2010 NBA Draft | Upper Bowl Jazz Fan

Posts Tagged ‘2010 NBA Draft’

Utah Jazz land the #9 pick in 2010 Draft

// May 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // NBA Draft

With the Knicks late season surge, the Jazz chances of getting a top 3 pick fell to just 8%. At one point during the 2009 season, the Jazz had as high as a 10% chance at landing the #1 pick and approximately a 22% chance at getting a top 3 pick.

Incidentally, the Washington Wizards (who won the draft lottery) had a 10% chance at winning it.

Ok, seriously, the WIZARDS?! The same team that gave enormous contracts to terrible players and have made some HORRIBLE Front Office decisions.

Gilbert Arenas was given a 6-year $111M deal in 2008 despite missing the majority of 3 seasons in his time with the Wizards. The Wizards awarded Antawn Jamison a 4-year $50M contract as Jamison turned 32 which made him on the decline, physically, when they gave it to him. Finally, Caron Butler was the final member of Washington’s “Big Three” who was given a 5-year $46M deal.

Sadly, their “Big Three” was injury plagued and only barely mustered better than .500 play while they were healthy. Before the 2009 draft the Wizards traded their #5 pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller (aka, 2 players who have long since seen their better days) from the Minnesota Timberwolves. I’m no genius, but if you have #5 pick aren’t you supposed to trade it for good basketball players?

Finally, the Wizards had the #1 pick in 2001 and selected Kwame Brown who has long since been declared as the worst #1 pick of all time.

This same team who has been irresponsible w/ their team and their trades lands two #1 picks in only a 10 year span?? The world is an unfair place…that much is sure.

Hopefully, karma will come back to them and they’ll figure out a way to draft a bust w/ their #1 pick.

Meanwhile, the Jazz will draft 9th…which is pretty great! The Jazz have only had two top 10 picks in the last 27 years and one of em was Deron Williams and look how he changed the franchise. Granted, DWill was taken 3rd but the Jazz have a chance to add a very talented player to the roster this summer with as big a chance as we’ll have in the near future.

To outline what kind of talent goes around #9 below is a list of players who were drafted in the 8-10 position lately:

2009

#8 – Jordan Hill (big man w/ potential still)
#9 – DeMar DeRozan (possible bust but he can dunk! That’s important in the NBA right?)
#10 – Brandon Jennings (future All-Star and nearly earned Rookie of the Year in 2009)

2008

#8 – Joe Alexander (mega bust..sucks to be the Milwaukee Bucks)
#9 – DJ Augustin (solid point guard but probably never an All-Star)
#10 – Brook Lopez (future All-Star and a franchise center)

2007

#8 – Brandan Wright (bust! they should have taken Thaddeus Young)
#9 – Joakim Noah (future All-Star and a teammate that EVERY NBA player wants on his team)
#10 – Spencer Hawes (decent rotation player but not quite worthy of the #10 pick)

2006

#8 – Rudy Gay (future All-Star and about 45 days away from receiving a near-max deal)
#9 – Patrick O’Bryant (bust! another great decision by the Golden State Warriors. I hope they don’t change)
#10 – Mouhammed Sene (what’s another word for bust? Complete and utter failure?)

2005

#8 – Channing Frye (a late bloomer for certain but probably never an All-Star)
#9 – Ike Diogu (he sucks…nuff said)
#10 – Andrew Bynum (probably a future All-Star and/or will miss at least 3 more season w/ injuries.)

2004

#8 – Rafael Araujo (how do you say bust in Portuguese?)
#9 – Andre Iguodala (All-Star and quality wing player)
#10 – Luke Jackson (who?)

2003

#8 – TJ Ford (mostly a bust)
#9 – Michael Sweetney (he sucks too)
#10 – Jarvis Hayes (a solid contributor w/ the Nets…which doesn’t mean much since they suck too)

2002

#8 – Chris Wilcox (currently sucking for the Pistons)
#9 – Amar’e Stoudemire (All-Star and one of the top PFs in the league)
#10 – Caron Butler (All-Star and another quality wing player)

2001

#8 – DeSagana Diop (barely a decent rotation player but not quite a bust)
#9 – Rodney White (uhhh…he’s played for about 12 teams on 3 continents so….yeah)
#10 – Joe Johnson (All-Star and quality wing player

So, you don’t usually find any superstars in the 8-10 range and it’s easy to pick a bust but a lot of great players have come in that range in the past decade or so. The odds are probably against picking a great player looking at the stats below.

