The Trade Deadline Messages
‘Here’s to the Head Start’ (Melissa Majchrzak- NBAE/Getty Images)
The period leading up to the NBA’s trade deadline is the second most exciting time of the NBA year, next to the Playoffs (some years, sadly, it is the most exciting time). It’s where teams finally reveal to their fans whether they’re serious about the current season or whether their eyes are sneakily peering toward the future. Or, in the case of this year’s Grizzlies, it’s where they undeniably confirm that they have no plan in place whatsoever.
This year’s flow of veteran talent from the bottom teams in exchange for youth and draft picks from the top is extremely telling. Two members of the Axis of Basketball Evil, Dallas, and Phoenix, with the respective additions of Jason Kidd and Shaq, have apparently submitted to their age, mortgaged their futures, and will prepare for one or two final runs at a title before retooling. San Antonio’s addition of defensive-minded Kurt Thomas was a win-now move and certainly a reaction to the prevalence of Western Conference playoff-bound seven footers like Shaq, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and at the time, Yao.
So what did the Jazz reveal to we the fans by the lack of last-minute trade activity despite of all their competitors’ action? Three things:
(1) Done and done. The Jazz’ trade was smartly made long before the deadline. Rather than wait until the last minute the Jazz made their move early and gave Korver and the current Jazz players a six-week headstart on learning how to play together. In case you’ve been gone, it’s worked out pretty well so far.
(2) Long-term planning and the ability to pull the plan off. Unlike fans of the aforementioned Grizzlies, the Heat, the Kings, and others, Jazz fans should be somewhat pleased that their team appears to have a long-run plan that was put into place three years ago and is coming together quicker than anticipated. Rebuilding any team is clearly not an easy task. Just ask an Atlanta fan how her rebuilding’s coming along. But the Jazz turned it around in two years. It’s a credit to Kevin O’Connor, his staff and the rest of Jazz management, really, to have the foresight to put this team together. Granted, there was some luck involved in getting to this point (think Millsap, the development of Brewer, and the apparent satisfying of Kirilenko in the off-season) but luck always accompanies success to some extent.
(3) Be patient. This team is absolutely constructed to win a championship…in the 2009-2010 season. Our team is still amongst youngest in the NBA at an average age of just under 26 years old. The oldest teams in the League? The Spurs, the Suns and now Dallas. Within the next two seasons the older teams will likely decline while the Jazz will join the Lakers as one of 2 Western Conference teams favored to win the title. The Jazz organization recognizes the apparent future position of this team, and by not making another trade in reaction to this season’s activity, gave Jazz fans a little wink as if to say, “Hang with us fans. And enjoy the show along the way.” That’s not to say a miracle couldn’t happen, but my inner realist says it’ll be a good time watching this year’s and next year’s teams cause the rest of the West some heartburn in the post-season before sincere contention in a couple of years.
Would the Jazz have benefited by adding a guy like Kurt Thomas this year? Yeah, probably, but it’s doubtful it would’ve been enough to win the title this season and wouldn’t have been worth whatever the price may have been. In the meantime, sit back and watch the Jazz try to play the spoiler as they continue to prepare for the very promising future.
34 Comments to “The Trade Deadline Messages”
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I too like the way the Jazz have positioned themselves for the future. I don’t see how we are going to be able to afford everybody though. Klinko is a max salary, D-will would be worth every penny of the max salary that he will command shortly, and guys like Millsap and Brewer have played well enough to earn more cash. So will it all come together for Jazzland in ‘09-’10? That sadly enough depends on the development of our lane-clogging 7-foot prodigy… Fes.
Thanks for the post. I do have two quibbles, though:
1) The lottery/draft season is generally more exciting than the trade deadline, since every team is involved and genuinely believes it has the chance to make itself better. (Unless you’re the Suns, in which case the draft is a chance to sell your pick for cash.)
