Back at it Dub Nation, taking a virtual tour around the NBA’s offseason division by division to see what’s happening. The Golden State Warriors are trying to recapture their championship magic against a bunch of teams that are more than happy to put the dynasty to sleep for good. We’re still cruising through the Northwest division, so let’s talk some Utah Jazz basketball.
Last year the Dubs went 3-1 against Utah, beating them pretty much at will as the Jazz’s season spiraled into the dumpster. When I was a kid, the Jazz were a respectable franchise battling Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the NBA Finals. Even when Karl Malone and John Stockton left, they still had dudes like Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Andrei Kirilenko making noise. Utah fell off though. Last year they finished 22-60, tied for the worst record in the West. They landed the No. 2 pick and used it on Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, an electric player sure to bring some excitement to Salt Lake City.
Peterson wasn’t even the first sign Utah was serious about this. Back in February they traded for two-time All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. while they were still tanking their way to that No. 2 pick. That’s not something rebuilding teams usually do in the middle of a lottery push, and it tells you the front office had already decided the losing was over on a timer.
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Then the front office got weird with it, in a good way. Utah agreed to a sign-and-trade sending Walker Kessler to the Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks and two additional swaps. They also brought back Jusuf Nurkic on a two-year deal and added Jaxson Hayes, so the center spot goes from “Kessler starts” to “whoever’s healthier between two guys who used to be backups.” Check out what Jazz blog SLC Dunk has to feel about it:
There’s no doubt that Utah will miss some of the elements of Kessler’s game, mostly on the defensive end. Although, Utah has set themselves up to be one of the most lethal offenses in the league and Jusuf Nurkic will be a major part of it.
Nurkic has a surprisingly good steal rate for his position and is a legitimate weapon assisting the ball in the Jazz offense.When you consider that Jaren Jackson Jr. provides the blocks and weakside shot blocking that they’ll miss in Kesseler the trade makes a ton of sense. Utah will also have Nurkic as an offensive hub at times and Jackson can play off of him at multiple spots on the floor.
Nurkic you say?
Shams Charania reported the Jazz sent Cody Williams and John Konchar to Minnesota for Josh Green. Lets check back in with Jazz Nation to see how they feel about that, shall we?
The Jazz get a 6th-year shooting guard who shoots accurately (career 39% 3PT) but not at high volume. He defends serviceably, posting a career Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 117. Much like last year’s Colin Sexton/Jusuf Nurkić trade, this may end up being a case of addition by subtraction. There was nothing wrong with Colin Sexton—he is a good basketball player—but he wasn’t a good fit. As a bonus, Nurk turned out to be a fantastic fit. Now the rotations will be even more open for Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Keyonte George.
The Jazz are not bringing Josh Green in to play 25 minutes per night. He is here a) to make the salaries work and b) to provide a modest boost off the bench as an 8th 0r 9th man. He’s a solid player who knows his role and plays it well:
See, that’s why you gotta do a little research. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Jazz are actually shaping up to be more competitive next year and beyond. Don’t forget they’ve got Keyonte George, who exploded to 24 points a night last season and is apparently going to keep the ball in his hands with Peterson still adjusting. Now it’s easy to imagine that the Nurkic-Hayes timeshare is just a worse version of what Kessler was doing. It’s also fair to have some concern about Ace Bailey’s back after his summer league got cut short by spasms. ESPN called Bailey the team’s X-Factor:
Bailey could get lost in the shuffle as Utah starts making a real effort to win games; he’s not yet a proven NBA contributor like Markkanen and George, but nor is he an exciting new addition like Jackson and No. 2 pick Peterson. But Bailey is only a year removed from going fifth in the draft and turning in a solid, if understated, rookie season: 13.8 PPG on below-average but not disastrous efficiency.
The Warriors shouldn’t lose sleep over Utah in November. But Steph turns 39 next season, and Utah just assembled Peterson, George, Laurie Markkanen, and Jackson Jr. with two extra Lakers first-rounders sitting in the drawer for whenever they want to speed this up. The clocks are running in opposite directions. And if Utah’s wise with what it’s building, maybe one day this group can finally do what Karl Malone couldn’t and bring a title home.
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Wait weren’t the Warriors supposed to trade for Markkanen?
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