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The Downbeat #1172: You Want To Trade For Jimmer? STOP. IT.

Just say no to the Jimmer.

By Mychal Lowman
No. Just. No.
No. Just. No.
USA TODAY Sports

Before this gets out of hand.  I don't believe in tanking.  I want competitive teams on the floor.  So in order to have a competitive team on the floor, the Utah Jazz have to use the tools available to them as a small market team to obtain the talent to be competitive.  With that said, when something like this happens:

Utah Jazz: Trey Burke, with broken finger, now expected to miss 8 to 12 weeks | Deseret News
The Utah Jazz's rookie point guard will have surgery to repair fractured bone in his broken right index finger, the team announced Monday morning. The surgery will take place Tuesday in Salt Lake City. Burke is expected to be sidelined for eight to 12 weeks because the nature of the break requires some pins to be inserted into his finger for a full recovery, his agent told the Deseret News. Initially, Burke's camp hoped the 20-year-old would return after three weeks.

[Bold Italics added]

With most broken fingers the time frame to heal is usually 6-8 weeks.  Now, of course, that depends on the finger, the type of fracture/break, and the healing capabilities of the individual.  I'm not a doctor, but I can tell when a team is taking full advantage of a health concern.  I can also tell "Burke's camp" didn't feel this injury should have been dealt with this type of fragility.  Next quote:

Utah Jazz: Burke to undergo surgery for broken finger | The Salt Lake Tribune
Burke will undergo surgery Tuesday in Salt Lake City on his fractured right index finger, which will severely impact his first professional season. Jazz spokesman Jonathan Rinehart says Burke’s timetable for a return won’t be known until after the surgery. In a text regarding how much time Burke will miss, father/agent Benji Burke wrote, "Nobody knows." At this point, however, it appears Trey Burke will be sidelined 2-3 months. That is the typical recovery time needed for his type of injury.

This actually isn't the typical recovery time for this injury.  Well, if the player in question is Joe from the YMCA, yes.  But for an NBA player ... usually not.  List of players back within a month after a broken finger:

  • Kyrie Irving (4 weeks)
  • Kobe Bryant (Played Through It)
  • Shawn Marion (Played Through It)
  • Raymond Felton (4-6 weeks)
  • Allen Iverson (Played Through It)
To say that Trey Burke requires all 12 weeks is to ignore the obvious, the Jazz are taking the maximum amount of time to ensure that he comes back healthy and good as new. They wouldn't do that if wins were a priority. They wouldn't do that if they didn't have some investment in next year's draft. While I've seen many people on twitter and other sites offer ideas as to whom the Jazz can trade for to replace Burke in the first 3 months of the season, it's highly unlikely.

The Utah Jazz won't make a move unless it helps them gain more draft assets in that move.  That move would then make the Jazz an even worse team adding to the tanking stigma that many are so worried about having.

To be bad in order to get a draft pick is like a scarlet letter for some.  I don't see it that way.  It is doing the necessary things in order to gain an advantage in the NBA.  The Utah Jazz cannot compete in the free agency market.  They cannot make the same trades as everyone else and will have to "overpay" for assets as exemplified by the Golden State deal.  This is the cold hearted reality of having an NBA team in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I don't resent that, nor should you.

The Utah Jazz want to give their players as much time on the floor and development on the floor as possible.  Why would they bring in another point guard that would take development time away from Alec Burks and Gordon Hayward?  With Trey Burke injured, the Utah Jazz will be able to shift a lot more playmaking to those two which aids in development.  The Jazz may not be "tanking" but they are going to be designed to be devoid of talent in a few areas.  This is just another step.

Adding to the panic of losing Trey Burke, the obvious Jimmer Fredette crowd has risen from the dead ... again.  Zombie Jimmer Fredette argument for playing on the Utah Jazz in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... :

Trey Burke Injury: Time for the Utah Jazz to Trade for Jimmer Fredette | Bleacher Report
A better low-risk, high-reward option would be Sacramento's Jimmer Fredette. The Kings' three-point specialist hit 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts last season and could provide valuable spacing playing off the ball while Gordon Hayward handles the offense as a point forward. And if he doesn't fit, Utah can simply let him go next summer because he's on the last year of his rookie contract, something I'm sure Jimmer detractors would be betting on. For the two or three of you who are familiar with my work at Bleacher Report over the last three years, it should come as no surprise that I'd take the odds on that one. A Jimmer-on-the-Jazz experiment would work for a few reasons. And at this point in his career, he could be pretty easy to acquire.

Okay ... let's just stop right there.  He would be pretty easy to acquire.  But at what cost?  Yes, it's easy in October to mentally part with draft picks.  I call this the NBA2K mentality.  But in the world where these draft picks matter that doesn't work.  In a stacked draft and teams shuffling in the lottery next year EVERY draft asset will matter to get the player that you desperately want.  So if you would like to throw away the possibility of having a future star on the Utah Jazz for that Jimmer hunger you've oh-so-been-dying to relinquish ... well ... this is not your day.

The Utah Jazz were rumored to have shown interest in Marquis Teague.  I'm guessing the past tense refers to prior to draft day and that the Chicago Bulls shook the dust off of this conversation as a friendly reminder that he is available.  I highly doubt the Utah Jazz want to go wheeling and dealing to get that extra win this year and jump from the 4th - 8th worst team in the league to the 5th - 9th worst team in the NBA.  Nice try, Chicago.

Utah Jazz Interested in Marquis Teague? | NBC Chicago
If a scenario is discussed between the two clubs, it could represent a win-win for both. The Bulls have a need in the frontcourt and it’s been well publicized that they’re looking to add another big body to the roster. The Jazz have a number of big men on the roster, but it remains to be seen if the two teams would be willing to engage in a trade for a player in Teague who doesn’t really have a high trade value.

This made me despise Phil Jackson a little less.  Michael Jordan still pushed off, but I think I can enjoy Phil's zen master approach a little more after this.

Time for some good news.  Last week SBNation's big boys dropped some amazing previews for the Utah Jazz.  I hope that all of you got the chance to read every one of them.  It's always a pleasure to see the Utah Jazz from an outsider's perspective.  This one was for Gordon Hayward.

Gordon Hayward catching, shooting and moving off-ball - SBNation.com
Hayward doesn't create his own offense as a ball-handler well, which could be a problem because the Jazz don't have much perimeter talent outside of him, but his ability to be a catch-and-shoot threat for Utah while he maneuvers around screens make him a great half-court player. He should also be the Jazz's top three-point shooting perimeter player again and has a chance to be their leading scorer as he whips around Kanter and Favors.

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