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Trade Rumors Involving the Jazz

Meh, Brown doesn't strike me as that type of player/person. He was the #3 recruit that could've played at any major program in the country coming out of HS and chose to go to UC Berkeley because of their elite academics. You'd only make the trade if he was also immediately signed that super max deal so you'd have him locked up long term and I'm sure that'd be very appealing to him. I also think that the chance to potentially lead a team and get out of Jayson Tatum's shadow could be appealing for him as well. The fact that he played for Hardy and Danny was the one who drafted him doesn't hurt either.

Despite the Jazz being a small market team, Don was able to rise to superstardom here and got one of the best selling sneakers in the league during that process. Hopefully ASW goes great for us this year too, that could start to shift some of the opinions about Utah around the league, imo.

ETA: Yes I understand it's a huge long shot, but he's still someone that I'd call about.
He does seem to have a mild antisemitism issue. Don't know about his stance on Mormons. Apart from that, I don't see him as a nr. 1 or supermax worthy.
 
He does seem to have a mild antisemitism issue. Don't know about his stance on Mormons. Apart from that, I don't see him as a nr. 1 or supermax worthy.
He just turned 26 and is averaging 27/7/3 while playing elite defense as a #2 option for a team that just went to the Finals.
 
He just turned 26 and is averaging 27/7/3 while playing elite defense as a #2 option for a team that just went to the Finals.
I agree with you that he's an excellent player. I just don't see him as a player I would want to build around whilst paying him a supermax. But I could very well be wrong.
 
If Mike is getting the ball to Lauri where he needs them to develop and succeed. That to me is a good enough reason to keep him around.
He was doing all that last year to Rudy but was neutralised come playoff time. I like Mike but I don't expect any different result even with lauri. He is going to struggle. And imho Jc-lauri combo is better than mike-lauri. lethal and lots of unpredictability. Plenty of options when these 2 guys work together.
 
So I guess it could end up Kennard/Wall (expiring), Coffey (cheap wing) for Mike and then we get a pick swap this year and a couple seconds in 28/29. That is really a tank move... so would move us down the standings significantly... would need to factor that in. I would think a Beasley move would follow.

I would do that trade. I would also be curious to see if we really get much worse.


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If you did the clippers deal we are like 1.5 games out of the 8th spot. It would likely send us spiraling a bit. IF we did not spiral it is because Collin or NAW or THT emerged as a viable starting option... so kind of a win win.

This.
I would bet on collin, NAW and THT keeping us afloat. And like you said, if they dont then oh well. No biggie. The season of win win continues.


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I honestly don’t think we drop much if Conley is traded. But I think the increased opportunity for Sexton/NAW/THT/Ochai is more important than whatever development gains we have from Conley being around and the W/L is the least important factor.

NAW has actually been a pleasant surprise this year, I wish he wasn’t getting squeezed out. He’s kinda like Niang 2.0 but we need to seize the opportunity to get him on a long term allow money deal.

I have been wondering if maybe NAW is getting ****ed because we dont want him to play too good cause we want to sign hin to a cheap deal. I dont know his contract situation though


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Disagree on Mike. I think we'd slide pretty hard. We are like 4-6 I believe with Sexton as a starter... one of the wins was the miracle GS game. I think NAW was on fire during that stretch so we may not have felt the full brunt of the injury. With the way Mike is currently playing his loss will be felt. Dev time for those guys is important so I'd agree there... and if we didn't fall off we will have learned something.

I don't think NAW is quite as good of a shooter as his percentages have been thus far but agree we should lock him up and it would be good to kick the tires a bit more. He could be a solid long term value play.

I think our defense would improve dramatically without mike. Offense would suffer some but sexton has been pretty awesome on that end and NAW has been good too.


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I have to say, as the deadline approaches, I'm more and more on the fence about trading Mike away. At the start of the season I thought he would have a good season, and my hope is he would play his way in to netting us some assets. Now, I feel like I would miss the way our offense looks when he is playing too much. I also like the idea of drafting Cason Wallace or Anthony Black and having Mike mentor them for a season/half season.

I do think he helps us win games, and so I think the balance is:

assets we can get for him + better draft position + cap space + development time for NAW/THT - aesthetically pleasing basketball - mentorship - losing a good human being from our team
 
At first I thought Lauri was more suited as a 4 as well until I see him play this year and totally dominates most 3s with his length. He just bullies them either by backing them down and driving to the hole, rising and shooting over them or coming round the pick and just taking them to the hole.

I'm totally convinced now he's better at the 3.
Exactly. Everyone keeps putting him at 4 but he is definitely a 3 in my books as well. He sets very good screens and creates incredible mismatches on the perimeter when defenders have to switch between him and the PG. Thats one of the reason why I also have said that if Haliburton type would be available it would be just mayhem.

I mean how do you guard just basic perimeter screens between those two? You have to switch every time or Lauri gets free shots.
 
Exactly. Everyone keeps putting him at 4 but he is definitely a 3 in my books as well. He sets very good screens and creates incredible mismatches on the perimeter when defenders have to switch between him and the PG. Thats one of the reason why I also have said that if Haliburton type would be available it would be just mayhem.

I mean how do you guard just basic perimeter screens between those two? You have to switch every time or Lauri gets free shots.
Basketball is a two way sport though.
 
I have to say, as the deadline approaches, I'm more and more on the fence about trading Mike away. At the start of the season I thought he would have a good season, and my hope is he would play his way in to netting us some assets. Now, I feel like I would miss the way our offense looks when he is playing too much. I also like the idea of drafting Cason Wallace or Anthony Black and having Mike mentor them for a season/half season.

I do think he helps us win games, and so I think the balance is:

assets we can get for him + better draft position + cap space + development time for NAW/THT - aesthetically pleasing basketball - mentorship - losing a good human being from our team
I just think it’s more nuanced than math… there is a reason the term glue guy was invented… Mike is a lot of the glue that helps hold this thing together but I guess some don’t see it.
 
Basketball is a two way sport though.
True. I think Lauri is not a lock down defender but is good even defending wings that are much smaller, as long as they are not the jitterbug types or the ones with the most explosive first step. I think he could even learn to defend those guys adequately once he learns how much cushion he can leave for them while not losing the ability to closeout/block since he is so tall and those guys are usually much smaller.

In fact, I pretty much agree on Ringers assessment from their ASG pick column that I read few days ago:
Lauri is a 3-point shooting giant who can create his own shot, fly off screens, and hold down several positions at the other end. The level of athleticism and skill in a body that massive is generational. His season has been a revelation for Utah, along with the very idea that it’s OK to be patient with outlandishly talented players who don’t solve various NBA puzzles right away.
 
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