| The Jazz Want Deron Williams In Salt Lake City Authored by Spencer Webb - June 28, 2005 - 3:59 am
The Utah Jazz continue to keep fans and media guessing.
Do you take the highest rated player on the board, or do you draft to fill a need?
Owner Larry H. Miller and Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O’Connor aren’t even necessarily on the same page, at least not on the night the lottery ping-pong balls put the Jazz at a disappointing sixth on the draft board. At a meeting with the press following the draft, Miller focused on need for a point, and after his remarks he made a conference call with O’Conner who matter-of-factly pointed that the Jazz would take the best player on the board.
So where are the Jazz going to go?
Weeks ago, prospective choices seemed more clear. Many sources had the Jazz going with forwards or centers such as forward Fran Vazquez, considered most likely to contribute at an NBA level now.
Unfortunately, the Jazz are at a logjam at the frontcourt, with expensive acquisitions of Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur to go along with max-contract player Andrei Kirilenko, last year’s lottery pick Kris Humphries, and team co-captain Matt Harpring whose hustle fits well into a Jerry Sloan system. If no trades are made, that leaves 5 players who saw time at the forward position last year, in addition to reserves Curtis Borchardt and Jarron Collins.
You have to stop and ask yourself what the Jazz are going to do with a forward.
Throw in Miller’s unwillingness to trade Kirilenko for any team in the league, and management’s repeated assurance to Salt Lake and to Boozer and his wife that he will not be traded, and you are left back at point one – the point position.
Media savvy Kevin O’Connor has been quick to maintain that the Jazz will still take the “best player available.”
To this writer, O’Connor’s outlook seemed more a pretense than anything else. The organization feels they have a solid block of players to build around, and will hardly know what they are capable of until they have a leader who can handle and distribute the ball to the big men and the role players.
While last year’s starter, Keith McCleod handled the load well, he’s not a man to carry the Jazz to the finals, and is an unrestricted free-agent. Oft-injured backup point Raul Lopez is likely to be bought out of the final year of his contract to sign a contract in his native Spain. Randy Livingston and Howard Eisley are both unrestricted free agents and again not predicted to lead the young Jazz deep into the playoffs. Pending Lopez’s buyout, that leaves zero point guards on the Jazz roster next year. While the free agent market and trade leaves options open for point guards such as Antonio Daniels or Dan Dickau, the Jazz know they cannot afford to whiff on their highest draft pick in over 20 years. They are going for a superstar, an impact player, and at number six on the board, both consensus points, Chris Paul and Deron Williams are predicted to be gone. And while that still leaves the talented and speedy Raymond Felton of the National Champ Tar Heels, his up-tempo game has O’Connor seeing Felton as a Halfback as well as a point. Sloan says he likes “[Williams} a little bit more [than Felton] because he's played longer, has a better feel, can see the whole picture very well.”
This is Jerry Sloan’s team, and Sloan likes Williams.
The Jazz absolutely need a player who will fit in Sloan’s system above all other considerations. Last season’s jettison of Carlos Arroyo wasn’t merely Arroyo’s deplorable defense and increased turnovers, but his much publicized spat with Sloan and Arroyo’s unwillingness to work with him. The message, as well as Sloan’s contract extension, is that Sloan is in control.
It won't shock a soul to see the Jazz complete a trade. They want Paul or Williams and will work feverishly to trade up with Portland to get them. If they are unable to get Paul or Williams, or are unable to trade with Portland, the Jazz may go with Channing Frye, but are far more likely to tutor a guy like Ray Felton and rebuild for another year. Expect Sloan to look for a leader to fill his needs at the point. The Jazz are after Williams especially, and will work with Portland to get him. Rumored trades have Gordon Giricek and Kirk Snyder and the number 6 pick going to Portland for the number 3 and Ruben Patterson. Others have Boozer and the 6 for Zach Randolph and the 3. Don’t believe Boozer will be moving. The Jazz have guaranteed him he will not be moved. That leaves the media and fans really with three or four guesses – one of three points or Channing Frye as a potential wild card. The later picks will depend largely on whether they trade away their shooting guards for the Portland picks, and whether they resign two-guard Raja Bell. If no trade goes down with Portland or another higher pick, the Jazz will likely take a guard or center, or a role-player forward who fits into Sloan’s system.
The Jazz can’t afford to mess up this pick and languish without a clear leader at the point next year – no journeyman free-agent will do, really. The Jazz’s marketing to fans for a draft night party at the Delta Center is that the Jazz are drafting for their next “superstar.” No superstar is going to establish himself playing reserve minutes behind max or near max players with huge potential like Boozer and Kirilenko – in other words, draft plans are not a forward. The Jazz are drafting for a superstar. That leaves the 1 and 5. And while media and fans may guess and speculate, Jazz management can’t guess on this one. They must fill their needs. |
