What would your All-Time NBA and Jazz teams look like?

PG: J. Stockton, D. Williams (IR1: R. Lopez)
SG: P. Maravich, J. Hornacek, D. Griffith
SF: A. Dantley, A. Kirilenko, B. Russell (IR2: K. Korver)
PF: K. Malone, P. MIllsap
C. M. Eaton, M. Okur (IR3: A. Carr)

Carr better defense than Carlos. With such a strong inside with Karl, I picked Korver on the team because he’s a good three point shooter. This isn’t the BEST team from the standpoint of best players from each position — but I think one of the better ‘teams’, where guys will compliment each other.

Crunch time line-up would be: Stockton, Williams, Kirilenko, Malone and Okur. Two great passers, two good passers and three three point shooters. We’ve never had that on the floor at the same time anchored inside by Malone. (unless it is close, then we have to bring Horny in if they are fouling) AD does not make crunch time lineup because he would disrupt floor spacing with Malone in there. Pistol does not make crunch time lineup because he did not have same killer instinct as the two other guards do.

I.R. Boozer. That made my night. -5

I’m thinking of roles, from alpha to 12th man/towel waver. Who do I want as my 12th man? Who do I want to come off the bench and put up 12 points in 4 minutes. Who do I want to come in off the bench just to smash people around? Who will be most likely to play well together, how will shot distributions play out, what kind of defense is there, etc. I’m looking at a real team, not an all-star team. And I’m not remotely trying to be unbiased. I’m glorying my biases (which means it’s Jazz-heavy, because that’s my team and those are the players I know the best). So here goes:

My all-timer team:

F – Bird
F/C – Duncan
F/C – Russell
G – Stockton
G – Wesley Matthews

The primary bench:

G – Dennis Johnson
F – John Havlicek
F/C – Dave Cowens
F/G – Matt Harpring

The emergency 10th guy:

Big Shot Bob

11th and 12th guys:

Mugsy Bogues
Fes

Same thing: not best players of all-time by position, but a team that makes sense and fills all roles together. And before we even start, here’s what Sloan did: re-wrote the playbook to mirror 2003-05. So the two guard spots are interchangeable, the two forward spots are interchangeable, and the center is the unique position (The Stockton and Deron years have been different, the PG is the unique position, SG and SF are interchangeable, and the PF and C are interchangeable).

Starters:

F – Malone
F – Kirilenko – I really debated Harpring here, because AK’s less effective when he’s not happy, and he’s not happy when he’s not involved, and with Malone/Deron/Stockton his role will be smaller. But in the end I went with AK and the belief that he’ll just be his all-over-the-court-disrupting-everything self that I love.
C – Eaton
G – Williams – with the altered scheme both guard spots are the same, so Deron won’t have to feel miserable because he’s playing SG. And he’ll get the backup PG minutes.
G – Stockton

Main bench:

G/F – Pistol Pete – I don’t know if he’d like it, but I think he’d be great as the first guy off the bench, the guy to just shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot.
C – Memo
F – Dantley – I also don’t know how he’d do with a more limited role, but I like his play better if he’s NOT dominating the offense for 36 minutes a night
G – Hornacek – plays Korver’s role from last season.

10th Man:

Paul Millsap – the guy Sloan puts in when nobody else is listening and playing right. Millsap will ALWAYS play right. He’ll always do EXACTLY what Sloan asks. He’s Jarron Collins with, you know, actual basketball skills and athleticism.

11th and 12th Men

Griffeth – I really want to give him a bigger role, but I think Hornacek was better. So I’ll just stick with the ESA crowd going crazy the last 5 minutes of the game, salivating to see Dr. Dunkenstein do his work.
Fes – I want the comedy. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

PG – Stockton
SG – Jordan
SF – Glen Rice
PF – Malone
C – Shaq

Rice was my favorite player, so i added him, what!

Before I reveal my team, I’d like to ask a question:

Wouldn’t it be great if you could include ANY player ever associated with the Jazz in any way, and just assume that said player would be in his prime? That way, you could put guys like Tom Chambers and Dominique Wilkins on the team. Anyway, here are my choices (assuming a 15-man roster):

G: John Stockton
G: The Golden Griff
G: Deron Williams
G: Jeff Hornacek
G: Pistol Pete
G: Rickey Green
F: Karl Malone
F: Adrian Dantley
F: Thurl Bailey
F: Andrei Kirilenko
F: Truck Robinson
F: Bryon Russell
C: Mark Eaton
C: Mehmet Okur
C: Antoine Carr (I know—he mostly played forward during his career but played quite a bit at center for the Jazz. Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to put Ostertag.)

Honorable Mention: Jeff Malone, Paul Millsap, Carlos Boozer, The Brown Bear, Jeff “The Franchise” Wilkins

I went with Utah Jazz players only. Guys who hit their stride in New Orleans were left out.

Starting Lineup:

PG: John Stockton
SG: Darrell Griffith
SF: Adrian Dantley
PF: Karl Malone
C: Mark Eaton

Reserves:

PG: Deron Williams
SG: Jeff Hornacek
SF: Andrei Kirilenko
PF: Thurl Bailey
C: Mehmet Okur

PG: Ricky Green
SF: Bryon Russell