Kanter and Favors are Offseason Winners: The Downbeat #1428

NBA2K15 released their new soundtrack for next year.  The songs include:

Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode

River Styx - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Romantic Rights - Death From Above

Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa

Love Runs Out - OneRepublic

Team - Lorde

Drop It Like It's Hot - Snoop Dogg / Pharrell Williams

Hot N' Cold - Basement Jaxx

Aerosol Can (Feat. Pharrell) - Major Lazer

On & On - Missy Elliot

Can I Have It Like That - Pharrell Williams Gwen Stefani

Scenario Remix - Tribe Called Quest

How Does It Feel - Pharrell Williams

Shut 'Em Down - Public Enemy

And Others.  See the rest of the playlist here.

I'm currently attending Purdue's MBA program.  In our last management class this quote came up:

Unless those who contribute their human and intellectual capital are given the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the value creation they are driving, they will go where they have that opportunity - typically to newer, less tradition-bound companies.

Think about the Utah Jazz the last few years.  Players have been fleeing the organization left and right.  Each year another round of hired guns, free agents, are signed on for one year and not one of them wants to stay.  Many of them didn't deserve another contract but some of them did.  But were they given the opportunity to see the fruits of their value creation?

Think about Gordon Hayward signing a contract with the Charlotte Hornets.  Does he even think about signing with Charlotte if he believes they won't value him and allow him a voice in the creation of a system that allows himself to succeed over there?  I doubt it.

The problem with Utah the last few years has been the management.  Their young (and old) players have not had the opportunity to add to the system and the environment.  It was Ty's way or the highway while completely disregarding Fair Process.  Hopefully with Dennis Lindsey squarely at the helm with Quin Snyder as his right hand man the Utah Jazz will engage with their players more and put them in a position to succeed.

Derrick Favors & Enes Kanter were listed as winners this offseason at Yahoo Sports.  This is what they say:

Derrick Favors, PF/C, Jazz - I never thought Marvin Williams would hurt Favors last season, but he basically started at Favors' natural position (PF) and then forced Enes Kanter to the bench, taking out two birds with one stone. Favors is clearly the starting PF this season with Williams in Charlotte, and if a breakout was ever coming, it's coming now.

Enes Kanter, C, Jazz - If Favors starts at PF, as expected, Kanter should start at C. And if it happens, Kanter's numbers should look a lot better this season. Kanter started in just 37 games last season, but that number should double this year, with solid production likely to follow.

CBSSports gave the Utah Jazz's offseason an A-.  Not bad, right????Overall grade and accomplishments -- A-minus:

You can quibble whether Utah is overpaying Hayward, but the financial and cap situation for the Jazz is so good and flexible it's unlikely to become a problem for them during the life of this contract. Utah is a hard place to attract free agents to, so the majority of their moves will be via trades to bring in key players. They can still find reasonable extensions for Kanter and Burks, or wait for the summer of 2015 to play the restricted free agency game with them. They still have a lot of their young talent under rookie deals for a few seasons to come, so they can remain flexible with how their roster is shaped.

Their goal was to add young dynamic talent and a good, young coach this offseason while keeping Hayward on their books. They accomplished all that. Exum looks to have star potential and can play with just about any lineup combination. Hood has the makings of a solid scorer and playmaker who can stretch the floor and also play in a number of lineup combinations. Booker gives the team a nice big man off the bench to pair with Favors or Kanter. And Snyder is by all accounts the real deal for a coaching position.

The Jazz appear to be ahead of the game entering the second season of their rebuilding process. They have roughly a full rotation of promising young players and role players. They're also left with open options for moving any combination of young players for a really good veteran or two.

HOORAY!!!!!

From Moni's blog, we know that Quin ain't messin' around.

Mainly, you know, he had us on the court and all I can remember right now is, you know, we were running. So, he's not playing games.