The Downbeat #1321: MARVIN IS THE BEST PLAYER Edition

The Bulls did the Utah Jazz a favor when they turned a normal free agent signing in Carlos Boozer into a Sign and Trade helping Utah land a huge player exception which the Jazz later used to land Al Jefferson.  It only makes sense the Jazz would have to return the favor says Doug Thonus of Bulls Confidential.

Utah returns the favor, saves Bulls potential luxury tax woes | Chicago Bulls Confidential
The Bulls might lead the league in financial creativity, and when bonuses threatened to push them back above the luxury tax line, they called in a favor from the Utah Jazz. When the Bulls signed Carlos Boozer to a free agent deal, they worked it out with Utah to turn it into a S&T. This didn't get Boozer more money as the original terms stayed the same, nor did it get the Bulls more assets. The only practical outcome of the deal was that a giant traded player exception was created for the Jazz. Utah used it to bring over Al Jefferson, a move they couldn't have done without the Bulls help. Chicago did it on a "you owe us one basis". That one was cashed in this weekend when the Bulls waived Erik Murphy. The move made no sense on the surface, it wouldn't save Chicago any money and would actually force them to add another player to the payroll costing them something minimal. However, it all came together when the Jazz claimed Murphy off waivers. You typically never see another team claim a player, and while Murphy's contract is friendly enough that they could actually consider taking a look, the most likely scenario is that this was all worked out prior to the Bulls waiving Murphy. They were happy he'd have a new landing spot, perhaps one where he might even get on the court for a few minutes before season's end, and the Jazz got to cross one off the 'debt' list by paying the Bulls back for that S&T.

Speaking of Murphy, he met the Utah Jazz media and as Aaron Falk writes, Murphy said all the right things.

Utah Jazz: New Jazzman Erik Murphy out to impress | The Salt Lake Tribune
"Basketball was kind of in my blood," Erik Murphy said. "I’ve always been around the game. I grew up falling in love with it. Ever since I was young, I’ve always been around basketball. It’s something I’ve always loved." As he met the press Monday, Murphy said the right things. "I’m going to play hard every possession," he promised. "I’m going to defend. I’m going to rebound. I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team win." But he’s a big man on a team trying to develop three of them. And minutes will be scarce. "With the guys we have, the game we have [left], we’re developing some other guys right now and to try to interrupt that process would put you behind a little bit," Corbin said. But like most things this year, it’s a longer play. "This late, it is difficult," Corbin said. "But we have his rights. We have the summer. We’ll see how things work out the rest of the year but we’ll try to get him in there."

Andy Bailey of BleacherReport.com and editor of the Utah Jazz team page wrote a nifty post about Trey Burke.  He finds Trey's comparisons (Jimmer *GASP* and Jason Williams) and sees if he has a strong chance of being a big time player in the NBA.  I'll tease you all with a little segment.

Will Trey Burke Turn out to Be the Real Deal for the Utah Jazz? | Bleacher Report
Statistically, Williams is the best comparison. But as I'm sure you recall, his game had much more flair to it. Burke is more of a chest pass guy, while Williams had a repertoire stocked with a variety of behind-the-back passes and fancy dribbles. Physically, Burke is more like Fredette. Yes, he's a lot smaller, but his athletic ability is similar. According to DraftExpress.com, Burke had a max vertical jump three inches better than Fredette's. But it was Jimmer who had a better lane-agility time (almost a full second better, in fact). Fredette, now a guard with the Chicago Bulls, has been skewered by critics over the course of his three years in the NBA because of his lack of athleticism, but Burke might be even slower laterally. It's part of why he's struggled so much defensively this season—that and his size (he's listed at 6'0"). With those kinds of physical limitations, a consistent jump shot is critical. Burke's certainly hasn't exhibited one, and it's making everything else harder for him. But that doesn't mean he can't become the real deal.

TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATCH!!!!!

The Jazz stayed at the coveted #5 spot in ESPN.com's Tank Rank.  Well, not coveted but that's what you get for winning.  Y U WINZ DA GAMEZ YAZZ? Y?????

NBA: Tank Rank -- Who are bottom teams eyeing in draft? - ESPN
5. Utah Jazz | Status: Rebuilding | Record: 24-53 (1-2) If the Jazz win the No. 1 pick, there is no way they pass on Parker. Not only are they a team that wants to make the quick push to the playoffs next season -- meaning the Jazz want an impact player from day one -- but Parker's Mormon faith has already made him crazy popular in Utah. Wiggins is second on their board, followed by Exum. (Last week: 5 )

Marvin is the best player on the Utah Jazz.  Yep.  Just accept this.  Look in the mirror time, you go to Marvin.  Right?  Well, ESPN's new rankings say that Marvin *Nacho Libre voice* zhe best!.  Here's what our fearless leader Amar has to say about it.

ESPN has a new thing, Real Plus-Minus, does it mean anything for the Utah Jazz though? - SLC Dunk
Marvin? MAAR-VINN Marvin? MARVIN? Okay, so this is what we now need to deal with: Not all "This guy is the best guy on your team" metrics match up with one another well Ranking by ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) skews the actual data -- so one guy could be way ahead in something, but only come one spot higher Being good at a bunch of stuff is great . . . . . . but being okay at a bunch of stuff with no weakness is better here. And thus, Marvin is our "best" player. Which means to me that this method is cracked, because we know that is not the case. Okay, let's pretend that this information is something we have to really look at though. We still get the idea that Burks, Hayward, and Favors are among our top players. Trey comes later, after highly efficient but seldom used Moose and Squirrel -- which almost makes sense. They are not as efficient as Jeremy Evans -- but he's behind Trey but still a solid rotation guy here. I don't think any of those points are things fans who look at the data will argue against. In fact, I am sure a lot of fans wouldn't be upset if our #8 rotation was these guys. With back-up PG being played in a two guard lineup off the bench with Clark and Burks, right? Not bad. Kind of dynamic, right? The bad news is that this buries Kanter. He's not had a great year at all, and it shows. Compared to the rest of his teammates, he's not shining that much. Which works out great for the Jazz front office who will probably get to low-ball Enes this off-season. If anything, he could be the next RFA for this team, even if he has the worst RPM. Thanks ESPN. Thanks for making us feel less secure over-all by pointing this out. Even if you list Evans as a SF and don't know that Alec Burks isn't a point guard.