FanPost

Pompeii - Utah Jazz

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via @rise_sports/instagram

How am I going to be an optimist about this?

The Jazz missed out on a perfect chance to get a perfect player in Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Or Joel Embiid (You choose), had they lost to Orlando at the buzzer, and our final 2OT game. Then they would have had a 5.2% better chance to win the Lottery (15.6%>10.4%) But yet does this even matter?

And if you close your eyes, does it almost seem like you've been here before?

I pushed out a sigh. Nobody was happy, Stockton had announced his retirement, Malone was headed to the Lakers, and the era was over. All that we had was the new guys, young bloods, Andrei Kirilenko, Mo Williams, Raja Bell, Carlos Arroyo, and Matt Harpring. It was clear that the rebuild had begun. The Utah Jazz passed off their 2004-2005 season with their first losing record in 21 years. Yet, after a year of bad play and unintentional tanking the Jazz were rewarded with the 3rd pick (6th pick 25th pick, and 2006 pick and were traded for the 3rd) which turned out to be a franchise defining player in Deron Williams. He led them to the Jazz's best turnaround ever. 15 games. They went from 26 wins to 41.

And if you close your eyes, does it almost seem that nothing's changed at all?

We are in the same situation.(Assuming we don't win the lottery.) KOC and Dennis Lindsey have done things before. Why can't they do it again? We have the assets to trade up a couple spots to where we can get that franchise defining player. The question comes down to though, which players/picks should we trade, and do we value these players/picks less than we value these high potential players? That's for the front office to decide.

Trade the 2014 pick, 2015 pick, and Enes Kanter.

In this situation, the Jazz would likely end up trading to pick Embiid. Embiid is a strong big man who just learned to play the game, and could fill the hole left when trading Kanter. His upside is incredible, But his downside could be just as hard. His great play overshadowed Wiggin's by Blocking 2.6 shots, Scoring 11.2 points, and Grabbing 8.1 boards. Oddly enough, this is what many saw in Kanter before he was drafted, and he has shown his true skill in very few games for our beloved Jazz.

Trade the 2014 pick, 2015 pick, and Alec Burks.

When Alec Burks is traded, it will be a sad day in Utah. we all love him, he has amazing assets in driving to the lane, and athleticism. He plays well as a 2, but unfortunately, the most likely way to get Andrew Wiggins, or Jabari Parker will be trading the young blood. Wiggins and Parker are two very different people. Wiggins is defensively oriented. Don't get me wrong, he can play both ends of the court, but where he stands out is his man-to-man defense. Parker blends into the court in a different way. Offensively, Parker is a stone-cold killer. He started out his Duke season very hot, averaging 20+ points, but cooled down as the season ended, and lost a stunner against 14 Mercer. He was their biggest asset, yet he failed them. There is no reason to blame him for the season though, as he was the one who brought Duke to the top that year. We'll just have to see if he'll be able to do the same with his NBA franchise.

Don't trade up. The players around 4-6 are just as good as 1-3.

This is where opinions come in. I base this choice off of 2 questions. Do we believe that the top players in the draft will give us that much more than the mid-lotto range guys? And do we give up too much on our end to get these guys. There is a balance to the answer to that question. If the Jazz value the top players over the mid-lotto guys more than what we give up, they must trade up. If not, they should not trade. There are other talents in the draft, such as the slasher and shooter, Dante Exum, the all-around PG, Marcus Smart, and the athletic post man, Noah Vonleh, who could fit our needs without having to give away one of our key players.

It will all come down to the front offices desicion on this matter, but until then, it's fun to speculate. So what do you think? Trade, no trade? Doesn't it seem like we've been here before?
Eh-oh, Eh-oh, Eh-oh

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.