The Utah Jazz, Nowhere to go but up!

[SkylineXC]

After the Utah Jazz’s struggles over the past few years, the owners decided to go a different direction and choose me, 30 year-old Jaxson Williams, as the new GM for the 2013-2014 season. It was a bold move, met with much backlash from the media as I was a complete unknown, having previously been the head basketball coach for the Oregon Institute of Technology Hustlin’ Owls. After a solid 16-13 season, the Jazz called me up and I instantly accepted the job.

The Roster:

Point Guards:
Trey Burke
6-1 190
20 Rookie
Burke was the ninth overall pick of the 2013 draft and looks to make an immediate impact. He is a solid outside shooter, ball handler, and defender. Burke will be the unquestioned starter from day one. **1/2
Jamal Tinsley
6-3 185
35 10 Years Pro
Tinsley was a part-time starter for the Jazz last year, but is altogether unspectacular. He is an average defender with solid ball handling and court intelligence. Won’t get too many minutes this year. *
John Lucas
5-11 165
31 5 Years Pro
Lucas is the most disciplined and also the best ball handler on the team. He lacks any other viable skill and doesn’t look like a rotation player for us. *

Shooting Guards:
Alec Burks
6-6 193
22 2 Years Pro
Burks is an athletic wing who is a solid all-around player, but is better suited to a bench role while right now he is the best 2 guard on the Jazz roster. **
Ian Clark
6-3 175
22 Rookie
Basically just roster filler.*

Small Forwards:
Gordon Hayward
6-8 211
24 3 Years Pro
Hayward is a solid player who has improved every year so far. All around good player that can do a little bit of everything. He is the unquestioned starter at the 3. On the last year of his rookie contract and appears to be one of the Jazz’s biggest trade chips. ***
Marvin Williams
6-9 240
26 8 Years Pro
Williams is a jack of all trades, but he isn’t better than average in any facet of his game. **
Brandon Rush
6-6 210
27 5 Years Pro
Rush has been recovering from a torn ACL he suffered at the start of last season. He is just another unspectacular player for the Jazz. **
Richard Jefferson
6-7 225
32 12 Years Pro
His game has vanished over the past few years and he is nothing more than an expiring $11 million contract warming the bench. *
Mike Harris
6-6 240
30 2 Years Pro
Signed to fill out the roster. *
Jeremy Evans
6-9 196
25 3 Years Pro
Evans is a hyper-athletic forward who lacks any fundamental skills needed to give him a spot in the rotation. *

Power Forwards:
Derrick Favors
6-10 245
22 3 Years Pro
Favors is the best player on the Jazz roster as of now. He looks to be the leader of the team now that Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap have departed. He is a strong rebounder and inside scorer. He was signed to a big extension over the offseason.***1/2

Centers:
Enes Kanter
6-11 259
21 2 Years Pro
Kanter, like Favors, looks to benefit greatly from the increase in playing time due to the departure of the Jazz’s starting frontcourt. Kanter plays solid defense and is also a decent scoring and rebounding. ***1/2
Rudy Gobert
7-2 238
21 Rookie
The lanky Frenchman has potential as a rebounder and shot blocker. **
Andris Biedrins
6-11 240
27 9 Years Pro
The best defensive big on the roster, not much else of note. *

The Jazz have a very inexperienced roster with all of their starters having 3 or less years of experience in the NBA. The bench is also dismal. Look for the Jazz to be outmatched on most nights this season.

