an answer for the question.

He's not going to come right out and tell everyone exactly what contingency plans he had that didn't work out or say what he still may have planned for the offseason. He did say in that interview that the timing of Haywood's decision was "unfortunate" in terms of hurting other moves that could have been made. And he said that he and Quin had a long conversation on the flight back about the state of the roster, what they thought was needed, and potential moves that could be made.

I got the feeling that DL was shellshocked a little by Haywood's decision. But I never got the feeling that he didn't have a plan to move forward or was lost about what to do next.