| A New Hope Authored by Ben Wilkinson - June 30, 2005 - 1:17 am
When Lottery Night betrayed the Jazz and gave them the 6th overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, my first thoughts were “beggars can’t be choosers”. After all, the Jazz hadn’t had a selected this high since I was still wearing diapers. After reviewing the class that was available for them to select from, I became terrified. This Draft had as much quality as the beef sold at the local Seven-Eleven store.
The best four players available were going to be gone by time the fourth pick was over. And, most importantly, the position the Jazz needed the most (a point guard) had only two quality players available (Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Ray Felton), all of whom I thought would be drafted in the top four.
The Jazz needed to make a move. Fortunately, the Blazers were infatuated enough with High School sensation Martell Webster, to make a move. In exchange for the Jazz’ 26th pick and a second round pick from this year’s draft, and a first round pick in next year’s draft, the Blazers put the Jazz in a position to draft a player they really needed. The only choice left for them is which player would fit in their system better. That player, was Deron Williams.
Williams, DWill (let the record show that I am the first person to refer to him as such) was a tremendous player for Illinois. He proved to everyone around him that he knows how to win games-not just the regular season games, but the big-time games that matter when the season is on the line.
Most people question DWill’s athleticism or his ability to shoot the ball. My answer (and Jerry Sloan’s apparent answer) is: who cares? The Jazz have never, ever ran an offense where the point guard was required to be athletic or shoot the ball. Case in point is John Stockton. Stockton was never the most athletic or best shooter on the floor, however he was the type of player that always made the extra steal, set the extra pick, and made the extra pass to get the job done. DWill brings that back to the table. With Carlos Arroyo gone, and Raul Lopez (possibly) gone, DWill will see immediate game time. Although Jazz fans shouldn’t expect magic overnight, they should rest confident in the direction their future is going with this pick.
Where do the Jazz go from here? The obvious answer is the Jazz need a big man. And not the type of big who’s going to give them 6 points a game, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in 30 minutes of work. The Jazz need a quality big man. If the can find a guy who’s going to get 15 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks in 35 minutes, they should do whatever it takes to get him. Is a big man like that available without giving up AK47? It’s fun to dream, isn’t it? |
