The Paths Forward From Here

[Tremendous Upside]

I really don't understand why anybody would want to trade Lauri.

The dude is only 26, wants to stay in Utah long-term, and the Jazz would have to be lucky to draft somebody that ultimately after several years ends up as good as Lauri.

All of that is true. But Ainge already showed his hand last season on that front. He had a great chance to pivot from rebuilding to reloading and going into buyer mode to get Lauri some quality help. He did nothing like that. Instead, he pulled the rug.

So there's one thing we know for sure – Danny is not going to build this team around Lauri. He may give him a max extension (hey, you have to pay somebody on your roster) and watch as Lauri keeps losing with the youngins for several years. Or trade him later on. Or treat him as a basic, overpaid building block who will be the calming veteran influence on an up-and-coming Jazz team when he's around 30.

 

[jom2003]

Murray might be at the intersection of value and fit that works well for us. One of the knocks on him are he wants to operate in the midrange like a star so he's not a perfect compliment to a star.... but we kinda need that type of player. I'd still be a bit frugal with what I'd offer.

We are like dead last in the league for midrange/pullups so...

 

[fishonjazz]

Isn’t 2 and 3 on this list essentially the same thing? Trading some vets and getting young players more burn is still riding the fence because we’re not competing and we’re not going to be bad enough for a top-5 pick.

I dont think it's riding the fence because it's clearly saying that we care way more about developing for the future than winning now.

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[Saint Cy of JFC]

Meh. He's only shown minor improvements from last year. He might develop into a borderline all-star, I wouldn't give up too many assets for him.

He's slotted into a role. His averages would be insanely better if he was starting.

 

[HermanG]

Imo top priority is #3, but Id rather do that by getting a high upside contributor, so I voted for 1.

 

[MTS]

All of that is true. But Ainge already showed his hand last season on that front. He had a great chance to pivot from rebuilding to reloading and going into buyer mode to get Lauri some quality help. He did nothing like that. Instead, he pulled the rug.

So there's one thing we know for sure – Danny is not going to build this team around Lauri. He may give him a max extension (hey, you have to pay somebody on your roster) and watch as Lauri keeps losing with the youngins for several years. Or trade him later on. Or treat him as a basic, overpaid building block who will be the calming veteran influence on an up-and-coming Jazz team when he's around 30.

I'm not sure how "Danny wanted to tank for a shot at Wemby" logically flows to "Danny is never going to try to build around Lauri"

 

[fishonjazz]

Murray surely is. His 2022 season with the Spurs was in many ways comparable to Lauri’s 2023 season with us. Is Lauri a star?

Change the word "is" to"was"?

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[Fosto]

Either way, I'd much prefer Murray and Quickley over Lavine. Because they both have the potential to actually be star level players. And we need a playmaking star player next to Lauri, who can't create for ****.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I feel like the time to trade Lauri would be this year though so I don’t think we should wait if that’s the direction we want to go.

I'm not sure they know what direction they want to go lol. I think the offers now should be higher if you can rope in OKC but I also think they could watch how the playoffs unfold and still make a substantial offer. If we got one less first but bought a few months to see what bubbles up on the trade market I would understand. With the picks we already have I'm not sure it matters that much if you got 3-4 or 4-5 picks or equivalent value.

 

[jom2003]

Imo top priority is #3, but Id rather do that by getting a high upside contributor, so I voted for 1.

Vote for 3 is basically voting for 1. Theres no “either...or”. Lauri ain't coming back unless we consolidate and bring him the help he needs.

 

[Elizah Huge]

I doubt think it's riding the fence because it's clearly saying that we care way more about developing for the future than winning now.

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Yeah… at the same time we’d be stuck in the 6-10 range in the draft.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Either way, I'd much prefer Murray and Quickley over Lavine. Because they both have the potential to actually be star level players. And we need a playmaking star player next to Lauri, who can't create for ****.

We all would and there are obviously other names you could throw out there. I just think the market for Zach being "barren" is the perfect recipe for Thrifter Danny.