All Stars: 9

Busts: 11

Quality rotation players: 3

Blah rotation players: 6

It’s still possible for the Jazz to make a trade and improve their draft position leveraging a player trade or the Grizzlies future pick that we own. Time will tell.

What do the Jazz do if they get the #1 draft pick?

// March 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // NBA Draft

Based on some Twitter conversations w/ fellow knowledgeable Jazz fans (@Clintonite33 & @JediZaugg) I started wondering what the Jazz should do come July.

As you may or may not know, the Utah Jazz own the New York Knicks pick in the draft this summer. Right now the Knicks have won a few games lately which is annoying because not long ago they had the league’s 5th worst record. As of right now, the Knicks are tied for the 9th worst record in the league.

Apparently, the Knicks aren’t trying to tank like Washington (on a 13 game losing streak), Sacramento (Tyreke Evans is out w/ a concussion), Golden State (the franchise is for sale and a #1 pick would look really nice to a buyer), Minnesota (why would you play Darko Milicic over Kevin Love if you weren’t trying to tank?) and Indiana (in desperate need for a point guard who’s not anemic).

No, the Nets aren’t trying to tank, they are really hoping to win some games and they really are THAT bad as evidenced by this Nets’ fan:

The Knicks have no reason to tank since a worse record won’t improve their draft position w/ a worse record like the other teams can. In a shocking turnaround after being blown out by 50 points in January by the Dallas Mavericks, the Knicks improbably ended the Mavs’ 13 game win streak. Side note: this only reinforces my thought that the Mavs are overrated…just sayin’

Nevertheless, the Jazz will get the Knicks’ pick in July and it has a chance to be the #1 pick. That scenario is what I’d like to discuss.

2010 NBA Draft Possibilities

By pretty much anyone “in the know” around the NBA and NCAA, John Wall is the overwhelming candidate for the #1 pick.

Wall, a 6’4 point guard out of Kentucky, is lauded for his incredible athleticism, ability to penetrate into the lane and finish at the rim, his explosive leaping ability and being a solid passer.

That description fits very closely to a player the Jazz already have….

No player since LeBron James, in the 2003 draft, has been hyped as much as Wall and consistently been the consensus #1 pick.

What about teams like the Jazz, Bulls, and Hornets who will likely have lottery picks but already have top 5 point guards?

Generally, they say to draft the best player available and then make trades, if necessary, to accomodate that player.

Do the Jazz draft John Wall?

If the Jazz land the #1 pick and take John Wall could he and Deron Williams play together? Tthey are both bigger point guards who would case matchup problems on the offensive end but might struggle against some of the bigger 2 guards.

On offense, the Jazz backcourt would be the most formidable in the NBA. On defense, I’m not sure.

Or Trade…Down? I’m Ron Burgundy…?

Suppose that the Jazz do land the #1 pick and the Jazz front office decide they don’t want to draft John Wall. They have some interesting options. Also suppose that Indiana, New Jersey, or Detroit lands the #2 pick. Those teams are all lacking at the PG position and could greatly improve the team by drafting Wall. Another side note: pretty much every team would improve by drafting Wall, just some more than others.

Perhaps the Jazz trade down for the #2 or #3 pick from any of those teams but in the process gain a future 1st round draft pick from one of those teams. Evan Turner (a Brandon Roy or Dwyane Wade type player) is very talented wing or even DeMarcus Cousins would be a great big man the Jazz could take w/ the #2 pick. Either player would fill an important void in the Jazz roster.

If the Jazz do that they not only get a great player with a #2 or #3 pick, but they get another lottery pick the next year or year after which could also be a valuable asset.

Pray to the basketball gods that the Knicks lose

The possibilities are exciting. It all hinges on the Knicks losing more games. Right now, we only have about a 2% chance at winning the lottery for the #1 pick. If the Knicks slip to the league’s 4th or 5th worst record that chances increases to better than 10%. Just to give a perspective, the Rockets won the #1 pick in 2002 w/ an 8.9% chance of doing so. The Chicago Bulls won the lottery with only a 1.8% chance in 2008 and drafted Derrick Rose #1. So you’re telling me there’s a chance!