2) The Jazz are very well positioned for the next couple years. Unfortunately, thanks to the Pau Gasol heist, the Lakers look to be slightly better position. I sure hope I’m wrong. At the very least, it should make some pretty compelling viewing.
I like your blog and agree with your thoughts. My only concern is the 2 players in the D league. We know that for sure Almond is up there and ready for the regular play. What will we do with everyone?
I agree with all of you comments except the 2 year rebuilding period. Even though we had some playoff contention after Stockton left I feel that we were in a rebuilding period before Malone left and was probably why he played for a team like the Lakers at that time. I would say it was at least 3 to 4 year building period.
Well while I too like the approach the Jazz took, I do have just one concern. Okur and Booze are great offensive big men and we have to give them a ton of credit for the success of the team this year. However, we lack a defensive presence in the paint. Niether of them can really stop the other big men in the west. Gasol, Duncan, Shaq/Amare, Nowitski…Hint Hint these guys are whats standin in our way of another Finals appearence, so…? Unless the jazz can shoot lights out every night home or away. I think were going to need a big man to come off the bench and yank down some rebounds and block some shots. a “Big Ben” Wallace type of player that can put the jazz over the edge. Maybe in the draft we can make some moves… Other than that I cant wait for the playoffs …GO JAZZ!
thhe jazz need not any more reforcment they are just the best ones d will needs more experience and i think that almond should have some minutes.
go jazz
Well although I agree with what has been said in the article , I still think the Jazz need more defensive presence in the paint. If Kyrylo ends up filling that void all will be ideal. Plus adding Almond should secure a bright future.
The big problem in our plan is that Kirilenko is hardly offering a plea to stay. He appears happy and I’m sure everyone wants him to stay but he did say he’s “ready to be traded”. What’s to say that he is going to stay with us? If he leaves then who is going to take his place and what is that going to do to our rotation? CJ Miles has been less than promising in his recent offerings filling in for him.
I think we need to win a championship sooner rather than later. We had Jason Hart to dump over the trade deadline because he definitely won’t be opting to come back next year. We also have a bunch of draft picks from NY and no rookies that we are really looking after or need as much as a seasoned vet to pull us through. I think moves should have been made with little pieces that don’t serve much. Getting a center like Kurt Thomas for any combination of a couple New York draft picks, Jarron Collins, or Jason Hart would do us much more than having those pieces. Perhaps the Jazz are waiting until the Draft to let some teams to see the tangible benefits of those picks, that’ll let us reel in some nice players.
I think we should bring Rafael Araujo back and trade Collins. Because Rafa is a good defense player and could use his madness.
What the Jazz failed to achieve last year (and the years before that), I am hopeful that this team will go all the way to win the Finals. I just hope AK-47 goes back in time to play the rest of the season into playoffs.
GO JAZZ GO!
… Well, they do need some trading really good players. Though maybe not in the same caliber as Gasol, but I’m sure Jerry and the others can scout quality ones. Quantity? Ain’t that much important.
As for now, I’m happy AK-47 stayed on.
The Jazz have everything they need to be the in the west for the next few years. Fes comes in & out goes dead weight like Collins.
Almond is only going to get better, keep an eye on this one.
Sadly, one of my favorite players, Harpering, is too banged up to stay much longer. He’s taught the young’uns well though. Milsap is a quick study as is Brewer and you can see Matt’s influence in the way they play “all out”.
“C” ya to Hart.
Price will go after next year.
If Andre still wants to go there won’t be a prob finding a replacement. Any other player can see that this franchise is a force to be reconned with. Props to the team Management.
D’Will Rocks & Boozer Rolls.
Kobe who?
I can see Almond playing next year (open spot when Hart leaves) and I am confident that the team will do the best they can with draft day (maybe even trade some players). I think Fesenko will become the primary backup @ center (he might just need to play in the D-league for parts of next year before it happens). So unless there is injury, the Jazz will be in the top 3 of the west for years to come.
Nice post Stant. It even merited a link from the Jazz home page.
Nice job cuz.
