NBA Draft

Again for those of you not familiar with this blog, these are just my opinions. Things stated here may or may not be correct to you, but I don't care because it is my blog and my thoughts. Just thought I would put in this disclaimer for everyone as a reminder.

The NBA draft is just around the corner and I have to say that for the most part I have not been to enthralled with the draft this go around. Logic says I should be very much intrigued by the draft and its prospects because my Utah Jazz are in a great position with the number 3 overall pick. And then they follow that up with the number 12 overall pick. Normally I would be ecstatic about this opportunity. However I am not so optimistic about our chances here.

See the problem is, I don't feel that this draft is anything to get excited about. Usually in any given draft there is at least one player who is the consensus #1 draft choice. I know Kyrie Irving is picked to go number 1 on most mock draft boards, but no one is gushing about the talent this guy has like they usually are about a player or two in each draft. In this case, Kyrie is just the "best player available" and that is why he is going to go first. There is no Lebron James, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard in this years draft. There is no one that is screaming "I am an NBA All-star currently so you'd better pick me" in this years draft.

I am not saying that there is always someone like this in every draft and surely every number one pick is not this caliber of player (see Oden;Greg, Bargnani;Andrea, Brown;Kwame, or Olowokandi;Michael). All I am saying here is that the Jazz have great picks in a relatively week draft. Just our luck. On the upside, many of these players are said to have great "potential." However you want to look at that, at least we should end up with a player who should be a little more humble and willing to learn in this years draft.

I am not hear to tell you who the Jazz should draft because there are so many routes the Jazz can take with the draft this year. They can trade the coveted third pick for a team who is desperate to move up. They could draft someone then trade them for someone they feel is a better fit for our team. They could draft a big man and hope a guard is available at 12. They could get their guard at 3 and go big at 12. They could get two guards, or two big guys who knows? Some scenarios obviously are better and more logical than others, but draft days bring out some twisted stories.

That being said, here are my thoughts on the draftees the Jazz are "supposedly" interested in.

Brandon Knight:
I feel that this is the guy everyone thinks we are going to draft, especially with Kemba Walker's stock falling while Knight's is rising? How does that happen anyway? Walker has been a stock roller coaster rising and falling with no apparent reason. Back to Knight. He isn't the most athletic guy, but fits the "all-around" mold. He is not necessarily great at anything other than being good at all things. He can shoot alright, he passes well, he directs the offense well and has good defense. He is a bit bigger for a PG, like Deron Williams, but lacks the play making ability of a DWill. My question is, will Knight really become a "franchise" point guard that you can build a team around? One website listed his ceiling as a player comparable to Drue Holiday, which would not so good for a 3rd pick. I think he is a good player who will function well at the PG position, but I just don't see him developing into big time go to player like DWill was. This may be a good thing, who knows. If he isn't that big of a player, is he worth the risk at number 3?

Enes Kanter:
Kosta Koufous in a smaller sized body. This pick sacres me. Of all the players in the draft, I feel that Enes is either going to be the biggest surprise or the biggest disappointment. I would not like to see the Jazz try this experiment. Sure ten years down the road we may well be kicking ourselves, but I think more than likely we are going to be laughing knowing we dodged a big bullet. Kanter has tried to play here for a couple years and has kept running into problems. He spent last year with Kentucky, on the practice squad. The verdict isn't out but I don't want to see my Jazz pick another big white guy only to see him physically and athletically be out matched and eventually drift into oblivion. I say pass on Kanter.

Kemba Walker:
Honestly, I think this is the most athletic option for the Jazz. The guy can score in multiple ways. He is a little undersized for SG which is the position I would like to see him at. Undersized meaning when he faces up on defense he could be facing guys ranging all the way to 6'8" which would be a huge 7" disadvantage. He could run the point but then you have a score first guy running the floor. My opinion, I would love to have someone like this to come off the bench. The Jazz have historically had some guy who comes off the bench who functions as bring the ball down and pass it to whoever. This worked great for Howard Eisley who had people like Karl Malone to make him look good. Truth is, if Karl Malone was on my team, I could pass him the ball and watch him score too. So, I am OK with Walker, maybe not at 3, but if he is around at 12 it might be a good option. Question is, will hie be better than...

