Kevin Pelton compares to two trades (Insider) that Denver and Utah made last year that made over their respective franchises. Pelton points out that each was done for completely different reasons. Denver wanted to ensure contention and a playoff spot while the Jazz were starting over. In the long run though, the Jazz will come out ahead. Kevin O'Connor was waiting to pounce on whatever team did not trade for Carmelo Anthony. It's likely the Jazz would have received the same players the Nuggets did had Melo been dealt to the Nets.
Already, the effects are being felt by Denver. Wilson Chandler recently signed with a Chinese team but does not have an NBA-out. So if the lockout is lifted and there is a season, he won't be able to get out of his deal. That leaves Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, and Timofey Mozgov as the players they will have for dealing Anthony.
On the other hand, the Jazz will have Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks, and 1-2 more lottery picks next season from their trade. I don't think even the most hard-core Nugget fan would take those three players over what the Jazz have now.
Pelton goes on to compare Favors to current NBA players,
In particular, the Jazz are counting on Favors to develop into an anchor in the middle. After one season at Georgia Tech and one in the NBA, Favors is badly in need of polish. At the same time, his potential is evident. Already, Favors is dominant on the offensive glass and capable at the defensive end. In time, he will have to develop the ability to score in the post. Already, there are positive signs in this process. Favors increased his usage rate nearly to league average after the trade without sacrificing his shooting percentage.
All-Stars Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal rank among Favors' four most similar players at the same age from the SCHOENE Projection System. O'Neal might be the best comparison. If Favors follows a similar development path, he'll be ready for his close-up in 2013-14. By then, players similar to Favors averaged 6.8 wins above replacement, a projection that puts Favors among the league's top 20 players that season.
If you compare their first seasons, their stats are pretty similar. I think he can become a better player than Bosh. He will develop more offensively and is probably already better defensively. If he peaks out as a Jermaine O'Neal, that wouldn't be terrible, but I'm really expecting more. Physically, I think he dominate more than either of those two.
Enes Kanter had his first "real" game today against Portugal. He finished with 14 & 7 in 20 minutes. Turkish fan Balil Bayazit said this about his game,
mbbayazit 10:49am via TweetCaster for Android
@slcdunk that was in about 20min,he was dominant in the first half (6/6 fg 5 rebounds in 10mins) second half was a blowout
mbbayazit 10:17am via web
just like that kanter is back in the game portugal with a 8-0 run, and turkey bring back kanter for the last 4 mins of the game
mbbayazit 10:14am via web
enes is likely done for the day, it is a blow out and he hasnt played in over 2 years, so its understandable to monitor his minutes
mbbayazit 9:44am via web
great great post move by enes 7/7
mbbayazit 9:44am via web
enes starts the second half
mbbayazit 9:41am via web
kanter with a legendary first half. showed athleticism, post moves, soft touch and even grabbed a rebound over the back of 2 portugese plyrs
Can't wait to get home and watch this one.
moni has Eurobasket on lockdown. Everybody should be reading her stuff.
Kyrylo Fesenko, Ronnie Price, and Earl Watson have all made an appearance on ESPN's top 500 NBA players since we last checked in. Fess does rank higher than Luke Walton and several rookies. Of the three, I think only Watson returns though.
295 ![]()
Earl Watson
Utah Jazz | PG | Age: 32 | Stats
@C_Ramsay: Did you know? Hollinger in 2005: Watson is NBA's best defensive point guard. Hollinger 2011: Watson still worth honorable mention. #NBArank3.33 298 ![]()
Ronnie Price
Utah Jazz | PG | Age: 28 | Stats
@Mr_Beezy47: #NBArank 298 is what you get just by practicing with/against Deron Williams for three years. Someone tell Jordan Farmar happy days are here again.3.27
310 ![]()
Kyrylo Fesenko
Utah Jazz | C | Age: 24 | Stats@JeffFinance123: Wow. If you told me Fesenko would be 310 on your rankings, I'd say ..."yeah, that's about right." #NBArank
3.16
Here's a bit more on the impact that a cancelled NBA season or missed games would have on the businesses downtown. From ABC 4,
"Our sales almost double on Jazz nights, so if we're taking the cut consistently throughout the season, it's going to be a really hard winter for us," said Brady Lambert, Scoopervisor, Ben & Jerry's.
Although businesses are hoping the NBA will resolve the lockout before the season begins, several stores are planning to be proactive with aggressive ad campaigns to recover sales they expect to lose. However, right now many are simply waiting to see what happens next.
Okay, so I really only put that in here because of the Scoopervisor name. We should all be so lucky as to have such cool titles in our jobs.
I think Salt Lake City should put on some sort of downtown event for every game that is missed.