In case you don't follow me on twitter or missed it, here's an article from David Aldridge on NBA.com talking about Matt Bouldin from Gonzaga. Matt dropped these tidbits,
But Bouldin is determined to prove that he can play. He's spent several offseason hours in Spokane working out both with Jazz guard Deron Williams and with Zags (and Jazz) alum John Stockton, picking up tips on how to play the point, which he'll probably have to do in order to stick with an NBA team. That's a pretty good duo from which to learn.
"[David Stockton] is a walk-on at our school," Bouldin said of Stockton. "[John Stockton] is around all the time. He's got some amazing stories. And he can still play. The guy's amazing. He's in the gym ripping off 50 pullups at a time. He's a freak. He's the smartest, best point guard ever. So any little thing you can get from him really helps.
Must be nice to be able to go to the gym and have Stockton and DWill there to play against. Second, it's good to see Deron up there who must be working with Stockton. Finally, and I've said this before, there's no doubt in my mind that Stockton could still play. 50 pullups at a time? How many can do their age or more in pullups past 40? Heck, even past 20?
Interesting article from Chuck Yates at Deseret News,
According to Barzilai, now a statistical consultant for the Memphis Grizzlies, the ninth pick in the 2010 draft, where the Jazz will choose, is only 63 percent as valuable as the first overall selection. By comparison, the 30th pick is only 20 percent as valuable.
Which is why the Jazz probably wouldn't mind trading up in the draft again like the team did in 2005. That year, Utah included a pair of disposable first-round picks to improve three spots, from No. 6 to No. 3.
In doing so, the Jazz mathematically improved the quality of their draft pick that year by nearly 18 percent, according to Barzilai's calculations. More importantly, it netted a franchise player in Deron Williams.
The 9th pick kind of feels like no-man's land meaning that whomever we get likely isn't going to be an impact player that we need. He may develop into a great player, but it might be a year or two out.
A few weeks ago, someone tweeted me and asked about trading the #9 and AK to the Sixers ro Elton Brand and the #2 pick. Off the cuff, I replied, "No, and probably heck, no." My main reasoning of course was taking on Brand's huge contract for the next three seasons. We've all been looking forward to the 2010 draft for a few years now. Right behind that in anticipation was being able to get AK's deal off the books (not necessarily AK himself).
Being a small-market team, the Jazz are pretty risk-adverse. They don't take many big gambles so as to not threaten the stability of the franchise. I've written in the past that they don't need to bet the farm, just zig a little when they would normally zag. This might be the time to zig and take on that contract.
If you're looking to talk yourself into Brand's $51M deal, know that the Jazz might be able to dump it in two years when it becomes an expiring deal. Second, he'll be in his second full season back since his achilles injury. He didn't put up terrible numbers last season. He shot a good FG%. He'll be in an offense that is PF-heavy. He shouldn't be a starter but should be able to put in quite a few minutes off the bench (he had 30 MPG last season). That's a heck of a lot to pay a bench player. We're also going to be thin upfront with Memo out. He's never going to be the player that he was 5 years ago but prior to that injury, he was pretty reliable.
Of course, we're not talking about trading for Brand so much as we're talking about getting the #2 pick in the draft, a spot that we just don't see in Utah. When you look at the landscape in the NBA, you're going to need marquee players to become serious contenders. We have one now in Deron. With the #2 pick, you could land Evans Evan Turner, Cousins, or Favor, all of which who could be that second player.
So, the question is, would you rather have Deron, AK, and the #9 or Deron, Brand, and the #2? I still like AK over Brand at this point but what about the #2 over the #9? Is the difference enough to make up the AK/Brand gap? I think there is. The other thing to consider is that whomever we were to get at #2, while they would cost more than the #9, his value over his rookie contract might be more.
The more I've thought about this, the more I'm leaning towards making this trade if the Jazz were able to pull it off.
However, if we we do stay at the #9, it's looking more and more like we'll be picking Ed Davis or Xavier Henry. I'm not sure who's higher on the board for the Jazz right now.
If you could ask David Aldridge any question, what would it be? Post below and I'll submit the best one.
Tuesday poll.