Prediction: 17-65

[SkylineXC]

On opening night Coach Tyrone Corbin sent out a starting lineup of:
PG: Trey Burke
SG: Brandon Rush
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Enes Kanter

November 1st Denver vs Utah 98-107
The Jazz held Wilson Chandler to 6-24 shooting. Hayward went off for 22 points 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
Kanter had a double double with 19 and 18. Burke had a solid debut, notching a double double with 13 and 10.
Record: 1-0

November 4th Clippers vs Utah 96-115
It was a close game until the 4th Quarter, where we promptly blew the game open outscoring the clippers 40-17.
Hayward, Favors, and Kanter had huge games with 31, 26, and 28 points respectively. Both Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan fouled out in only 15 and 20 minutes.
Record: 2-0

November 6th Utah @ Clippers 107-117
The Clips get revenge by handing us our first loss of the season. Jamal Crawford exploded for 31 points
and we just got out depthed in our first away game of the season. Favors fouled Griffin out again in 19 minutes. Favors had 25 and Kanter had 20.
Record: 2-1

November 8th Portland vs Utah 109-110
Utah wins it in a nail biter. Damien Lillard picked us apart for 28,
but Favors and Kanter combined for 49 points and 23 Rebounds to put this one away.
Record 3-1

November 10th Oklahoma vs Utah 114-104
Durant destroyed us for 46 points on 26 shots. (6-7 from 3!) Favors and Kanter kept up the strong start to the season.
Favors had 25 and 15 and Kanter finished with 23 and 9. Burke notched the second double double of his career with a 14 point 10 assist performance.
Record: 3-2

November 12th Utah @ New York 97-107
Poor shooting doomed us as we shot 39% from the floor and 25% from 3. Kanter had 28 points.
Carmelo Anthony was the deciding factor with 32 points. Mike Harris went down with a strained hamstring and will be out for a couple of weeks.
Record: 3-3

November 14th Utah @ Philadelphia 93-114
The first blowout loss of the season for us. MCW went off for 33 and Jason Richardson chipped in 25 off the bench.
Kanter with 26 and Hayward with 23 as we drop below 500 on the season.
Record 3-4

November 15th Utah @ Washington 92-112
Our first back to back of the season ended in a loss. Favors had 19 and 14,
but it was not enough to overcome John Wall’s 34 point 11 assist performance.
Record: 3-5

November 17th Utah @ Charlotte 87-103
Another loss on the road as Kemba Walker picks Burke apart for 24 points. A theme of Burke getting burned by more
experienced point guards has developed as of late. Kanter gave it his all with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Record: 3-6

November 18th Utah @ Cleveland 91-114
Kyrie Irving is the latest point guard to abuse the rookie Trey Burke. Irving put up 38 points and
held Trey to just 6. Hayward shot 6-20 for 19 points. Favors pitched in 22 and Kanter had 17 and 10.
Record: 3-7

After 10 games it’s looking like it will be a long season for the Utah Jazz.

[SkylineXC]

November 20th Phoenix vs Utah 97-108
Eric Bledsoe went off on Burke to the tune of 29 points, but he could overcome Kanter’s 25 and 11 and Favors’ 20 and 15.
Record: 4-7

November 22nd Milwaukee vs Utah 120-97
Kanter put up 26 points, but OJ Mayo and Caron Butler had 25 and 21 to push the Bucks to a win.
Record: 4-8

November 24th Utah @ San Antonio 102-133
Kawhi Leonard’s 25, Tony Parkers 21, and Tim Duncan’s 18 lead the Spurs to a blowout win over us. Alec Burks was our best player with 18 off the bench.
Record: 4-9

November 25th Utah @ Memphis 99-117
Favors went off for 35 points and 14 rebounds. He took a whopping 30 free throws, making 17. Memphis had a balanced attack with 6 players in double figures lead by Mike Conley with 23.
Record: 4-10

November 27th Chicago vs Utah 111-94
Derrick Rose bullied Burke around for 35 points. Kanter had 21 and 1. Alec Burks got his first start on the season and promptly shot 1-13 from the field. Hayward missed the game with a minor injury.
Record: 4-11

November 29th Memphis vs Utah 96-103
Hayward returned and was magnificent with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Mike Conley dropped 26 points on Burke. Kanter had a double double with 17 and 11.
Record: 5-11

The Jazz started out strong at 3-1 and then went 2-10 for the rest of the month. Trey Burke has been struggling to guard top tier point guards and it has really cost this team.

