A Look Into The Draft

In just under a month, the NBA Draft will once again be upon us, with the Jazz selecting at #20. Many people (executives, scouts, draft-nuts) have said that this year’s version of the Draft is going to be a dud, a stinker, and utterly forgettable. They’re probably right. However, I’ve also heard (and truly believe) that this year’s Draft may just produce one Star (Blake Griffin), and yet, develop a plethora of role players. It’s deep with positional “rotation” players. So, in this sense, the Jazz ought to be smart to find the role players that can help make an impact on the team.

Points A Plenty

As many as 10 point guards could be drafted in the 1st Round alone. Ricky Rubio, Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry, Jonny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor and Jeff Teague will be sure-fire 1st Round picks (five of them will be in the Lottery). Darren Collison and Patty Mills will also be in the discussion. What Does It Mean? The Jazz need a back-up point guard. That’s no secret. However, why would the Jazz spend a 1st Round draft pick on a back-up PG when Deron Williams (our superstar) plays over 35 minutes per night? Perhaps the Jazz could go with a combo guard type. Or maybe it’s just better to draft a PG in the 2nd Round of a deep point guard class.

The Best Available

Sometimes, or perhaps always, it’s most important to select the Best Available Player on the draft board. However, what might be interesting this year is the great possibility that the BPA could be a wing player (of which the Jazz really don’t have a need). Chase Budinger (the Bird look-alike) and Terrance Williams might fall into this category. Each could become terrific role players for the Jazz for different reasons (one for shooting & the other for defense).
The Positional Fit

Everyone knows that the Jazz could have a need to fill spots in the frontcourt. Memo, Boozer and Millsap are all question-marks. The obvious positional need will be at power forward. That’s where Tyler Hansbrough comes into play. Talk about organizational fit & positional fill-in! He’s not spectacular, but at least he’s more than serviceable. That’s all you’re going to get in this draft. Another possibility might be Gani Lawal, who’s more the upside, boom-or-bust version of Psycho-T.

The Risk-Reward
Their names are BJ Mullens and Austin Daye. Neither has proven squat on the college level. Mullens is tantalizing because of his combo of size, skill-level and athleticism. However, the Jazz already have 2 of those projects sitting on the bench in Koufos and Fesenko. Is Mullens any better? Austin Daye is slight, skinny (6’10”, 190 lbs), skilled and soft. I don’t think weak and soft is the direction the Jazz want to go. We need bruisers, bullies, and fighters. Perhaps AD2 could be a decent investment… I’m not sold.

My Early Prediction: Psycho-T! Join the bandwagon...