The Downbeat: Rudy Gobert > Gordon Hayward

It’s mid-September. The dog days of the NBA off-season. But in the NBA, there is always something to talk about. There is plenty happening around the league and the Utah Jazz everyday. That being said, Here is today’s downbeat:

As if you needed any other validation from accredited sources regarding Rudy Gobert’s top-tier ability, here is another one.

Sports Illustrated continued their annual Top 100 Players rank, with positions 30-11. Coming in at number 15, was Utah Jazz captain and leader Rudy Gobert. It’s extremely notable that Gobert came one spot ahead of former Jazzman, current super villain Gordon Hayward.

While the basketball intelligentsia now unanimously views Gobert (14 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 2.6 BPG) as one of the league’s elite defensive players, numerous statistical measures consider him one of the league’s elite players, period.

Gobert being a top fifteen player in the NBA is an incredible accomplishment, and no one should really feel like Rudy is underrated anymore. (Unless, of course, he is snubbed from the All-Star team again, which will most likely happen)

More importantly, Gobert’s proven ability to lead an elite defense, regardless of how many of his teammates might be injured at any given moment, makes him the best reason to believe in Utah’s post-Hayward chances. The Jazz might have lost their top scorer this summer, but they retained their most indispensable all-around player.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Australian free agent Andrew Bogut has narrowed his landing spot down to four teams, all with Aussy connections. The Jazz were mentioned in this group with their strong Australian ties in Dante Exum and Joe Ingles.

The Daily Telegraph understands Boston, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Utah have all expressed interest in Bogut.

All four franchises have Australian links through Aron Baynes (Celtics), Patty Mills (Spurs), Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova (Bucks) and Joe Ingles and Dante Exum (Jazz).

Bogut would provide some veteran presence for a relatively young Utah Jazz front court, as well as make them even more international than they already are.

The Jazz announced the hiring

of David Morway and Justin Zanik as assistant general managers. Both Morway and Zanik have strong backgrounds in sports management, and Zanik is returning to the Jazz after being in their front office from 2013-2016.

Morway, who spent the 2016-17 campaign as a basketball operations consultant with the Jazz, previously served as the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to his time in Milwaukee, Morway spent 14 years with the Indiana Pacers, his last four, as the organization’s general manager. Preceding his time in the NBA he was the assistant to the president of the San Diego Padres for three years before founding Professional Excellence Sports, Inc. a sports management firm. A graduate of the University of Arizona, he also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego.

Zanik returns to the Jazz after spending the 2016-17 season as the assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Previously he was the assistant general manager of the Jazz from 2013-16, facilitating contract negotiations and managing the team’s salary cap as well as its international scouting efforts. He came to the Jazz from ASM Sports, serving as the agency’s vice president from 2004-2013. At ASM Sports he oversaw all aspects of career management for the group’s basketball clients. A certified agent for the NBAPA since 2003, Zanik graduated with a degree in economics from Northwestern University.

It’s been a long time since a Utah Jazz rookie has received as much media and attention as Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell’s latest stint in the national spotlight came yesterday when he was followed around Salt Lake City by an NBATV crew, complete with interviews and a tour of his new place in SLC.

In the latest leak of new NBA “Statement” jerseys, NBA2k showed renditions of what the new uniforms may look like. Confirming the latest preview of the jersey, it features the gold with the large note and number right smack dab in the middle of the jersey. The new uni received a heavy amount of negative feedback, along with several other teams’ new threads.