Team Leaders:
Points:
Kanter 21.4
Favors 18.7
Hayward 16.5

Rebounds:
Kanter and Favors 9.6
Hayward 4.4

Assists:
Burke 6.9
Hayward 3.9
Tinsley 2.5

Steals:
Favors, Hayward, and Burke all at 0.6

Blocks:
Favors 1.8
Kanter and Gobert 0.9

League Leaders:
Kevin Durant 32.1
Lebron James 30.1
Kobe Bryant 28.5
Kyrie Irving 27.7
Carmelo Anthony 26.9

Rebounds:
Kevin Love 14.2
Andre Drummond 12.4
Dwight Howard 10.9
Greg Monroe10.9
Zach Randolph 10.1

Assists:
Damine Lillard 10.3
Chris Paul 9.7
Kyle Lowry 9.4
Jeff Teauge 9.1
Ricky Rubio 8.8

Steals:
Chris Paul 2.3
Kawhi Leonard 2.3
Lebron James 2.2
Monta Ellis 2.1
Mike Conley 2.1

Blocks:
JaVale McGee 3.1
Anthony Davis 2.8
Larry Sanders 2.8
Al Jefferson 2.4
Joakim Noah 2.4

*Note I did edit a few players who I thought were over or underrated before I started this game*

[SkylineXC]

December 1 Sacramento vs Utah
The month of December started out well for us as we blew out the Sacramento Kings on our home court. Hayward had 24 and Kanter had 26. Burks poured on 17 points off the bench. Demarcus Cousins put up 24 points, but fouled out in 28 minutes. Burke and Favors suffered minor injuries.
98-120
Record: 6-11

December 2 Brooklyn vs Utah
We drop the second game of a back to back to Brooklyn. Trey Burke sat out with his strained abdominal and Alec Burks got the start at the point. Kanter put up 29 and 12, but we shot 38% from the field . Paul Pierce played strong with 20 points and Brook Lopez gave them 18 and 11.
101-96
6-12

December 5 Utah @ Sacramento
Cousins bullied us in the paint to the tune of 32 points and 19 free throws. Alec Burks was best for us with 25. Trey Burke will be back in the lineup in 5 days. Backup point guard Jamal Tinsley strained his knee and won’t be 100% for a couple of weeks.
103-120
Record: 6-13

December 6 Miami vs Utah
The big three destroy us. Bosh had 24, Lebron 30, and Wade 34. Gordon Hayward went toe to toe with Lebron throwing down 31 points and 8 assists and Favors had 24 and 10
121-104
Record: 6-14

December 8 Toronto vs Utah
Trey Burke struggled in his return, going 1-8 from the field for 3 points. Hayward has 22 but it wasn’t enough to overcome Rudy Gay’s 34 and Amir Johnson’s 29
105-90
Record: 6-15

December 9 Utah @ Phoenix
We go up against the equally abysmal Suns and promptly get blown out. Eric Bledsoe put up 27 points and 9 assists on Burke. Alec Burks replaced Brandon Rush as the starting 2 guard. Kanter and Hayward both had 20.
93-112
6-16

December 12 Utah @ Minnesota
Kevin Martin drops 31 points to go with Nikola Pekovic’s 20 and Ricky Rubio’s 18. Hayward had 20, Favors had 18, and Kanter had 19 and 11 in a close loss. Hayward injured his calf and will miss a week.
95-101
Record: 6-17

December 14 Portland vs Utah
Damien Lillard put up 26 points and 13 assists to overcome Enes Kanter’s 24 points 12 rebound performance.
118-92
6-18

December 16 Orlando vs Utah
Rookie Victor Oladio scored 25 points, but was unable to overcome the onslaught from the Jazz’s frontcourt. Favors had 33 and 13 and Kanter had 27 and 10. Trey Burke also double doubled with 11 points and 13 assists.
108-124
Record: 7-18

