Add Luke Babbit's name to the list of guys the Jazz could take at #9. Here's Chad Ford from yesterday's chat,
Tim (Charlotte, NC)
Who will be the better pro: G. Hawyard, X. Henry or L. Babbitt?
Chad Ford (1:36 PM)I think that's the exact question both the Clippers and Jazz are asking right now. Hayward has the most upside, but he's also the furthest away. Henry already has a NBA body and is probably the best shooter of the three -- but he's a bit one dimensional. Babbitt has really exploded up the charts the past month thanks to great athletic measurements, NBA readiness and ...??? I like Babbitt, but I'm not sure he's worth a Top 10 pick. But more and more GMs seem to be convinced he is. I've heard Hayward may have the nod in LA. I have the Jazz taking Greg Monroe in my mock, but I wouldn't be shocked if Babbitt ended up there.
I would think that they would take Hayward over Babbitt but who knows what the Jazz will do? I don't think there's been many picks recently where we knew who the Jazz would take.
Interesting article on Jefferson Sweeney, the video coordinator for the Jazz. He's been preparing video for the draft for a while,
In addition to information gathered from individual workouts and all the scouting that is done, video breakdown is a huge part of analyzing players. Sweeney uses 18 different receivers to begin recording college and European games in November. He ends up with over one thousand recorded games. Eventually, Sweeney gets a list from Walt Perrin, the director of scouting, and general manager Kevin O'Connor of about 30-40 players to focus on. Sweeney will then edit a 2-hour highlight reel of each player, but he doesn't just show off their strengths.
"I always refer to it as the good, the bad, the ugly and in the indifferent," said Sweeney. "Even after the whistle blows, you want to let it run a little bit to see how guys react. To see how they react to the officials, their coach and teammates."
Seems like he's the guy you want to talk to if you're trying to figure out who the Jazz are looking to take in the draft.
A great breakdown from Canis Hoopus on the cost of acquiring Elton Brand's contract in addition to getting the #2 pick in the draft,
To make a deal like this, the Wolves would need to believe that Evan Turner will (not "might") become a star. They need to believe that the value he would bring, in production, revenue, marketing, and excitement, as well as his rights after three years, would be worth such a major investment. This deal has far more downside than up, but an attempt to get players that may become superstars requires great risks. And make no mistake -- taking on Elton Brand's horrible contract is a great risk.
He hits the nail on the head. Evan Turner is going to have to be a sure-thing in order for this to work. We're talking All-star level. If not, you're stuck with Brand's $17M contract in a few years, something we're still dealing with now in AK's deal. We're just about to get out from under that. Do we want to take that on again?
In a round-about way, HoopyHype.com (via The Hoops Market) reported that Kurt Rambis had been paying attention to Ante Tomic, Utah's pick in 2008 on a recent trip. Here's the original article that the sites got it from (Google translated),
Among the spectators who yesterday attended the first victory of the Caja Laboral in this series against Real Madrid had not missed a detail of the work of the great figures of both teams, especially with Tomic.
Kurt Rambis, a legendary former player and now Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves coach, went to the pavilion after being referred Zurbano live developments on Thursday Ricky Rubio.
Of course he was there to see Rubio but was interested in Tomic. This fuels speculation though that the Jazz might trade up with Minny to get a big man. However, Tim Buckley reported that they're not trying to trade Tomic.
Of course they're not going to come out and say anything though, even if they have talked about it. Did we learn anything from this? Not really.
Wednesday poll