NBA Trade Deadline 2015 Enes Kanter trade reactions

So the Utah Jazz called it quits on the Enes Kanter experience, after not playing him much during critical development parts of his career (0 minutes in the NBA-DL, btw). They also pulled the plug of Joe Ingles ' BFF Steve Novak, both were sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the husk of Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett, two future picks, and Tibor Pleiss. Fantastic. In terms of getting something, Utah succeeded where they previously had failed with Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Mo Williams, and many other free agents who left the team. In terms of getting equal value for the potential production from a strong scoring #3 draft pick, it's less impressive. I get that. I'm upset at how this all ended up with having to trade him -- instead of accepting the rebuild years ago (don't half-arse two things at the same time as Ron Swanson says). I'm not upset at how Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey had to pull the plug. After all, Enes wanted a trade. He got it. Kudos to the Jazz for doing something they didn't have to do, and doing it to facilitate the happiness of a player.

But that's how I felt. What were the immediate reactions of some of the other crew here at SLC Dunk?

The Shums: Gotta reserve judgment until we see what else is involved in the deal, like the protections on the first-round pick (and who it's coming from) and whether the rumored Alex Abrines inclusion is for real. Right at this moment, with those factors uncertain, I'm slightly disappointed. I'm not sure the Jazz can use Kendrick Perkins' cap space to acquire a player with more upside than Kanter, even at a different position. I didn't think the Jazz would get back what Kanter is actually worth as a player if they traded him, and as it stands now, they didn't. But if Abrines and a decent first-rounder are included, I guess I'm okay with it, given Kanter's apparent unhappiness and Rudy Gobert's rise.

.

UtesFan89: As for the trade. Well, I don't know much about advanced stats. And I don't have to worry about players wanting minutes, or starting jobs. That's why the Jazz have Quin Snyder. As a fan, it seems like a young/rebuilding team just traded a young player (admittedly, nothing to write home about defensively) AND Steve Novak for nothing. Yeah he would've left after the season anyways. Did we really get anything more than that though? Like Shums said, gotta see what else comes our way.

We weren't gonna get Kevin Durant, but it would've been nice to get someone that will still be on the team a week from now. You can't keep replacing semi-developed players with undeveloped players. At some point you need to add actual players. (Unless you're the Sixers apparently.) Don't get me wrong - I love the draft, so picks are fun. But this isn't a video game. Kanter was worth more than this.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - I'm really going to miss Steve Novak. Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Trevor Booker will get all the minutes they want now. Hopefully there's no injuries. Or foul trouble. Also, that final 15 minutes of the deadline blew my mind so I don't know what I'm thinking really. At least we'll get a ton more of Gobert.

.

TazzJazzFan:Losing Novak is a shame, he was a good backup piece and veteran. But the bigger part of me now thinks Jingles gets a multi year deal.

Rudy, it's your time to shine

.

Prodigal Punk: Enes wanted to leave. The Jazz did the right thing in getting whatever they could for him. If you're upset about the trade and want to lament anything, or place blame anywhere- it's on the Jazz FO. They stood by while a young player, deemed to be a part of their future plans, was handled poorly. We all knew that one of them was going to be pissed off about their playing time management (most thought it would be Burks), and unfortunately it came to fruition. Time to learn from the mistake and move on with a frontcourt of Gobert / Favors that many teams would kill to have.

You have already heard from Diana and I today, so let's close with the ever composed and rational Yucca:

I don't have a lot of regrets that Kanter was traded. I like him a lot, but I've mentioned several times before that I just don't think he's the right guy to be the 3rd big with Favors and Gobert. I also don't have a huge grudge that Kanter wanted to be traded ... he could see what the future front line was going to be just as well as all of us.

I do feel bummed at how little the Jazz got in return. A Euro who isn't as good as Ante Tomic and equally unlikely to ever come over? Ugh. A couple future picks? That's it? That's all they could get?

Well, of course it's all they could get. The Jazz have been brain dead regarding Kanter ever since they drafted him.

• Why draft a guy with a freaking #3 pick that you have no intention of playing? Why not trade the pick for a guy who could help the team in 2011, or maybe trade down and pick Jonas Valanciunas, who wasn't coming over that year?
• Why draft another big with a #3 pick when you're already struggling to find enough playing time for Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Derrick?
• I still can't believe they let Millsap go, only to watch Tyrone Corbin bench Kanter and play Marvdawg (Marvin Williams) as the PF. This may be the most boneheadedly inexplicable thing I have ever seen in all my years as a Jazz fan.

And so here we are ... Kanter's not really well developed, he doesn't have a lot of trade value, he wants to go elsewhere for obvious reasons, and the Jazz have no realistic way to give him more time. What a mess.

* * *

I really want the team to finish up with the "Clear out Cap Space" and "Acquire Future Assets" stage. They now have three guys playing at an All-Star level ... three guys who are still young and very probable to keep improving. This is the stage at which you start finding the right kind of guys to surround them. Three All-Star caliber guys should be enough to build a playoff team.

I don't know what I expected, given the reasons Kanter's value was less than wonderful on the trade market. But I had hoped for a reasonably quality player who could help the team. A reasonably decent PG to lead the way while Trey Burke and/or Dante Exum work to figure things out. A Millsapian 3rd big that would be the right counterpoint to Favors and Gobert. A decent wing, perhaps an established 3-and-D guy for the backcourt.Or someone that could actually contribute to the team today and next season. I don't see that here.

And this disappoints me.

He adds, the next day:

My disappointment stated, I am excited for a few things:

Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors are the clear alphas of the front line from here on out. I love this. I like the clarity of a starting lineup with two main scorers. I think Hayward will see a minor explosion of points, and that will be fun ... it'll get him recognition that he deserves as a really fantastic player.

I think the team's working to establish a clear pecking order and set of roles to fill in the starting lineup: 2 main scorers (Gordon Hayward and Derrick), one secondary scorer (TBD, maybe Burks, maybe Exum if he can get there), a low-usage, high efficiency defensive monster at center, and a low-usage, good defender/passer (Jingles' role right now, Andrei Kirilenko's role in the late-2000 glory days). The more I think about this, the more I like the way the starting lineup is intended to fit together within a year or so.

I just wish the team had found one more piece of the ultimate rotation in Kanter's trade. I don't think they did.

Yeah, I think we're all there too Yucca. And thanks for saying what you had to say. And thank you to the rest of the team for helping express the multitude of opinions we have about this trade.