Jimmer Freddette:
For the record Jimmer is a nickname, it really is James Freddette. As an avid University of Utah fan who had to put up with things like this all the time, I have been resistant to the idea of Jimmer in a Jazz uniform solely because of the banter I would hear from Cougar fans. Since the end of the NCAA tournament, the Jimmer talk as turned from greatest player in the universe to a more reasonable prospect for multiple teams. I am sure that the coverage he gets here locally is still a little bias, but if they are true the Jazz are not the only team interested in the Jimmer. Apparently everywhere he has gone, he has impressed. Like Walker, I am not sure Jimmer is the PG the Jazz need. In fact, I would rather have Jimmer at the 2 spot coming off the bench. He could be the white Jason Terry. From what I hear, Jimmer is much more athletic than people give him credit for. He is a dead shooter, but he can get to the rim as well. This is where he differs from J.J. Reddick or a Kyle Korver type player. If Jimmer is around at 12, it would be something to consider. I don't think he is worth the risk at number 3. This is for sure, if Jimmer is in a Jazz uni the Energy Solutions Arena should see an increase in ticket sales, that is how influential he is here locally.

Derrick Williams:
Some of the latest rumors suggest the Wolves would seriously consider Enes Kanter at 2. If that were to happen the Jazz would have to pick Derrick Williams. The new DWill is a more athletic big guy than what we have seen in the past. Some say he is the poor mans Lebron James. I would be OK with that. He has a great outside game as well as a decent inside game. He would only develop more and who knows what that would mean. Problem here is if he did develop into an all-star, would he stick around in Utah? History suggests its possible but with all the latest NBA trends he would be out of here as soon as possible. If he is available the Jazz would be foolish not to get him and at least utilize him while they could. Who knows, maybe he would fall in love with Salt Lake and never want to leave. Of course, if we picked up DWill, we would most likely have to shop one of our other big guys. could get interesting.

Jan Vesley, Jonas Valanciunas and all other Euros:
I am so disinterested in any European player that I refuse to discuss them on my blog. Is that ignorant, well yes. Quite ignorant actually. We have had such great luck with these guys in the past I don't want to consider these options. Besides, we still have Ante Tomic who needs to make the transfer from Europe to the NBA already. Lets work on him first before we pick up more.

Alec Burks:
Ronnie Brewer without the funky shot. Alec can get to the rim and is super athletic. I am always in support of this type of play. He makes hustle plays and is always roaming around the floor sniffing out plays. He doesn't have the greatest outside shot, but he tries. Who knows, maybe with Hornacek's influence he would develop said outside shot. At number 12, I would be OK with Alec Burks.

Chris Singleton:
I don't know a lot about this one other than people say we are interested in him. He seems like an OK pick with decent athleticism and an OK outside shot. He is also a rebounding threat on the boards. He is a defensive minded player who may fit in well with the Jazz. Is his bigger so again, how bad do we need more big guys? At number 12, I don't think we can lose with him.

Lastly I would just like to throw in players that may find themselves in a Jazz uniform after the 12th pick is announced. These guys are not talked about as much as the previous players, but I think the Jazz would show interest if they are available at the 12th pick; Tristan Thompson, Klay Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, Tobias Harris and Kenneth Farried.

Overall, most of these guys I am OK with at number 12 and as you can see there is only one guy I feel justified at number 3, Derrick Williams. And that is only if he somehow doesn't get picked up at 2. Other than that Knight may be worth the risk but anyone else I feel is too big of a risk or shouldn't go that high in this draft. So here we are with the Jazz finally in the mix with a great pick in the NBA draft. Problem is that we have the number 3 pick in a two player draft. Go Jazz!