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The Downbeat #1397 - The Steve Novak Trade, young guards, and who will be rookie of the year

By AllThatAmar
Kevin C. Cox

The Utah Jazz made a trade on a holiday, such an amazing stealth move. The other team they traded with isn't even in the country. Talk about maintaining a low key profile. The deal sends over Diante Garrett (who will be waived) for Steve Novak and a future 2nd rounder. I'm not crazy about this trade because it really limits our options for third string point guard to John Lucas III . But I'm focusing on the wrong thing if I'm worried about the third string point guard. Sure, Garrett is hosed, and the Jazz are too if we are relying on John Lucas III. But late last night I actually tried to chart out how much burn is available at point guard. (It is like an LSAT Logic game) In a perfect world the Jazz know how to scout and know how to draft. And Trey Burke and Dante Exum should be fine, and not need a third year player to clean up the mess of the second year and rookie year guys.

So, yeah, Garrett does get hosed, but he probably was not slotted for a lot of minutes this year anyway.

The Jazz did need a spot up shooter, and a floor spacer, and that's all that Novak does. Him being a goofy looking white guy, instead of a black guy with a cool haircut is a step down in some swag meter, but that doesn't really matter when determining wins or losses. This is the NBA in 2014, not some 80s comedy movie.

If we reduce the trade to spending $7 (over two years) for a second rounder then we also come out looking silly. And I am interested in this pick, but really only if it is a 2017 second rounder. I hope that is what it turns out to be. The Toronto Raptors are already sending away their 2016 second rounder (to either the Memphis Grizzlies or Utah Jazz). And the 2015 second rounder doesn't really excite me as they project to be a playoff team.

Anyway, more on this trade can be found here (Diana's news breaker), here (my analysis, including money and stats), and here (what the Raptors SB Nation blog had to say).

The old adage is that the team that gets the best player won the trade. In this regard, it's clear that the Jazz won. Here's what Steve had to say about it all:

Hard to hate on a guy who communicates via memes.

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In other big news, Steve Kerr has added Jarron Collins to his coaching staff. You remember Jarron right? The dude who moved like a tree? Well, we remember him for more than just that -- but anyone who has every heard him talk knows just how smart he is (not just the Stanford education), and how well he understands the game. He killed it that ONE time he was on ROOT sports' broadcast. Instead of hearing about fry sauce and dumb nicknames we heard about the game and what was actually happening on the court. (If anyone has video of his performance, put it in the comments section please) I have no doubt that he'll be a successful teacher to young players.

It really shows you the value of the people you have around you when you see some of them get coaching jobs and others do not.

Kerr's full staff seems to be Alvin Gentry, Ron Adams, Luke Walton, with Jarron and Bruce Fraser as player development coaches. He had this to add:

"We've assembled a terrific coaching and player development staff that will feature a solid mix of experience and youth," said Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. "Alvin and Ron are two highly-respected coaches who provide a wealth of NBA bench experience, which is extremely important to me as I enter my initial season. Luke and Jarron completed productive NBA careers in recent years that were highlighted by an abundance of winning, while Bruce has garnered well-rounded experience and expertise at both the NBA and collegiate levels. I'm really excited about the intangibles these gentlemen will bring to our team and I know they will serve as tremendous assets to me and our players."

This is the NBA's profile on Jarron, fun to read:

Collins, 35, played 10 seasons in the NBA (five playoff appearances), posting career averages of 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 542 regular-season games with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers. Selected out of Stanford by the Jazz with the 53rd overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Collins spent the first eight seasons of his career in Utah before joining the Suns in 2009-10 during Kerr's final season as the team's GM. After finishing his playing career in 2010-11, the Northridge, CA, native has worked the last two seasons as a personnel scout for the Clippers, and has also worked as a television analyst for several outlets, including Pac-12 Networks, ESPNU and the Los Angeles Sparks.

Anyway, where else do we go from here? Probably a video Moni uploaded about Jazz players talking about twitter.


Never change, Jerry Sloan. Never change.

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According to Oren Levi, of Sheridan Hoops, the 2015 Rookie of the Year is going to be . . . Bruno Caboclo? No, they didn't say that. But they did break down the entire draft class into different sections, from Anthony Bennett award winners, to guys getting Michael Beasley 'd. It's a fun read, even if all you care about is just the ROY rankings.

As for who he thinks will actually win the award . . .

While this award typically would go to the rookie who played most minutes or had the highest PPG, I don't find too much fault in that. There is a lot that goes into staying on the court and producing, even on a bad team, I don't see it as a negative as much as simply deferring to the coaches on this. If a coach must have you on the floor, you are valuable. Case in point: Damian Lillard led the league in minutes as a rookie. The team's record is also not a concern for me - the bad teams pick the better players, and you shouldn't burden them with saving their franchise in their first season.

Yeah, you're going to actually read the post to find out who he picks though : )

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Y'all better enjoy rants to be on this website. Or on SB Nation, wait, or on the INTERNET in general. You may not know Rohan, but he's a rocket scientist. He's also been the managing editor for the NBA basketball teams in New Orleans for many, many years. He's not a journalist. Again, he's a freaking Rocket Scientist. But this is his hobby and he puts in hours and hours of his free time to provide content for basketball fans. (I kinda know what that's like)

A long time beat writer took a swing at the work of these unwashed, amateurs on blogs. Thankfully the relationship SLC Dunk has with the actual reporters who write about the Jazz (as opposed to those who cash LHM Group of Companies checks and work in the PR / Broadcasting department) isn't as contentious. Rohan swung back. And it's an epic rant.

The game is unfortunately changing. There's more access to an audience now, so you better come with your facts straight. Otherwise, well, the audience will go to where people feel reliable information comes from. Or, funk that, where they can go to be entertained.

Personally, my dog in the fight is the consumer. There is a heck-uv-ah lot of difference between someone doing a hobby and someone who was trained to do a specific job. But the game has changed. I could watch some dumb show on TV, or watch youtube videos. Sometimes the youtube vids made by kids in their backyard are more fun to watch. Sure, they didn't go to acting school, or get a contract from CBS or whatever. But that kid just jumped off his roof and fell onto a lawnmower, and now his dog is humping his prone body.

This is the same for reading material. You can read a great article by a pro, or click on a link that's a multimedia presentation of the same information. The internet is a different and dynamic medium. And that's why newspaper sales are down, people are blogging, and everyone has a voice.

And read / listen / watch / follow what makes you happy. For a lot of us (myself at the forefront) that still means reading beat writers hard, underpaid, work.

But please, please, please don't fight against the internet. Work with it to provide the best possible content to the customer. That's what we're all striving to do, I hope.

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Marvin Williams is apparently in talks with the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, and Phoenix Suns. Depending on what state he lands in the police may have to confiscate him because he is blowing up.

Yes, I made a fire works joke.

It's the day after July 4th, which is a pretty big deal here in America.

Did you set any fireworks off? What did you do last night? We know the Jazz franchise was hard at work yesterday. Crazy what a young, active front office is capable of!

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