John Wall to Utah?

First off, I know this is unlikely to happen but thought it's an interesting debate regardless. For those who don't know, Utah have New York's pick in the upcoming draft (unprotected). My question is, assume Utah get lucky with that pick and it turns out to be the #1 pick in the lottery. Also, assume Deron Williams is still in Utah and John Wall is widely regarded as the number one pick. If your Utah, do you draft him? Or trade the pick? Or not trade the pick, but take another player at #1? Regardless, it's a nice choice to have .

The logical answer is trade the pick to the highest bidder, you already have Deron Williams. That certainly makes sense, but a case can be made for drafting him. For example go back to 1997, the Spurs already had big man David Robinson, but they drafted Tim Duncan (clear #1) anyway with the first pick. The two had similar positions / roles, like Williams and Wall, but a championship came soon after anyway. As it is, Utah are no strangers to running with a two point guard backcourt, and no conventional shooting guard. They did it when they made the WCF with Williams / Fisher, and do it now with Maynor / Williams. So I don't think they'd have too much trouble doing it with Wall / Williams.

However if I had to guess, I think Utah in this situation would trade the #1 pick down a few spots for a pick in the 3 - 10 range to draft someone specific they like, while also acquiring a good player/additional pick from whoever they trade with as well.

What would you do, as Utah GM, if this situation arose?

 

If I were them, I'd take John Wall no matter what. But KOC is very conservative at points, I could see him going with Derrick Favors instead, while letting Boozer walks.

 

I'd take Wall and trade him. D-Will is battle tested and is a sure thing, whereas Wall could potentially not pan out. Trade Wall for someone good in a position that Utah needs (maybe a real center, or a bonafide SG) while shedding a bad contract. Even if Wall ends up an All-star, Utah still picks up a solid player to hopefully put them over the top. Utah is in a win soon situation, and adding a star wing player would make them legit contenders.

 

If they land that top pick from the Knicks, I'd trade it for a good SG/SF. They don't need John Wall since they have the 2nd best PG in the NBA.

 

Why is Utah in a "Win Soon" Situation?

I don't see why a John Wall/Deron Williams combo couldn't work. Adding someone like Wall that can take people off the dribble would only help a Utah team if you ask me. Then either Deron or Wall would be able to guard a SG if you ask me, similar to Deron/Fisher backcourt or the other numerous 2 PG lineups Sloan has used through the years. Sloan's offense is built for the best passers they can find, just look at guys like Brewer, Kirilenko, Miles, or Boozer that are great passers for their positions. I could see Utah possibly passing him up for Evan Turner though possibly.

 

I'd draft Wall, players like him don't come around very often. J_Ray pretty much went through the reasons I would. I'd say they should draft Aldrich, but they have drafted so many C's lately, I doubt they'd go that way. Turner is an excellent player as well. Utah has so many options.

 

They're in a win soon situation because I don't know how long they can keep this core together. You have to admit, although Millsap is a capable replacement, the possibility of losing Boozer is gonna hurt. If you bring in more young guys who need developing, it'll only motivate him to leave. Age-wise, Kirilenko is in his prime, and so is Okur. If you wait a couple of years, Utah's front line is going to get pretty depleted.

All I'm saying is you could be in worst situations, but I think Utah's window will close within the next 3, maybe 4 years, for good, unless some big change is made. Within this window, their roster is not good enough to be an elite team. That's why if they get the first pick, they should trade it for a good SG to round off their lineup and hopefully push them to the next level.

And yea, Utah has played PG/PG lineups, but Derek Fisher doesn't have to be ball dominant. D-Will should have the ball in his hands, as should Wall. IIRC, D-Will said he hated playing the 2 guard during the Olympics, so bringing in Wall might affect his game.

 

Utah's core is rather young, which is why they haven't been that active trying to add that huge piece like a Denver or Dallas. Deron, Millsap, Brewer, Miles, Fesenko, and Koufos are all in their early 20's while Kirilenko and Boozer are nearing their mid to late 20's. Going into the offseason it was pretty bleak that Boozer was coming back but after the Miller's said they were committed to being in the luxury tax for the next 2 years, it looks like there still is a chance he could comeback. In 2011 Utah could have quite a bit of cap with Kirilenko and Memo both coming off the books with Millsap's contract going down from 10M to 6M for the next 3 years. If you look at Utah, they have the potential to keep their young core together while adding a pick and having cap in a year or 2.

As for the frontline being depleted, I don't really see it being as depleted as you say. Utah has actually been a much better team when Fesenko has played than Memo. Memo looks pretty old right now, being twice as slow as he was last year. The problem it is a factor is the fact he is shooting less and trying to drive more. Its nice he's trying to mix it up, but we need him to take open 3's when they're there.

Deron Williams did complain about playing 2-guard in the Olympics, which is one reason I would be a bit hesitant on Wall. But sometimes you just have to take a guy like Wall and live with the possible consequences. I'm sure Deron would understand the potential the team could have with a John Wall next to him. Just adding another PG doesn't mean he will lose his PG role because I'm sure Wall is more than capable playing off of Williams since Calipari's offense is similar with multiple guards that get touches galore.

 

But their young core doesn't look like it contains any impact players like Boozer or even really good players like Okur (who seems to have dropped off a bit recently, so you might not even consider him "good" anymore) and Kirilenko. Of their young guys, only D-Will and Millsap seem to have the ability to play at an all-star level, and Millsap seems to have taken a few steps backwards this year. Brewer looks to be an above average starter, and Miles looks like an occasional starter. Fesenko and Kufos haven't really shown anything. The core contains a group of decent players, but none look like they can become a game-changer.

If Kirilenko and Okur leave in 2011, the team seems to not even have enough talent to be in the playoffs with the way the West is. They'd be starting Williams, Wall, Brewer, Millsap and Fesenko or Kufos. Utah then has to hope that they can bring in a star big (preferably a center with Millsap at the 4) through FA. That's a lot of variables relying on chance (Wall panning out, Wall and D-Will co-existing, landing an FA bigman), whereas trading the pick and acquiring an established SG is much less riskier as you have most of the pieces you need already.

As for playing off the ball, both players have the ability to play off the ball, but in doing so you take away their biggest strengths. Getting into the lane with their speed and handles, and finding the open man or taking it to the basket. Wall's jumper is inconsistent, and D-Will is a much better pull up shooter.

Bringing in Wall isn't a bad thing, but it'd be much more logical to move him. There's no need to make him or Williams play out of their element when there's a high probability that Wall could land you a nice 2 guard.

 

I don't think you've seen Utah enough if you think they wouldn't make the playoffs w/ those guys as the core. It was only last year Utah made the playoffs while most of the guys you named, being out a majority of the year. Utah even played worst once Boozer and Kirilenko came back. Memo and Kirilenko really are overvalued by non-Jazz fans. Memo has never been that great of a match with Boozer and doesn't really supply a defensive presence. Fesenko has already shown more of an effect on the game in his limited minutes he has played this year, and really should be getting some of Memo's time. Also, Utah's best running lineup really is Deron/Brewer/Miles/Millsap/insert someone here.

In general, I just think you are looking at this in a much shorter term point of view that it should be. This would make Utah a better team in the long run as their team keeps developing and would be set for years IMO. Kobe, Pau, and the rest of the Lakers aren't going to be around forever while Mavs, Suns, and Nuggets have quite a few key players getting really old while guys like Kirilenko and Boozer are still pretty young compared to others. I see Utah at least making an attempt to bring back them, especially AK who should be cheaper than he currently is.