December 18 Utah @ Boston
Jeff Green dropped 20 points and Rajon Rondo picked out defense apart with 18 points and 12 assists. Favors and Kanter had 21 and 20 respectively.
96-117
Record: 7-19

December 20 Utah @ Brooklyn
We blew them out on their home court thanks to double doubles by Favors and Kanter with 26 and 11 and 19 and 13. Alec Burks exploded for 34 points of the bench. Joe Johnson had 18 for the Nets.
123-90
Record: 8-19

December 22 Utah @ Detroit
Detroit played suffocating defense, holding us to a mere 30% shooting night. 6 Piston players scored in double figures. Hayward was our best with 14 points.
64-97
Record: 8-20

December 23 Utah @ Chicago
Luol Deng and Derrick Rose played magnificently with 38 and 27 points respectively. Favors put up 21 and both Kanter and Hayward had 19 in the loss.
119-140
Record: 8-21

December 26 Utah @ Milwuakee
The Bucks put 6 players in double figures lead by Larry Sanders 23. Favors tried his best with 18 and 11, but we couldn’t come away with a win.
89-108
8-22

December 29 Dallas vs Utah
Monta Ellis dropped 23 points, but the Jazz countered with a balanced attack of Hayward, Favors, and Kanter all scoring 19 points apiece to get the win.
95-102
9-22

December 30 Utah @ Houston
Houston’s wings killed us. Lin had 25, Harden 32, and Parsons with 28. This was enough to overcome 31 from Kanter and another 23 from Favors.
104-121
9-23

We went 4-12 on the month and we have the worst record in the league at the moment.

[SkylineXC]

I decided to just sim through the rest of the year without going through each game as the Jazz aren’t competitive so there isn’t really much of a point right now.

Gordon Hayward broke his elbow on January 16th and will be out for around two months.
Trey Burke broke his hand on January 25th and will also miss about two months.

The starting lineup until they return is:
PG: Jamal Tinsley
SG: Alec Burks
SF: Brandon Rush
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Enes Kanter
Ouch, absolutely no guard depth left on the team.

We ended the month of January with a record of 12-34, good for last in the league by 4 games.

[SkylineXC]

February doesn't start off much better as Alec Burks breaks his nose and will not be 100% for a month and a half. Coach Corbin still plans to play him off the bench for the time being.

All Star 2014
West Starters:
Eric Bledsoe
Kobe Bryant
Chandler Parsons (Durant sat out with a minor injury)
Kevin Love
Dwight Howard

East Starters:
John Wall
Paul George
Lebron James
Greg Monroe
Al Horford

The west won 162 to 151 after scoring 47 points in the 4th quarter. Kobe got the MVP with 29 points 7 assists and 4 rebounds.

Utah ends the month with a 14-44 record, still last in the NBA.

[SkylineXC]

The injury bug continues for the Jazz as Derrick Favors broke his finger in early April and will miss the last few games of the season.

We finished the season with a 20-62 record and the #1 odds to get the first overall pick in the draft.

The Thunder beat the Heat in 7 games to win the title. Kevin Durant won his first finals MVP after averaging 29.6 points, 4.6 assists and 8.6 rebounds in the playoffs.

Season Stats:

[SkylineXC]

We win the draft lottery and the mock draft is:
1. Utah SG Tony Johnson
Johnson is a 6-3 shooting guard who averaged 31 points at Mercer last season. Appears to be a strong scorer and good all-around player that the Jazz need at the shooting guard position

2. Cleveland SG Rashon Clemmons
Clemmons is the other highly touted 2 guard in this draft. At 6-7 he can play both wing positions and is a great offensive player

3. Charlotte SG Will Sessoms
Another shooting guard. Stands at 6-4, super athletic and a great ball thief.

4. Phoenix SG Greg Meyers
This is a very guard heavy draft with 4 of the top 5 being shooting guards. Meyers is the best rebounder out of the top 4 and is good as a shot creator. 6-7

5. Sacramento PG Justin Bergmann
A 6-4 point guard who is a twig at 157 pounds. Length and effort make him a defensive force, often times inconsistent and streaky with his shot.

