What's new
By:

What to do with AK?

AtheistPreacher

AtheistPreacher

Well-Known Member
Next offseason is the one we've been waiting for... AK's albatross of a contract, worth $17 million this year, will finally be coming off the books. I'm torn both in what I think should be done with him *and* what I think will be done with him.

It seems there are three basic options:

1. Trade him for an impact player. In this case the Jazz would almost certainly look to attain a player making as little as possible while still within the 25% + $100,000 necessary for a trade. That would mean luxury tax again in future years, but I'm not sure management is willing to do that after this season. I think it more likely they had AK's contract in mind when they agreed to be tax-payers for the second year in a row. If they can, they may try to trade AK for other expiring contracts worth less in total to alleviate their LT hit. If they are willing to go into LT territory yet again, I'm sure there would be suitors for an expiring contract of that size.

2. Re-sign him (obviously, for much less). I wouldn't mind having the guy back. Just not for $17 million. I don't think I'd give me more than $7 million, max. Too many injuries and not enough consistency.

3. Let him go and keep the cap space. If they could get a trade exception like they did for Boozer, they could possibly bring in another impact player (actually, I don't know the rule on this... does the 25% rule apply for trade exceptions? Could the Jazz trade for a player getting $8 million, or does it need to be $13 million or more? I believe this is okay). They could also just look to sign someone in free agency, although they'll still be over the cap, so they'd likely need to use some kind of exception.

I suppose in the end I think we should look to replace Andrei's salary with a player in the $7 million-$9 million range, someone who will really make a difference but won't paralyze us financially. Whether that's AK back or someone else, I can't really say right now until we see who it's possible to get. But with Deron and Jefferson and Millsap under contract for a bundle, I don't think we can or should go after a $17 million superstar.
 
I say trade him at the deadline for an impact player. This is contingent on us not completely owning the Western Conference by then of course. But if we are smart, the best thing to do would be to acquire a good/great player from a team trying to shed salary for the summer. If we do it right we could even get a pick or two out of it.
 
I'm done with AK. he's been given ample opportunity to improve his game. His shooting sucks and he's too much of a liability. Trade him.
 
Don't really care either way. If we don't get something in fair return than I don't want to trade him. And the only trades I see are dumping his salary for a trade exception. Not worth it.

Keep and and if he is still injury prone after this year than left him go. Do not resign
 
One of the problems with letting AK walk is it only drops our Cap Space to 51/52. The Cap this year is 58. That doesn't leave a lot of room to work. If he isn't dealt, extending him might start to make more financial sense than letting him go unless you can replace him with a better player. There may even be MLE considerations as well--if they extend AK with Bird Rights, they get to use their MLE whereas otherwise they might not get it (not sure about that.) That said, I'm sure they'll be listening to every offer all year for him.
 
Keep him. AK is underrated. Few players in the NBA have the ability to do the things AK can do without the ball. His passing and court vision add volumes to our offense.
 
Keep him for cheap after this season. But if we can get a great trade out of him, something like AK for Okafur and Posey, go for it. Then maybe we can get him back here for cheap anyway. He brings a lot to the team that we would miss, its just not worth his current contract.
 
Stickler said:
Keep him. AK is underrated. Few players in the NBA have the ability to do the things AK can do without the ball. His passing and court vision add volumes to our offense.
Click to expand...

How is AK underrated? Some Jazz fans had him a top 5 player after his All-star year. Many fans start breaking down in tears when anyone mentions trading him. The problem is no one wants him at his contract except people wanting to do a bad contracts with more than one year. The Jazz should have traded him after they screwed up and gave him the max. Personally, I think AK is probably one of the most overpayed and overrated players in Jazz history. Sorry but a couple of good years do not make you a MAX player. Add his injury history along with how his contract has handicapped the Jazz for years now, I would take a case of beer and just let him walk.
 
With Memo injured, I expect to see Big Al at C to start the season, which leaves AK as the only viable backup to Millsap at PF. It's tough to bring in too many new players at once and turn them into a cohesive unit on short notice. We already got Big Al, Raja Bell, and Gordon Hayward to work into our system. And, being over the cap, I don't see us bringing an impact player in here in a trade unless he makes well less that AK. The trading partner would need to be under the cap or willing to use the well-known TPE...
Gordon Hayward would appear to be the heir apparent at SF, although KoC has been saying CJ greatly improved the last half of last season. We'll see...
 
cowhide said:
How is AK underrated? Some Jazz fans had him a top 5 player after his All-star year. Many fans start breaking down in tears when anyone mentions trading him. The problem is no one wants him at his contract except people wanting to do a bad contracts with more than one year. The Jazz should have traded him after they screwed up and gave him the max. Personally, I think AK is probably one of the most overpayed and overrated players in Jazz history. Sorry but a couple of good years do not make you a MAX player. Add his injury history along with how his contract has handicapped the Jazz for years now, I would take a case of beer and just let him walk.
Click to expand...

That was a pretty good demonstration of what I meant when I said underrated. It's as if you're angry with him for his contract. Just because he has a bad contract -- and oh, yes, he does -- doesn't mean he's a bad player. He's actually a very good player. Unlike Boozer, we don't have anyone on the roster who can replace what AK can do. And we're very unlikely to find a similar player in a trade. I didn't say he wasn't overpaid. I didn't say he was worth the max. I said he adds a dimension to our team. Without him, we are worse.