Jeff W
I honestly believe the Jazz have a good chance of taking the Championship this year. When they play their best Basketball, they can completely annihilate any team, hands down. The last time they played Boston they weren’t even playing their best and they practically beat them.
Basically, bring their A-Game, every game, and the title is ours.
Good post. It’samazing to think of the success that this team has already. Deron Williams went to the Western Conference Finals as a SOPHMORE! Provided that everyone can stay healthy, the Jazz are looking at a very promising future. There are a few personnel changes that I think need to be made, especially with the upcoming talent we have in the D-League, but I won’t go into that. We’re fortunate because we have great management. I think that we have a pretty good chance of winning this year. Why not? But if it doesn’t happen this year, the Jazz will come back more prepared and more experienced next year. I very can really see a multi-year, ongoing rivalry between us and the Lakers for most dominant team. But I think that we’ll even outlast them. Bring it Kobe.
The three points are exactly Jazz’s style. I like it!
Maybe the thing we only need more is kingcraft.
Good luck.
I hope $$$ doesn’t stop us. Otherwise we will win the title in the upcoming years!
Jazz have an excellent team and i agree that the big men on different teams are getting points in the paint too often but we will soon have Fensenko who can block shots and get many rebounds. The trade for Korver was a great one and he adds more rang to the Jazz offense but what happens when K-Fen and Almond come into this organization? How can the Jazz pay for the many weapons we have as they are becoming better as each season passes?
I happy won because our Utah Jazz
good job! Utah Jazz team
I think the Jazz are gonna pass. I’m not from Utah, but I’m like the biggest fan that’s not from Utah. Jazz are almost perfect this year, and I don’t think that the coaches and whoever determines trades are stupid. Hopefully we’ll stay the same.
I absolutely agreed with JUNIOR that we should either bring back Rafael Araujo or bring in Kyrylo Fesenko and get rid of Collins. This way the jazz will be stronger and more powerful.
Camon now..we need to get rid of Hart, Collins ASAP, and probably CJ too, then we bring Fes and Almond period. As for the trades it would be nice to have Kurt Thomas or Gasol or Oneal (I don’t like him) and yes he is old and heavy but we could win a championship taht way. This is all about winning a championship, I love the team now and yes we will have a good future but no championship, so we might wanna do something next time , get a player like I mentioned before, even if he is only gonna play for 2-3 years , but if we win a championship then it’s all that matters.
i’m not from utah, i’m from the philippines but i have been a fan from the first time i saw stockton and malone play together…
the early trade was a master’s move. it came at the right time and trading the riight persons.
i do have to disagree with some of the comments about kirilenko. many times we tend to overlook players just because they don’t always contribute in the stats (though AK has the habit of filling up the stats time to time) and even think about discarding them. but remember that this is a team game.
AK-47 biggest use in the court is his presence. though not overwhelming in size, he is capable of creating doubts and second thoughts in the opponents.
the jazz keep tract of deflections and AK is the leader in that stat. if you ever played against someone that always gets a piece of the ball it can be frustrating.
the jazz is such a deep team, can you imagine if almond and fesenko were in the reserves instead of collins and miles? everything has it’s right time… but i can’t keep from smiling of the prospect of having fesenko and almond to become regular playing reserves.
peace to the Jazz… give the opponents HELL… hehehehe
NBA Champions
I AM GLAD TO GET KYLE KORVER HE IS SO CUTE AND SO GOOD AT THE 3 POINTER AND I LIKE HIS SOCKS EVERYONE DOES GOOD AT THE 3 POINTER BUT HE DOES MORE BETTER
FROM SHERIDAN
Good job won and your team Utah Jazz.
I like fan player Kyle Kover and Deron Willams.
I have fun Utah Jazz!!!
