The Jazz just had one of the most fortunate bounces of the ping-pong ball in NBA Draft history, landing the #3 pick and #12 pick in the draft. The Jazz drafted Enes Kanter # 3 out of Turkey and Alec Burks #12 out of Colorado. The reason for picking Kanter 3rd was ultimately because of his back to the basket phyiscal play that the Jazz lack in the middle. The Jazz need somebody who can play center, and Kanter seems capable of doing that for the Jazz. He's tough, physical, rebounds really well, and among other things, he has a reliable mid range game. Nothing like Okur, but still an offensive game that shows a lot of potential and capability. Certainly not a liability on the offensive end like Fesenko is. Kevin O'Connor said of Kanter:
"If you were to look at him as football player, he's a north-south guy. He's not gonna dazzle you with footwork, but he's gonna try to run over you. He's gonna give us some length. Is he a leaper and shot blocker? No, but to go along with what we've got inside, I think he gives Coach Corbin some options.Remember he's 19... But he's a willing worker and I think that's the key. He's a kid who didn't play last year and had a 5.9 % body fat and did as good as anybody on the treadmill. When you do the treadmill you are only allowed to go a certain amount of minutes and I think there were only 5 or 6 guys who did that and he was one of them. He was the best player available at 3 and he adds toughness to our team."
About the #12 pick Alec Burks, Kevin O'Connor said:
"We liked him for his Versatility. He's improved his shooting. We had him in the other day, and he shot the ball well. He's not a knock down three point shooter, but in this league, in today's day in age, when you can't put your hands on somebody, guys that are slashers and guys that get to the ball, get to the foul line and get layups. He might be able to play a little point guard. He's got good skills with the ball and he's 19 and he's got a chip on his shoulder. He wasn't highly recruited, he came in to Colorado and had a terrific freshman year and improved in every area in his sophomore year. He's 6'6 and big for his position. We were very comfortable with him at 12, and we had no interest in making any trades. "
All in all, it sounds like Kevin O'Connor and the rest of the Jazz organization are very happy with their draft picks. Both guys seem like they can make a difference for the Jazz next season. The reason why Kanter was picked was more obvious to Utah fans. The need for a good center is needed in Utah if the Jazz want to contend for a title. As for Burks, a little more of a mystery how he will fit in. Especially with CJ Miles, Gordon Hayward, and Raja Bell. But I think this means that either Raja Bell or CJ Miles is gone. Probably Bell, but we shall see. Also with Kanter being picked, it's likely that Fesenko and or/Elson is out of town as well. Interesting to see what the final roster looks like. 16 guys are on the roster as of now. 15 is the Max. I see Elson out of town, possibly Fesenko, and maybe even Raja Bell. Tho I see those guys going in that order of most likely to go. Elson because he's older, a journeyman, and doens't have the upshot of Fesenko. Fesenko because he's not developing offensively at a rate that the Jazz would hope, and Bell because his shooting sucked. Miles may be gone too. I see Price and Watson sticking because the Jazz need a couple of back up Point Guards to Devin Harris. Anyways, interesting moves await the Jazz as they try to see what they can do to develop a more balanced roster.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Final NBA Draft Preview
The NBA Draft is in a little over an hour and every NBA fan in America is drooling over where Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams, and Kyrie Irving will go in the draft. It's basically a forgone conclusion that the Cavs will draft Kyrie Irving of Duke University, and Arizona's Derrick Williams will go #2 to Minnesota, or whoever Minnesota deals the pick to. As far as players who I think are the most intriguing, I think Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker are your most obvious choices. Sacramento seems to be the first team to likely go for one of the two players as some sort of sidekick to the 6 foot 6 Tyreke Evans. I think the odds of the Kings picking one of these two guys is a possibility, but I also think that the Kings have other needs as well that they may fill such as a small forward or even a good true Center.
The Jazz seem to be leaning towards Turkish big man Enes Kanter at #3, who is a 6 foot 11 inch scoring threat down low. The only real concern about Kanter are his knees, and so I am very leery of the Jazz picking him for that reason. Utah picking at #12 later on seems to have a good shot at either Jimmer or Kemba. I personally think that they should take Jimmer only if they feel like he's a better player or better suited for their team. Shouldn't take him because he's a hometown product. I don't think that will be too much of a factor, but it could be. If Kemba and Jimmer are both available, I think Utah should go with Kemba because he's a better defender, a good shooter, and more versatile. However, Jimmer's shooting ability is so ridiculous, that Utah may want him just for that alone. I think if it comes down to it, Utah takes Jimmer only because it's a coin-toss situation. Either one could outdo the other, and Jimmer would boost sales. So I guess that the homegrown element will be more of a factor than I previously stated. Another factor for Utah is the development of Ante Tomic in Spain. If he comes over soon, then Kanter won't go to the Jazz. But, if Tomic isn't coming over soon, or they are unsure about him, then Kanter would make sense, since Utah does need a good center really bad. I'm still all for Kawhi Leonard though he's had some injury problems. He's a raw athlete and seems to be able to replace Andrei Kirilenko maybe. Also, Kenneth Faried of Morehead State is a player the Jazz should consider. He's a 6 foot 7 inch Freakshow with similar attributes to Paul Millsap. A hard working kid that can grab boards and add size to the front court. Not an immediate need for the Jazz as they have Derrick Favors, but hey, they could use more size nonetheless.
