Official Draft Thread

Discussion in 'Utah Jazz' started by Stockton, Jun 2, 2007.

  1. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Now that Utah are out of the playoffs, it's time to turn our attention to the draft. Utah have the 25th and 55th picks. Keep in mind that it's no secret you can't expect much out of a rookie under Sloan. The biggest need for the Jazz is at shooting guard, but they drafted Ronnie Brewer last year for that. He showed some nice flashes in a limited amount of time, but hasn't shown enough for Utah to be sure he's their long term answer at shooting guard. They were after JJ Redick last year, could they aim for a shooter again this year? The Jazz could also use a shot blocking center, but they're hard to find. I wouldn't be surprised to see Utah draft an international player, and keep him overseas for a few years. The Jazz are young enough as it is. Deron Williams and Paul Millsap will be looking for bigger contracts soon, and the Jazz are already over the cap. Williams will be after the max, or close to it. Keeping them is a priority, I don't want to give up any of the core, but if the Jazz have to clear some cap through a trade to keep them, do it.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    You have to realize the 25th pick's salary is around 800k, so money won't matter. At our pick, there isn't really that much we could use. There should be no good shooter there that's not a reach and the shotblockers are projects IMO. I'd love to get Jared Dudley who just exploded at the Orlando camp, so he shouldn't be considered a reach anymore. He's a good role player, gritty, and has Utah written all over him. He said in a recent interview that Utah is one of the teams he's interested in playing for because they fit his style. So he could be a successor for Harpring. In the 2nd round, it's almost a given they're taking a Euro unless some 1st round talent slips, iwhich is highly possible. Maybe Utah can take a waiver on Stanko Barac if he's there, is a project somewhat more polished than Tomic but not as valued, I think he's taller too. KOC had tons of success taking the BPA last year, so I bet he does that again this year......
     
  3. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Yeah, I'm talking about trading one of the big contracts. At the moment it looks like that would be Kirilenko. If the Jazz just draft players, it's unlikely that will improve them much in the short term. If they make a trade however, they can make themselves better now. With that in mind, I really hope the Jazz pursue Jason Richardson, or another talented two guard. Throw in fillers if necessary, the Warriors should be interested in Kirilenko at power forward. Richardson solves the problem at shooting guard, and has a smaller contract than Kirilenko which helps. Then draft a small forward, and have him, Millsap and Brewer spend time backing up Harpring.

    If that were to happen, your looking at

    PG: Williams
    SG: Richardson
    SF: Harpring
    PF: Boozer
    C: Okur

    That's a contender. Harpring can't block a shot and just isn't close to the defender Kirilenko is, but he's better on the offensive end, hustles, and plays hard on defense. There's a big weakness with shot blocking, however that team could really score, with the exception of Harpring all of those players are capable of scoring twenty without asking too much. They could still rebound very well, and with Williams at point everyone would be involved. Maybe I'm asking too much, but that team would be hard for anyone to beat.
     
  4. NTC

    NTC Active Member

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    What about Sean Williams? He's a shot blocking Centre.
     
  5. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    <div class="quote_poster">NTC Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What about Sean Williams? He's a shot blocking Centre.</div>

    Project, he wouldn't play for Utah, he also got kicked off the Boston College team, not what Utah will be looking for IMO.


    I think if AK is traded, Harpring will stay on the bench. Jerry Sloan likes bring him off the bench for a spark and his knees aren't the same anymore. I think C.J. Miles or Brewer, maybe Giri, would step in and play the 2 or 3 since J-Rich would be able to play both spots.
     
  6. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Utah is suppose to have 16 players come in to workout the week before the draft. Here is 7 of them:

    Daquan Cook Jun 19th
    Morris Almond Jun 19th
    Trey Johnson Jun 19th

    Anthony Tolliver Jun 21st

    Major Wingate Jun 22nd
    Kyle Visser Jun 22nd

    Dominic McGuire Jun 25th
     
  7. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Some mock drafts for the Jazz.....

    JBB - Rudy Fernandez
    NBADraft.net - Gabe Pruitt
    DraftExpress - Derrick Byars
     
  8. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    I put where people think they are going to be drafted.

    New update on workouts:


    <u>June 18th</u>
    Dustin Salisbery *Undrafted
    Quinton Hosley *Early 2nd
    Arron Afflalo *Late 1st-Early 2nd
    Matt Lojeski *Undrafted

    <u>June 19th</u>
    Daquan Cook *20-30
    Morris Almond *Late 1st-Early 2nd
    Trey Johnson *Early-Middle 2nd

    <u>June 21st</u>
    Anthony Tolliver *Undrafted

    <u>June 22nd</u>
    Major Wingate *Undrafted
    Kyle Visser *Mid 2nd

    June 25th
    Dominic McGuire *Late 1st-Early 2nd
     
  9. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Alando Tucker was meant to work out for the Jazz but didn't, apparently a strained quad.
     
  10. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Well Utah has been known to draft guys they didn't even workout, last year they didn't workout a single pick. So workouts don't really mean much IMO.....
     
