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The Utah Jazz's marathon run of working out prospects will continue today with the following players coming in to workout.
Six more prospects will be in town for pre-draft workouts tomorrow. #JazzDraft pic.twitter.com/mCV5L0FEK4
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 4, 2016
It appears fans and sports writers of larger markets are jealous of the work ethic of the Utah Jazz's front office evidenced by Frank Isola.
Meanwhile, the Knicks leader is in Omaha. It's a process. RT@utahjazz: Six more prospects will be in town for pre-draft workouts tomorrow.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 4, 2016
I must say Dennis Lindsey's draft preparation and work during and leading up to the draft day is one of the things I'm most impressed with when it comes to Dennis Lindsey. He not only targets guys he wants but starts to piece together the puzzle as to who other teams would desire. If this was Hunger Games, Dennis Lindsey would be the game maker. He doesn't want to be one of the tributes running in the arena. He wants to be the person pulling the strings so the desired outcome is in his favor despite when people try to muck it up. It's fascinating. It's why he's been able to create starters from players drafted in the 20s. It's why he has been able to guard the Utah Jazz's salary cap better than the Secret Service protects the President. Dennis Lindsey understands that a million dollars spent in draft preparation saves the team millions on players that could have been busts, underprepared to enter the NBA, or bad free agency moves.
In past years, he's looked mainly for young players, this year he's going in with a ton of cap space, an arsenal of young assets and draft picks. He's held his hand at the poker table and stayed firm. He know has a flush ready to go and he's about to go all in. This is going to be a draft night to remember.
Jordan Loveridge works out for Utah Jazz in 1st post-collegiate workout | KSL.com
West Jordan native and former University of Utah forward Jordan Loveridge got an opportunity to workout for his hometown NBA team Wednesday. Loveridge said the workout with the Utah Jazz was harder than expected, but felt he did well in showcasing his skills before NBA coaches and executives. "Everyone says that it’s tough, and it really is." Loveridge said. "It’s tough. These guys are at a whole different level, even from college. You get to work so hard and you’ve got to take your hat off to the guys that make it into the NBA." Jazz Vice President of Player Personnel Walt Perrin said he was surprised with how well Loveridge shot it in the workout, particularly when adjusting for the deeper 3-point line in the NBA. Perrin added, though, that Loveridge’s shot was "flat" and needed more lift to begin competing at a professional level.
Good for the Utah Jazz for assisting someone to live out their dream. He probably isn't going to make it very far as he's projected to go undrafted, but this is just another example of Dennis Lindsey expanding his draft pool to get data on as many athletes as possible and to network amongst all these player's different agents. We can't forget that the networking with agents is just as valuable for draft day and getting players to come in for workouts is just as important for draft day as it will be for going after that big free agent during the summer.
If you're a Utah Jazz fan you've seen this scenario before with Tyrone Corbin. The "We didn't fire the guy, we just didn't re-sign him."
Larry Bird: "Frank’s not getting fired, his contract is up and I just made the decision not to renew it."
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 5, 2016
The Utah Jazz will not bring back Tyrone Corbin as their Head Coach next season. He wasn't fired. His contract with the club had expired.
— Dwight Walton (@Bballinsider) April 21, 2014
See guys? He wasn't fired. He just wasn't re-hired!
This offseason is about giving the Jazz the needed umph to get them over the hump and into yearly competition not for the playoffs but for a championship. That was Dennis Lindsey's goal, a championship. Not some yearly participation trophy for almost making the playoffs. This year Jazz fans were frustrated that they missed the playoffs because this was the very first year of tangible expectations. Many Jazz fans spent the last of their patience overlooking that fact because the team was quagmired in injuries and bad luck. The front office unfortunately has spent the last of their good will and understanding with fans. They know they must act now and act fast to meet expectations of next year. Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune talks about that.
Utah Jazz: Tough, expensive decisions ahead for young Jazz | The Salt Lake Tribune
Rebuilding is a frustrating process, especially for a competitor like Hayward. So after clearing out his locker, Hayward was asked if the Jazz had shown enough progress to keep him around beyond next year. "I think going from 20 to 30 to 40 wins, we're trending in the right direction," he said. "I just want to win and be a part of a winning team. I think we're headed that way. I'll cross that bridge when I get there as far as the contract."
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey, meanwhile, is already studying the road map to that bridge and beyond. The GM wears myriad hats — he is part talent evaluator, part market analyst — and he's on the precipice of a bubble. Years of more hits than misses in the draft have helped the Jazz amass an enviable wealth of young talent, and the time is coming soon when they'll need to be paid.
The Jazz have five players under the age of 25 who will be out of contract either next summer or the summer after that and headed for sizable raises: Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood and Danté Exum — the team's projected starting lineup for next season. Point guard Trey Burke, who was relegated to the end of the bench late in the season, has one more year on his rookie contract, too. And these new deals will be negotiated as general managers around the league try to navigate a deluge of new revenue to the NBA that will dramatically increase the league's salary cap and, in turn, players' salaries.
A new nine-year broadcasting agreement will bring in a reported $24 billion for the league. The influx will mean an increase in the cap from about $70 million this season to a reported $92 million next season and $110 million in 2017-18. That's in time for the summer Hayward will be able to opt out of his deal. The forward — who signed a max deal with Charlotte worth about $16 million a year in the summer of 2014 only to have the Jazz match — would be an unrestricted free agent who could qualify for a max deal worth 30 percent of the cap, about $33 million a year.
Charles Barkley is at it again. This time telling the Hawks they need to toughen up. Charles Oakley didn't take too kind to it as is reported by Ball Don't Lie.
'Stop talking s***': Oakley rips Barkley after Cavs-Hawks Game 2 | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo Sports
"I've got to vent," Barkley said to host Ernie Johnson. "The Atlanta Hawks got to take somebody out, Ernie." "Touch 'em up or take 'em out?" Johnson asked. "Take 'em out," Barkley answered. "Come on, man, you can't say that on national TV," Shaquille O'Neal added. "You can't hurt nobody, Chuck." "Ernie, when a team is just embarrassing you, shooting 3s when the game is way over, just trying to set a record, you have to knock the hell out of them, Ernie," Barkley replied. "Not for this game, but to set the tone for the next game. [...] I'm just saying, if you keep shooting 3s, I've got to take you down one time really hard." After attempting to thread a pretty difficult needle by insisting that he never wants to see anyone get hurt but also that the Hawks absolutely needed to waylay a Cavalier to send a message, Barkley emphasized the importance of Atlanta making sure Cleveland understood that "disrespectful" behavior like gunning for the all-time 3-point record simply wouldn't be tolerated. Evidently, Barkley was not the only one interested in message-sending on Wednesday evening.
Charles Barkley ,you better stop talking s*** about Cleveland you was never tough you hide behind TNT
— Charles Oakley (@CharlesOakley34) May 5, 2016Well, hello there, Charles Oakley! I didn't notice you there, lurking in the back of every NBA-related person's mind, in amongst the nightmares and things with which you do not mess, even one tiny little bit, even for one second. Nice to see you again!