I think another interesting player who's name is starting to bubble up is Marshon Brooks of Providence. Dynamic scorer at 6 foot 5. He dropped 53 on Notre Dame and has had multiple games over 30 points during his senior season. He's a great scoring threat and will be an asset wherever he lands. He was second in the nation in scoring behind Jimmer Fredette and has shown that he can put the ball in the hole.
There's a lot that's going to happen in the draft and a lot of proposed trades. Most of which sound ridiculous. Minnesota dealing Kevin Love to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, and giving up the #2 pick, etc. All crazy deals of which make no sense to me. Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala are major trade bait like they've done something horribly wrong. Both are great players, and I don't get why their respective teams want them to go. Especially Ellis. Golden State needs other players around Monta Ellis. Trading him is not the answer. The deal of trading Lamar Odom and Ron Artest to Philly for Andre Iguodala is absurd and shouldn't be considered by Philly. The Wolves are also looking at deals, but I think they should draft Enes Kanter at #2. They need a Center and with Rubio coming in, they don't need to draft another PG. However, Rubio has sucked recently, and so they still might need a PG, but not through the draft. Rubio has been treated like Manna from Heaven, and that to me is a joke. He hasn't proven enough to be viewed as such a hot commodity. Wolves should also dump Darko Milicic like a bag of bricks. He's going nowhere in the NBA.
Overall, draft day should be exciting. I'm very curious to see what trades are made, what picks are made, etc. Especially since this is such a weak/wide open draft.
The Jazz seem to be leaning towards Turkish big man Enes Kanter at #3, who is a 6 foot 11 inch scoring threat down low. The only real concern about Kanter are his knees, and so I am very leery of the Jazz picking him for that reason. Utah picking at #12 later on seems to have a good shot at either Jimmer or Kemba. I personally think that they should take Jimmer only if they feel like he's a better player or better suited for their team. Shouldn't take him because he's a hometown product. I don't think that will be too much of a factor, but it could be. If Kemba and Jimmer are both available, I think Utah should go with Kemba because he's a better defender, a good shooter, and more versatile. However, Jimmer's shooting ability is so ridiculous, that Utah may want him just for that alone. I think if it comes down to it, Utah takes Jimmer only because it's a coin-toss situation. Either one could outdo the other, and Jimmer would boost sales. So I guess that the homegrown element will be more of a factor than I previously stated. Another factor for Utah is the development of Ante Tomic in Spain. If he comes over soon, then Kanter won't go to the Jazz. But, if Tomic isn't coming over soon, or they are unsure about him, then Kanter would make sense, since Utah does need a good center really bad. I'm still all for Kawhi Leonard though he's had some injury problems. He's a raw athlete and seems to be able to replace Andrei Kirilenko maybe. Also, Kenneth Faried of Morehead State is a player the Jazz should consider. He's a 6 foot 7 inch Freakshow with similar attributes to Paul Millsap. A hard working kid that can grab boards and add size to the front court. Not an immediate need for the Jazz as they have Derrick Favors, but hey, they could use more size nonetheless.
I think another interesting player who's name is starting to bubble up is Marshon Brooks of Providence. Dynamic scorer at 6 foot 5. He dropped 53 on Notre Dame and has had multiple games over 30 points during his senior season. He's a great scoring threat and will be an asset wherever he lands. He was second in the nation in scoring behind Jimmer Fredette and has shown that he can put the ball in the hole.
There's a lot that's going to happen in the draft and a lot of proposed trades. Most of which sound ridiculous. Minnesota dealing Kevin Love to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, and giving up the #2 pick, etc. All crazy deals of which make no sense to me. Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala are major trade bait like they've done something horribly wrong. Both are great players, and I don't get why their respective teams want them to go. Especially Ellis. Golden State needs other players around Monta Ellis. Trading him is not the answer. The deal of trading Lamar Odom and Ron Artest to Philly for Andre Iguodala is absurd and shouldn't be considered by Philly. The Wolves are also looking at deals, but I think they should draft Enes Kanter at #2. They need a Center and with Rubio coming in, they don't need to draft another PG. However, Rubio has sucked recently, and so they still might need a PG, but not through the draft. Rubio has been treated like Manna from Heaven, and that to me is a joke. He hasn't proven enough to be viewed as such a hot commodity. Wolves should also dump Darko Milicic like a bag of bricks. He's going nowhere in the NBA.
Overall, draft day should be exciting. I'm very curious to see what trades are made, what picks are made, etc. Especially since this is such a weak/wide open draft.
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