  11. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Morris Almond

    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
    "I've had this workout circled on my calendar," Almond said. "I feel like it's a really good fit. It's definitely in my range. I think it'd be a really good fit come draft day and I hope things work itself out to where I can be part of this team."
    Almond, 22, originally declared for the draft last season before opting to return to Rice. In his last trip to Salt Lake, Almond scored 42 points, hitting 13 of 16 shots and 4 of 6 three-pointers, as the Owls lost 80-64 to Utah in a November game.
    He even admitted to being a fan of the Jazz and forward Matt Harpring, an Atlanta-area product like himself, even if "it wasn't a popular thing to say." Almond said he liked how the Jazz post up hard, run the floor and shoot coming off screens.
    "That kind of stuff's right up my alley," said Almond, who played on a Global Games team with Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer coming out of high school in Powder Springs, Ga. </div>

    <div align="center">Source: Salt Lake Tribune</div>

    It's no secret that the Jazz could take Almond, and he did make an effort to say the right things above. Not that he's the only one at this time of year.
     
  12. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Larry Miller has said the Jazz are trying to move up in the second round, as they're targeting someone. If the Jazz take a shooting guard with their first round pick, I wouldn't be surprised to see Giricek traded as part of the necessary deal to move up in the second round.
     
  13. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    <div class="quote_poster">Stockton Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Larry Miller has said the Jazz are trying to move up in the second round, as they're targeting someone. If the Jazz take a shooting guard with their first round pick, I wouldn't be surprised to see Giricek traded as part of the necessary deal to move up in the second round.</div>


    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Miller said the Jazz's "stock in (Brewer) is pretty high," though Jazz coaches think "with practices, (he) doesn't work as hard as he should." As for Giricek, who missed nine games last season with bruised ribs, Miller said, "There are those who think he milked an injury a lot."
    Miller also said he expects 11 or 12 of the Jazz's 13 players from last season to return, that the Jazz might move up 12-to-15 slots from its current No. 55 position in the draft "if a guy we like were there," and that Utah could move out of the first round if it is not happy with who is available at No. 25.</div>

    Miller said they have some high stock in Brewer, so Giri is probably on his way out. I doubt they're going to take another SG since they have C.J. Miles and Brewer, no need for any more youth there, if anything they'll sign a SG. I think they like Jermareo Davidson, he has shown some range in workouts which is what a big man in Utah needs. He's everything Jarron Collins is except he's athletic, which is what Utah likes. I can see him being a Mikki Moore type player for us best case scenario, and no worse than Jargon. You never know with Utah though, they didn't workout a single player they drafted last year, so they could go in a different direction.
     
  14. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    J_Ray, if you had to guess, who do you see the Jazz taking in the first round? I'm going with Morris Almond.
     
  15. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    <div class="quote_poster">Stockton Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">J_Ray, if you had to guess, who do you see the Jazz taking in the first round? I'm going with Morris Almond.</div>

    I really have no clue, but I'm betting if Rudy Fernandez or Marco Bellinelli are there, we take them. I read that KOC and the front office are targeting someone and if no one slips, they're trading out of the 1st round to the early 2nd to get someone they like. They're supposedly shopping Giri to see if they can move up......
     
  16. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    It's definitely a hard draft to predict. Kevin O'Connor keeps talking about the best player available, and that makes some sense. But that could be many prospects at 25.
     
  17. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    <div class="quote_poster">Stockton Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">It's definitely a hard draft to predict. Kevin O'Connor keeps talking about the best player available, and that makes some sense. But that could be many prospects at 25.</div>

    Yeah I know, every teams draft board is different, so their Best Available player could be anyone. Hopefully someone slips, and we just take them [​IMG]
     
  18. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    I'm interested to see if the Jazz take a small forward in the first round. It could be a way of making Kirilenko more expendable, if they are seriously looking into trade offers. Then again, they may just be the 'best player available' and it might not mean anything regarding Kirilenko.
     
  19. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Utah working out 21 players over the 2 days before draft day, this is insane.

    Here's the list of players I've discovered:

    <u>Point Guards:</u>
    Koby Karl Boise St.
    Taureen Green Florida
    Jared Jordan Marist
    Tre Kelly South Carolina
    Gabe Pruitt USC

    <u>Shooting Guards:</u>
    Marco Belinelli Italy
    Marcus Williams Arizona
    Carl Elliot George Washington

    <u>Small Forwards:</u>
    Dominic McGuire Fresno St.
    McHugh Mattis South Florida
    Derrick Byars Vanderbilt

    <u>Power Forwards:</u>
    Nick Fazekas Nevada
    Jason Smith Colorado St.

    <u>Centers:</u>
    Ionut Dragusin Romania
    Sean Williams Boston College
    Kyrylo Fesenko Ukraine
    Aaron Gray Pittsburgh
    Darryl Watkins Syracuse
     
  20. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    The Jazz got the shooter they were after in Morris Almond, I like that pick. I don't expect him to contribute much in his rookie season with the logjam at shooting guard, but he still fills a need. Assuming Fisher stays there, shooting guard is looking like this for Utah,

    Fisher, Giricek, Brewer, Almond, Miles.

    Too many players. Hopefully the Jazz can trade Giricek by the end of the night. Some other guys on the board I wouldn't have minded, but overall, nice pick [​IMG].
     

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