All of the coaching staff’s contracts expired, none will be resigned.
New Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Scott Skiles
1st Assistant: Joe Davenport
2nd Assistant: Mike Dunlap
3rd Assistant: RJ Adelman

[SkylineXC]

The Draft
The Utah Jazz selected Tony Johnson with the first overall pick. He was the consensus number one pick and first looks show that he can develop into a great scorer at the NBA level.

With the 21st pick the Jazz took a flyer in freshman point guard Kevin Smith out of Florida. He has low work ethic and personality, but he has some potential that makes him a valuable asset for the Jazz.

And lastly with the 31st pick, the Jazz selected power forward Brian Danielson. Danielson has some potential and was signed to a 2 year deal.

On to contract decisions. We choose to renounce everyone except for Gordon Hayward, who we made a qualifying offer for. This puts us 21 million under the cap before free agency hits.

Trey Burke and Rudy Gobert’s rookie options were picked up.

Free Agency:
The Jazz resigned Gordon Hayward to a 4-year 38 million dollar contract
Andrei Kirelinko Also rejoined the Jazz for a one year 8 million dollar deal
Dante Cunningham was signed to a 2-year 4.8 million dollar contract
Brian Danielson is assigned to the D-League
Just before opening night I signed Shannon Brown to fill out the roster

Starting Lineup:
PG: Trey Burke 21
SG: Tony Johnson 20
SF: Gordon Hayward 25
PF: Derrick Favors 23
C: Enes Kanter 22

The bench gained some improved depth, look for the Jazz to improve and get at least 30 wins this year.

[SkylineXC]

Roster Overview:

Point Guards:
Trey Burke:
Burke had a solid rookie campaign and looks to build on it as he worked hard on his shot after struggling somewhat from the floor last season. ***
Kevin Smith:
Smith is a rookie that oozes potential, will get some playing time off the bench this season. **
John Lucas:
Roster filler *

Shooting Guards:
Tony Johnson
The number one overall pick in the draft. Johnson is a good scorer with solid defensive and ball handling abilities. ***1/2
Alec Burks
An athletic, lengthy two guard who will be a strong presence off the bench for the Jazz. **1/2
Shannon Brown
Another athletic wing that was signed as injury insurance. *1/2

Small Forwards:
Gordon Hayward
He can do a little bit of everything and will be the glue guy for this Jazz team ***
Andrei Kirilenko
AK47 is a very intelligent player who plays smothering defense, he will be the Jazz’s sixth man this season. **1/2
Jeremy Evans
Evans is a super athletic, lanky forward. Not much else. *

Power Forwards:
Derrick Favors
He is hardnosed big who racks up the defensive and rebounding stats. Also a solid offensive player. ***1/2
Dante Cuningham
An undersized forward with a sweet mid-range game. **
Brian Danielson
A jump shooting big with minimal rebounding instincts. I plan on using him as a trade chip later in the season. **

Centers:
Enes Kanter
The Big Turk was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder last year, he looks to lead the Jazz back to the playoffs. ***1/2
Rudy Gobert
Gobert gives the Jazz size and shot blocking off the bench. He is also a decent rebounder. **


The Jazz started out strong in November, finishing the month with a 9-7 record.

The Good:
Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter are combining for 34 points and 18 rebounds making them a formidable frontcourt.
Trey Burke has improved his shooting percentage vastly from last season (40% to 50%)
The Jazz sit in 7th Place in the Western Conference

The Bad:
Alec Burks broke his toe in the last game of the month and will be out of action for a little over a month, Shannon brown takes over his bench role, but it will be hard to replace him as Burks was our leading bench scorer at 9 ppg.
Tony Johnson has been struggling mightily to start his NBA career, shooting 30% from the field and 16% from three. Hopefully he can turn his season around in the coming months.