ı m from turkey but ı m utah fan older than okur
ı m fan of utah when ı m chıld and watched stockton
whatever ı thınk okur%boozer(also mılsap) ıs best couple ın paıntıng area and deron ıs best pg too:)
but we need a really good 3poınter and when team ıs goıng bad take controll and made poınts
corver ıs great but we need better player someone who ıs really hero
lıke hedo(ı never lıke hım but ı need a player lıke hım)
I would like Hafa to be back on the team too. I liked his effort. It is sure frustrating watching the Jazz play sometimes. I know they can beat anybody, however they can loose to anybody just as easy. Like the huge difference in the way they played last 2 game (Nuggets and Bulls)Hopefully they can fix that problem.
Well, for me our team is already great….
We got Kirilenko for our defense but he is committing a lot of injuries but still we need him.
We got D-Will which of course better than Chris Paul and other point guard out there….. D-Will is the future of the Jazz and not just future and the present of the Jazz.
We got Boozer a strong guy but i’m shocked when i looked at the Race to MVP Boozer decreased? What the hell? Boozer deserve on the one of the top spot with all he done to this great team
We got Okur a great defensive and offensive guy he can get in and can get out, a trustworthy guy
And all our back up players it help us
Milsap, Korver which a great trade happen for the Jazz, Harpring a great 6th man.
But I disagree what Jazz done to Almond, Almond is a great player should’nt the Jazz take him in the team from D-League? Almond is a great shooting guard and i don’t seen him played for the game with more than a 3 minutes. Suggesting take him back
Jazz is a great team…. Go for the Championship
JC Sicat from the Philippines
I must say I am surprised to one degree, but not surprised in the other regarding the trading for the season. I am not surprised because the Jazz staff are conventionally not big deal traders - no 3 to 5 men trades or large contract deals. Jazz conventionally make smart rookie picks and they traditionally develop B- average in the league. I think Sloan, Conner and the rest of the Jazz staff have the mentality if you work with me, we will keep you.
However on the other end I am surprised, because we are lacking in the Center position. Yes, yes Okur is a well-grounded shooting center, and can on the occasion play some great defense. I am more speaking to the backup for Okur. Unfortunately Collins is a fouler and not really developed despite his 6 years in the league. Fesenko is developing nicely in the D-league as well as Morris Almond. But we lack a nice center with some defensive capabilities.
Additionally I am concerned about our backup point guard. Hart needs a lot of development - to be sure I am unsure why we ever drafted him. Price lacks leadership, but seems to be developing and possess some skill. I would of liked to seen a McLeod character come back; especially over Hart.
I don’t see us keeping Almond. With the development of Miles, Brewer and Korver and their abilities, I can’t see us keeping another SG position. I say lets use him to perhaps get the positions we do need for the appropriate backup filled.
Are we a championship team – the answer is…? Quite frankly I am unsure. We have a nice lineup and rotation use. The occasional use of Price and the switch rotations of Harpring, Korver, and Millsap with moving Boozer to the center position are effective. In other words we are pretty set in the SG, SF and PF backup. However the flaw comes with not having a defined bench point guard and a grounded defensive bench center. What made the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 Jazz final contenders are the full well-rounded FIVE bench players, with members like Price (and maybe Collins) in the third string spot.
I love smart fans. Of course, when my intelligence-level is the bar it’s not hard to appear smart to me. When I wrote this post I was worried fans would call me out for essentially doubting the team’s ability to win a Championship this season. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised that so many of this site’s readers get it. The road to a Championship is much longer than one season.
To specifics:
@ sanpetebone - your concerns about the Jazz’ future ability to pay these youngsters are right on point. Sounds like a future post to me.
@ Pudge - as has become the standard, you get it. Besides the Lakers, look out for Portland in two or three years too. You can also bet the Spurs will linger longer than they should.
@ the international posters - I can’t understand a lot of what you’re saying but I’m certainly not going to Phillipino or Turkish websites and trying to post in a foreign tongue, so props to you all. Keep it up.
@ Jeff W - thanks for the love. Right back at’cha.