Look what happened last year when AK was moved back into the starting lineup and given 30+ minutes a game. We suddenly started winning again. Putting AK into the starting lineup last year turned our season around. How quickly they forget....
 
Stickler said:
That was a pretty good demonstration of what I meant when I said underrated. It's as if you're angry with him for his contract. Just because he has a bad contract -- and oh, yes, he does -- doesn't mean he's a bad player. He's actually a very good player. Unlike Boozer, we don't have anyone on the roster who can replace what AK can do. And we're very unlikely to find a similar player in a trade. I didn't say he wasn't overpaid. I didn't say he was worth the max. I said he adds a dimension to our team. Without him, we are worse.

Look what happened last year when AK was moved back into the starting lineup and given 30+ minutes a game. We suddenly started winning again. Putting AK into the starting lineup last year turned our season around. How quickly they forget....
Click to expand...
This is why I'd be happy enough if we signed him back at a reduced salary. When AK's on his game, he's really something else. But the Jazz would be stupid not to put feelers out and see if they can find a guy in that $7-$9 million range that is more consistent and isn't injured so much. It really does depend on how the market develops in the season, and seeing who we could possibly get. Too early to tell right now.
 
ShaggyReAL said:
Hell, Minnesota signed Darko so anything is possible. lol
Click to expand...

I think David Kahn is a moron. But Darko is not a horrible player. He is just horrible for being drafted that high. Held to a higher standard.

He is a good passer and a good shot blocker. Bad rebounder and he has no post moves. Decent mid range shot. I would rather have Darko for 5 Million rather than Okur or 10 million. I think we are just as bad to sign Okur to that contract. And I was saying that last summer when it happened too.
 
NotDeadYet said:
With Memo injured, I expect to see Big Al at C to start the season, which leaves AK as the only viable backup to Millsap at PF. It's tough to bring in too many new players at once and turn them into a cohesive unit on short notice. We already got Big Al, Raja Bell, and Gordon Hayward to work into our system. And, being over the cap, I don't see us bringing an impact player in here in a trade unless he makes well less that AK. The trading partner would need to be under the cap or willing to use the well-known TPE...
Gordon Hayward would appear to be the heir apparent at SF, although KoC has been saying CJ greatly improved the last half of last season. We'll see...
Click to expand...

I agree it's best to keep AK for now.
1) He's a backup to Millsap if Jefferson has to play all his minutes at the 5.
2) He probably starts at 4 while Hayward develops.

That said, I'd like to see the Jazz tradeAK at the deadline. He's starting to get up there in years. He'll be 30 by the end of next season and always has some kind of injury. He's averaged about 15 missed games per season over the last 6 years. I just don't see the Jazz wanting to offer him a deal into his mid-30's.

CJ and Gordon (if he develops) can each play the 3. Raja can give us some time backing up the 2. So trading for a starter at either wing position would be o.k. Ideally, I'd like to see Hayward develop into a starter and CJ become our 6th man. Jazz only have to take back around $15.5M in any trade. So pick up a very good veteran starter in the $8-$11M range, then the rest in expirings or contracts that can be bought out. The alternative is to just let his contract expire. Then thge Jazz get under the cap. Utah can then sign another veteran backup like Raja (perhaps an upgrade at the 2nd PG?) to bring salaries right below the cap, then add a starter with the MLE. Only problem with that is that Utah will bdding against 29 other teams who also have the MLE available.

I'm not sure anyone can compete against a healthy Lakers or Heat team. But injuries happen.
Deron and Jefferson are/will be all-star caliber players. Millsap is very good and Okur can be a great player off the bench. Add CJ and a developing Hayward. That's not a bad nucleus. But we need another star. And I think the only way to get there is via an AK trade. A non-contender looking to clear a 2-3 year deal off their books.
 
I expect the Jazz to keep AK and for AK to play very well in a contract year.
Also, Kirilenko's contract coming off the books doesn't really give us the flexibility to do much more than sign a mid-level FA.

In 2011-12 DWill, CJ (team-option that almost assuredly will be picked up), Millsap, Jefferson, Raja (estimate $3 million) Hayward, Okur will put us at $58.9 million for 7 players.
Under the current CBA, Utah would have the MLE and the bi-annual acception, so basically the Jazz will only have room to add 1 significant piece (also doubtful we'll have a 1st rnd pick). So one option would be to resign AK for $6 million and use the MLE on a center. Then again, the new CBA will create an entirely different scenario so it's probably pointless for me to worry about it.
 
My personal feeling is the Jazz should be looking to extend him. We're a much better team when he's on the floor. And right now, with his value only around MLE Plus, a 3/4 year extension at 7 to 9 averaged might be pretty doable. In next year's thin free agent market, however, he gets more expensive if he plays his normal game without getting hurt (yeah, cue the jokes.)

Bottom line, the Jazz will not find a FA next offseason with AK's abilities at 7 (which might be all they have if they let him walk.) They can hope to trade him for a better wing, but that's pretty wishful thinking. The larger point is if the Jazz DO think they might want to extend AK, the time to strike is now. His agent would undoubtedly tell him to wait, but I think AK is the type who will just do what he wants anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top