The NBA trade deadline is less than 10 days away now. I'm not crazy about the Utah Jazz going out there to make some trade this deadline. I don't think it's fair to the players that we have now to try to make decisions about them -- particularly because we've only seen some of them for 30 some games. I also don't think that the Jazz need to make a trade "just to make a trade". I think that would be counter productive. But that's just me. Utah Jazz made some late season trades before that have drastically changed the roster. The best example was trading Jeff Malone to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek. Hornacek was a major part of our team, and helped push us to the NBA Finals twice. Last season the Jazz traded away Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets -- and we received quite a bounty in return. I'm not going to expect the Jazz to be busy this trade deadline.
But I could be accused of not being too invested in this seasons' team. There is no secret that I felt like our team was not a playoff caliber team, the fact that our Head Coach is making roster and rotation changes for a theoretical "playoff push" is very endearing to me. It's cute. You want to pat our front office and decisions makers on the head. Go for it Jazz! Go for the playoffs, don't tell me you can't make it!
To me I care more about where the team is going, and where we will be in a few seasons from now. Right now, in 2011-2012, there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered. I hope that things will be much more clear in the future. I am looking at the 2013-2014 NBA season as a legit year where our Jazz (in my mind) can be a threat to win a playoff series. (IF we go all out and make the playoffs we're still going to be swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder -- which isn't better than getting in the lottery in my mind) I'd rather just go with the organic growth -- don't trade anyone this dead line, let contracts expire -- and if we're good enough to make the playoffs then we're good enough. Don't try to force things now, while making your future harder than it needs to be.
Click on below to see where I stand on the 14 guys currently on our team.
This is a little something I cooked up, and this is all just my own point of view. Our current roster has four bigs (Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter); seven wings (Raja Bell, Josh Howard, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, C.J. Miles, Jeremy Evans, and DeMarre Carroll); and three point guards (Devin Harris, Earl Watson, and Jamaal Tinsley). Out of these 14 guys, sadly, there are only 5 of them that I want to see on the team in two seasons. There are four others that I wouldn't mind seeing on the team -- but I think our future should focus on making sure the guys who are here in the future are as good as they can be.
It's not an altogether foreign opinion in Jazz land. I am very interested to see who you guys are interested in keeping, you who are neutral about, who you'd keep only for the right price, and who you think should be gone by 2013-2014. Please, please, please this is not a lecture. This is a discussion. Tell me your opinions and educate me on what you think is probably, and what is improbable.