The Jazz don't have much young talent...

[MVP]

I for one am glad it turned out the way it did. Booker can score, but I think Mitchell will as well, and be a great defender. IMO DM>Booker.

I am very happy with Mitchell as well but it is too early to tell if DM will be better than Booker in the long run. Booker already proved he can score at elite level in NBA. Lets wait for couple seasons before declaring Mitchell as better then him.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Ron, seriously? Combine is silly numbers but summer league means something? DeShawn Stevenson once averaged 29 pts or close in summer league. A. Bennet had great summer league and people said he is going to prove his worth as NR. 1 pick after it - where is he now?. Just please stop with summer league joke.

Summer league stats mean nothing but it's a great time to look at specifics from a player. The coaching staff puts players in positions to do certain things. It's a great evaluating tool. For Exum we saw that his shot mechanics and consistency was greatly improved. We also saw improved athleticism.

 

[FalseFlagg K]

Truth hurts, I get it. Too bad you guys can't evaluate players objectively. Makes you look really desperate especially arguing with numbers/facts.

You're just desperate for him to continue sucking so you can feel smug about it.

He's the last player you can actually judge because of his inexperience and injuries to date. Nobody is saying he's been any good yet or arguing with numbers, merely projecting hope based on what they see, while you just continue to obsessively click dislike about anything regarding the kid. Get over it.

 

[FalseFlagg K]

I am very happy with Mitchell as well but it is too early to tell if DM will be better than Booker in the long run. Booker already proved he can score at elite level in NBA. Lets wait for couple seasons before declaring Mitchell as better then him.

Booker has proved he can score at an inefficient rate on a suckass team that needs someone to take the shots and is atrocious on defense. So yeah he's good but special ? Nah

 

[MVP]

He's the last player you can actually judge because of his inexperience and injuries to date.

Exactly. SO why you guys are so high about him?

 

[MVP]

Booker has proved he can score at an inefficient rate on a suckass team that needs someone to take the shots and is atrocious on defense. So yeah he's good but special ? Nah

Never talked about his defense. Scoring is elite, no matter how you twist it. To score 70 pts in a game you need to have skill no matter how much your team sucks.

 

[MVP]

Nobody is saying he's been any good yet .

That would be me and few others.
Exum fan boys keep saying he is as good or better then Mitchell and will be a star in the future. That's the only problem I am having - with unrealistic fan boys not with Exum. Exum needs time and patience and he may be decent back up PG in NBA. Too bad he was drafted so high so pressure to live up to expectations may be getting to him. Plus injuries certainly not helping.

 

[FalseFlagg K]

That would be me and few others.
Exum fan boys keep saying he is as good or better then Mitchell and will be a star in the future. That's the only problem I am having - with unrealistic fan boys not with Exum. Exum needs time and patience and he may be decent back up PG in NBA. Too bad he was drafted so high so pressure to live up to expectations may be getting to him. Plus injuries certainly not helping.

let me translate for the visually and mentally impaired. Apart from one or two extreme Exum homers who for some reason seem to bother you so much, nobody reasonable is saying he has played that well yet. However many people continue to advocate for his undeniable attributes and potential. I believe he would have been noticabely improved this season and quite different to how he's played so far and a useful rotation player, and could still be a terrific player a few years down the track. You just seem to take every opportunity to put him down or dislike anything that is put forward that is even remotely positive about the kid.

 

[FalseFlagg K]

Exactly. SO why you guys are so high about him?

uuhh he has attributes that most players don't that you can't learn. IF he develops a lot more skill and figures out how to use his length and speed that makes him a very good player. He's not your traditional explosive athlete but he has the jets to get to wherever he wants on the court.

 

[MVP]

uuhh he has attributes that most players don't that you can't learn. IF he develops a lot more skill and figures out how to use his length and speed that makes him a very good player. He's not your traditional explosive athlete but he has the jets to get to wherever he wants on the court.

Well, history is full of international players with unique attributes who unfortunately were taken very high and never lived up to the hype - Tzikitishivili, Korolev, Milicic, Sene, Bargnani, Bennet just to name a few. I'd rather be more cautious and be pleasantly surprised if he turns into good player then be all excited and then terribly disappointed if he busts.

 

[MVP]

However many people continue to advocate for his undeniable attributes and potential.

Agree to disagree. His length and quick first step is undeniable. Potential though is questionable.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Exum has already shown he can be a good backup PG. He has shown flashes of being much better.

Mitchell shows flashes of being great every game. I am glad he is given a lot of opportunities to make a lot of mistakes.

Its too hard to compare the two players and their potential. Neither has done enough to prove they are an above average player. Both have shown signs and flashes that they could be really good.

Its too bad Exum has to be out with an injury for awhile due to a dumb play from another player.

