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Today's post will take about three hours to consume. There are multiple piece posts and two podcasts breaking down the upcoming season. Enjoy!
http://saltcityhoops.com/author/evanhall/ @the20thmaine
Stat to Watch: Rebounding Percentage. While his offense disappointed at times during his rookie year, Enes Kanter rebounding never did. The difficulty in gauging the prospective success of a rookie is that his strengths are never developed enough to prove that they may outweigh his weaknesses. In other words, a rookie may have a skill set, but until that rookie becomes a more established version of himself, we cannot know whether those skills are potent enough and whether his weaknesses are manageable enough to justify his presence on the court. We already know with Enes Kanter.
This is from part 8 of 15 that Evan is putting together in his acclaimed JazzRank series. There is a growing voice among Jazz fans that is saying Enes is better, or possibly better than Favors. I don't agree with this voice, however there are small whisperings in my mind that say, "What if he is?" I love that we know what we are going to get with Enes, as Evan explains above. He is going to rebound like a boss, and slowly add a few moves every year to his offensive game. I don't know what will happen with the entire Kanter, Favors, Millsap, and Jefferson situation. However, I am stoked that we have options.
The most important job I have isn't to somehow use this as a springboard to work for some other company or get more exposure for myself. My self directed, most important job here at SLC Dunk is to ensure that allUtah Jazz fans from all over the world have a place they can visit, a place where they can both read and interact, and a place where they can feel to be part of the greater Utah Jazz fan community.
I have known Amar for a little over four years now. He is a good dude. Kris, the founder of SLCDUNK, did not put this site together to make money and eventually get bought out for millions, he put it together for you, the Utah Jazz fans. Amar has kept that philosophy since he took over, and will keep it as we move forward. This site is bigger than any of us as individuals, and needs the community to make it work. It is run by Jazz fans... you keep this community going. You drive all of us to do better. Thank You!
David Locke works harder than anybody. You may not always agree with him, or like his points of view, but you have to give him credit for doing his job better than anyone. There are a ton of good insights in this video.
The trade Saturday night sending Harden to Houston was a case study in how two of the league's shrewdest executives -- one in a big market and one in a small one -- chose to position themselves for the fallout from last December's collective bargaining agreement.
This trade is hard to digest for multiple reasons. First, many people thought that the OKC model is the model that we are trying to emulate. If they can't do it, how can we. It is almost as if our future was crushed the second Woj sent out that tweet. Second, this decision is very similar to the decision we made with D-Will...
The lesson here was one that first asserted itself in February 2011, when the small-market and historically tax-paying Jazz stunned the NBA by trading Deron Williams to the Nets -- 17 months before he would hit free agency and 10 months before the league's new CBA would be ratified.
Third, it solidifies what most of us already thought, that the new CBA is not going to even the playing field. We will see more of these types of trades in the upcoming months. Small market teams will struggle to keep stars, and the rich will continue to get richer.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=8549213
I love Bill Simmons. If you have time listen to the entire podcast. If not, the Utah Jazz portion starts at the 53 minute mark.