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The tank will last another year - Randy Rigby

It's not out of the realm of possibility that DL uses the cap space the same way as last year by picking up some bad expiring contracts for more picks. Accumlating assets is still a viable strategy considering how young this team is. Why spend money on FA vets who'll just take time from the youngsters? And whoever the coach is, they'll still have to focus on developing young talent. Another bad season with youth and little depth could yield a(nother) difference maker in the draft, but then you have to start winning at some point so it doesn't become David Kahn and the Timberwolves.

Great post. I think there is a lot of what will happen in this.

I still think Burke, plus top 5 2014 pick, plus top 5 2015 pick is our future.
 
Great post. I think there is a lot of what will happen in this.

I still think Burke, plus top 5 2014 pick, plus top 5 2015 pick is our future.

Very possible based on how DL still has a long leash and ownership is letting him be cold and calculating in his approach to building a contender. The next coach may have a longer leash as well, so he can be better equipped to develop talent without trying to win at the expense of benching the youth. We'll see how it plays out this summer with the way the cap space is used.
 
I don't think DL even knows what we are doing yet. I imagine he has multiple paths laid out and depending on how draft night goes he will take the appropriate path. Too many ifs are in play to speculate on next years wins.
 
I don't think DL even knows what we are doing yet. I imagine he has multiple paths laid out and depending on how draft night goes he will take the appropriate path. Too many ifs are in play to speculate on next years wins.

This.
 
The tank could be on next year. We know the Jazz aren't going to spend much money on free agents unless they can extend Burks and Kanter on the cheap (unlikely). That means we will have players of RJ or Marvin's level again. Along with the internal development and our pick, that doesn't add up to more than 5 more wins. If it does, then some player has emerged as all star worthy and we are all happy.

Why would they insist on extending them "on the cheap?" Favors was paid market price and they offered Hayward a pretty good deal; he just wanted more. I think they have a pretty good idea of what Burks can do. Kanter is a bit of a mystery. Maybe they let Enes show them he is motivated and wants to be an impact player on both ends of the court before offering a big contract.

Assume Hayward bounces back to his career averages. Assume the Jazz have an NBA quality PG for their first 15 games. Assume there is more depth on the bench. That alone is worth a 10 win improvement. And 10 wins is also assuming a) same coach; b) disastrous last 1 1/2 months to the season with players clearly not caring; 3) no improvement from anyone else (particularly Burke who is shooting like crap).

I'd say 35 wins is minimum for Utah and they SHOULD, with a quality rookie, better X's and O's coach and 1-2 decent FA's, be - to steal a phrase - "close enough" to .500 next season. Jazz WILL sign FA's or make a trade for a veteran or two. They have to in order to get to the salary floor. Their record won't be good enough for the playoffs, but they'll land in the 12-14 range with their pick.
 
NBA teams like the Jazz do not improve 22 games in one year. You are being overly optimistic. I hope that the Jazz only bring back Hayward and perhaps Diante. Bringing back Marvin would be a big mistake especially if the Jazz draft a PF or a Center. I do not want Favors or Kanter to lose minutes to Wiliams. I wouldn't bring in FA next year because the Jazz are still going to suck next year.

My estimate of a 20ish game leap was dependent on the Jazz striking it big in the lottery, a new coach and staff and the Jazz landing some decent FAs to shore up the bench and rotations.

Only then can I see a potential 20 game leap in wins.

I doubt we fight for playoffs but you never know. More likely is the Jazz win 34-38 games and we pick around 10-12 next year.
 
It would be difficult to watch another tank year. I know it might be best, but as mentioned before, at what point do we end up tanking year after year and become like Sacramento or Minnesota? And when we tank, we want the best draft pick possible, which means lots of losing. If our players make so little progress that we're again in contention for a top pick, I think we're in long term trouble.

I share season tickets (20 games) and have already paid for next year's tickets. I'm still comitted to the tank this year, but the last 15 games or so have been difficult to watch (either live or on tv). I have given away more tickets this year than any other year because it's not fun to watch when you want them to lose.

I'm hoping we get lucky in the draft, get a new coach, get a couple of decent (not reclamation projects) free agents and become more like Phoenix this year. Yeah, that's a lot to hope for....
 
^^Agree with stoked. A record of 38-44 is "close enough" to .500. ;)

Could also see Fakers Luck scenario play out. Use all their picks, sign Hayward, bring Neto over and the Jazz would have $43-$44M in guaranteed contracts for 11 players (not counting JLIII, Garrett, Thomas and Clark). I could be wrong, but that would leave around $15M in cap space to either keep those 4 under contract, add FA's or make trades. Lindsey could either bring on salary filler in exchange for future assets like he did with GS or try to traed some assets for good FA's as Rigby pointed out. It really depends on what kind of deals Dennis is offered.

In any case, Lindsey probably finds some way to at least hit the salary floor, even if that means signing a player or two to a 1-yr deal.

I don't think you have anything to fear, mncstr. Even going young by using all our draft picks and not signing veterans to replace RJ and MW will not result in another 23-25 win season. This team WILL grow. The bench would be stronger by virtue of having a high pick and another quality backup with the GS pick. Jazz will NOT have JLIII and Tinsley leading the team for 15 games and Utah will NOT quit with 1 1/2 months left in the season.
 
Huh?

Quotes from his interview last night:

"Rome wasn't built in a day"

"It's going to take some time"

"We are going to find a really good player this offseason. Most likely he will be between 19-22 years old"

"We will need patience with that new player"

"Trey Burke was a top 3-4 player in his draft"...Trey is still young, and he's hit some walls from time to time."

"This young player we are going to get is going to have some growing pains as well."

"There is still going to be some growth, and there's still going to be some patience that we will have to have"

Here is the interview:

https://1280thezone.com/index.php/audio/listen/the_big_show_utah_jazz_president_randy_rigby35

The quotes start at the 19 minute mark.

Since "tank" means "lose on purpose" none of these quotes even remotely suggests this notion. They will be trying to get better and will lose because we are very young and playing developing players, not because we are trying to lose.
 
Argh. You can lose on purpose by the people you sign and develop players at the same time.
 
For those that think our players will continue to develop, forget that. Look at our players:

Burke: Rookie. Should get better
Burks: Finishing up his third year. Odds are, he is rubbing his head against the ceiling.
Hayward: Finishing up his fourth year. Odds are, he is at his ceiling.
Favors: Finishing up his fourth year. Probably not improving.
Kanter: Third year. Again, he could get better, or his commitment to defense is so poor, he is at his ceiling.

Gobert is probably a year away from contributing.

Where is all this improvement going to come from? Also, throw Kanter and Burks in the starting lineup and your last place defense might actually get worse.

Soooooooooooooooooooo, don't expect too much improvement. There should be some, but not 15-20 games worth of improvement.
 
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