 

[fishonjazz]

Look, there are a ton of people paid to project player development. And they are so often wrong. Then there are a ton of guys like you and me who have opinions. We can also be wrong.

In my opinion, Kawhi Leonard was the best player in the late lottery that year. I wouldn't have taken him at Kanter's spot, but we should have at Burks' without any doubt.

Here is why I liked Kawhi:

1. Length
2. Athleticism
3. In Utah, we havent had much length and athleticism. We don't get many "freak athletes". This is why I always want to target guys like Kawhi and Giannis because we are a franchise that needs to take big risks on potential big talents. Burks represented undersized and tweener. Kawhi represented mismatch opportunities for us.
4. Huge hands. I thought rebounder right away.
5. His upbringing - he was more mature and had additional incentive and focus because of a tougher upbringing. He had to earn his way. He was going to work.

Now I realize Pop has been massive for him. In my opinion, Pop made him a superstar, but he was going to be a really good NBA player anyway.

But this is in the past. I'm so glad we got Mitchell. Look forward to seeing Exum and Mitchell together in the coming years.

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Burks wasn't undersized or a tweener. Kahwi has length but doesn't seem all that athletic to me.
Burks was much better statistically in college as well.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Burks wasn't undersized or a tweener. Kahwi has length but doesn't seem all that athletic to me.
Burks was much better statistically in college as well.

Its easy in hindsight to make claims that we should have taken Kawhi. Some people on here probably did want to but the truth is its just a guess. Every team misses. Kawhi had plenty of knocks on him coming out of college. He didnt really have a great offensive game. He wasnt a great shooter and he did have much in regards to ball handling skills. Honestly his defense wasn't even that great coming out of college. He obviously greatly improved his game and became a great player. Burks had a lot of good things going for him coming out of college. A lot of people really wanted Jimmer, Marshon Brooks and others who were big busts.

 

[fallenchicken]

I guess it depends on what you consider "young." Mitchell is obviously incredible. But I would also consider Gobert, Hood to be young talents. Even Rubio is still pretty young, but you forget it since he came in the league so young. Gobert, Mitchell, Rubio and sometimes Hood looks like promising pieces for the years to come. We obviously need more, and while Hood is very good I also worry about his dependability and paying him a big contract. But with a lot of luck (which every team needs) and the continued savvy moves by the FO, we can build this team into something.

 

[TheStormofWar]

Trying to figure out the premise of this thread, but I don't see it. For the sake of argument, let's call anyone 25 and younger as "young talent". This would include Gobert, Mitchell, Neto, Exum, Hood, and Burks. The average age of this roster is 26.6, and Joe Jesus is the one bringing that up as an outlier. Granted, you can't pay everyone, but this is something almost every team deals with. The only players we have potentially under contract past 2019 are Jingles, Gobert, Mitchell, and Bradley. So yeah, we have assets for trades (picks, expirings, and decent contracts). We're not hurting for young talent. We're swimming in it. We're not like the Sixers in that regard, but we're not bad either.

 

[LoPo]

Ron, I like you and your arguments are very scientific and obviously you have experience in athletic training and so on. Simple message I am trying to pass here is that some Exum fans are being very subjective and unrealistic when it comes to Exum's skills and abilities. Would they keep saying nonsense about "player X has unmatched first step" or " probably fastest in the league" or "more athletic then Mitchell" if that player would play for Lakers when his combine numbers would say otherwise? No. That is pure overrating of one our our players without looking at it objectively.
No fans or basketball junkies of other 29 teams in NBA would put Exum at the same throne like some oh his fan boys do here. I get it. I have done it before when I was younger and thought that AK is the best defensive player in the league and that he will become multiple ALL-star or lead Jazz to title. With age you start listening more to the brain then to the heart if you know what I mean. I hope Dante will turn into decent player and will help us down the road, I sincerely do. I just can't support biased fanatism towards him.

Great post. Very true.

I feel the exact same way about Favors that you do Exum. I got so tired of the "if this" or "if not for that" garbage. Some times, a guy just is who is. If he exceeds expectations, then great. But some fans on here need more realistic expectations.

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[LoPo]

Burks wasn't undersized or a tweener. Kahwi has length but doesn't seem all that athletic to me.
Burks was much better statistically in college as well.

In their last years in college, Burks averaged 20.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 2.9 apg. Leonard averaged 15.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg, and 2.5 apg. Not much better by Burks at all. If anything, I take Kawhi's stat line.

Burks is 6'6". Not undersized, you're okay here. People did want him to play PG out of college due to his ball dominance.

It doesn't really matter at the end of the day. I was really big on Leonard before the draft, during the draft and after the draft. I was not big on Burks. As it turns out, I was right which sucks because I'm okay being wrong if it works out better for the Jazz.

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