@ Amuro GT - Solid take on the bench. While I think the Jazz have a bench that can play with any other in the League, I share the specific concern on the backup PG. Also, I worry about the talent drop off in the front court when the more physical, foul-heavy playoffs roll around.
@ those who want Araujo - I must respectfully disagree. While the Jazz could benefit from Araujo’s enforcer qualities, Collins is a serviceable backup and hurts the Jazz less than the big Brazilian in terms of turnovers and blown assignments.
Thanks to you all, for reading.
K o.g.u if you think korver isnt good enough then look at the jazz record since we got him and the magic arent going to give us Turkoglu for a cheap trade so come on here get realistic and look at the record since December 31st and tell me again how Korver isnt good enough.
But anyway MEMO is playing so good right now while Boozer is struggling. I plan to see MEMO, D-WILL, and THE BOOZ come out strong in the playoffs and bring home the first championship. The celtics might have there ALL-STAR 3 players but we have 2(memo in 2007 and booz in 2008) and Williams should have been there over Chris Paul. So dont you agree that our tough three players are just as good as the celtics ALL-STAR lineup. Not to mention we just beat the celtics on there homecourt by 18 points. WOW the Celtics biggest loss was by 12 until last night. To bad K.G. Cant hold a struggling road team on your own homecourt(which the celtics had only lost 4 on until last night) I expect to see the jazz come out strong this critical stretch of the season.
What I enjoy about Stanton’s posts are, 1 word, passion. I remember during one summer basketball camp our favorite blogger knocking down a 3 and pointing to some unknown old guy in the crowd and saying, “That’s for you!” His passion for the game is contagious and for this, among other qualities, is why I am proud to know Stanton Huntington.
ps Jazz must acquire an intimidating, defensive threat to make it to the next level
People…I just watched the Jazz lose game six and I could not help but be filled with thoughts about moves in the offseason. My thoughts (in no particular order).
1. Andrei Kirilenko. Currently the man is making the max and is not worth half of it. His dissapointment with Utah is not letting the team gel the way that they need to. When Deron Williams come due, he is going to want and deserve every penny of a max contract and in order for that to happen, AK has to go!!!
2. We all know that the Jazz are building around Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. But I think for the Jazz to land themselves a couple of finals appearances coming up…they need a prototypical 5 man that can clog up the paint. In words I cannot express how much I have loved watching Mehmet Okur this postseason. He stretches the defense in ways that no other big man can in the NBA. But a Jerry Sloan offense is not built around a sharp shooting 7 footer. Its the flex sets, UCLA sets, and hard nose, in your face basketball that gets the Jazz places. The Jazzes offense if set up to have a dominant seven footer, but the Jazz have just not been able to land that player. I look for the Jazz to move towards getting a five man that lengthens them and helps them dominate the paint. I think Gasol would have been a good fit in Utah. haha. What Im getting at is that I think the Jazz could package Kirilenko, Okur, Hart, Collins, and some change and get themselves a strong five man (Yao Ming anyone??)
With the Pheonix Suns on the downslope, look for Amare Stoudamire to make a move as well.
Andrew Bynum??
3. Deron and Price at one. Brewer and Almond at 2. A starting three man is going to be a concern, Korver and Harpring are not starters. Boozer and Millsap at 4, and hopefully the Jazz can get bigger in the middle.
The AK move is coming…I can feel it.
I’m not sure I am savy enough to inside stuff to know who should come and go but I do feel that there is something that is keeping the Jazz from gelling like we need to have them gel. (is that how you spell gel and gelling?) During the series people talked about the way the Lakers gelled but that is not the way I want the Jazz to gel. This stupid idea that Kobe is a better team player is a bunch of you know what. He acted like a team player because he had been told that was one of the things that was keeping him from getting the MVP. Those of us at home saw close up shots of how disgusted he was with different members of the team. They are each there because of the big $ and a bought and put together team to win a ring. I think the Jazz organization will think it over long and hard as to who wants to be there and who doesn’t and will come up with a team that will be built around D-Will and his desire to play ball.
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