The NBA season is officially over. A champion has been crowned and now we shift our focus to the upcoming NBA Entry draft. For those teams who missed out on the playoffs, this year's draft marks hope and optimism as he talent pool here is deemed to be considerably better than it has been in the past few years; mind you it seems like the draft pundits say this same thing every single season.
Nonetheless, the teams who are holding lottery bound picks must be looking at ways to complement their rosters, be it by using the upcoming selection or via a trade on draft day. Not every team with lottery selections are able to address their needs via the draft as there is only so much talent available at each position and since these rookie deals are guaranteed, the new incoming salary amounts must be accounted for within the team's salary cap.
As the NBA Draft approaches eDraft.com will look at each of the lottery teams and identify their needs heading into the draft as well as who might be available to fill hose teams needs. Our draft coverage won't stop there though as post-draft we will have analysis of the picks as well as report cards for each of the teams as to how they fared.
The Utah Jazz currently hold the twelfth overall pick in the draft by virtue of their 38-44 record from last season. There is no question that this is a team on the rise and like many decent teams in the Western Conference, they just aren’t yet good enough to crack into that top eight. Utah has long been seen as one of the less-desirable places to play in and as a result they do have a hard time luring potential free-agents. The upside to the franchise is that the ownership group, being the Larry H. Miller Group, is a well run, professionally assembled group of people who have been making sound business decisions for years. The team is set up well for the future as it has Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors under long term deals and it has Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum playing out their rookie contracts. There is a ton of salary cap space here for the Jazz to try and lure free-agents with; it remains to be seen just who out there will take the money, but inevitably someone will.
Key Pieces to Build Around:
The Jazz have constructed a nice assembly of talent and they do have some very good building blocks in place here. Starting at center they have Rudy Gobert who would arguably be a top three selection on a 2013 NBA draft redo. He had a tremendous breakout last season after the Jazz shipped Enes Kanter out of town. Gobert is a fantastic piece for this franchise and as he grows and gets more comfortable he could be a dominant force in the middle.
Complementing Gobert on the inside is Derrick Favors who is a young and gifted power forward. Favors plays well on the perimeter and can be a beast inside against weaker teams. Between Favors and Gobert this duo up front is as formidable as they come in the Association. The cornerstone of the franchise is Gordon Hayward who signed a max-deal to stay in Utah. Hayward is the versatile swing forward that all teams covet. He is athletic and versatile and can cause matchup mishaps for opposing defenses. This ‘big three’ in Utah is very good and once they get some experience behind them they will be a force to contend with in the West.
State of the Union - Utah Jazz
As mentioned the Jazz are in great shape financially as they are well below the salary cap floor entering next season. As it stands right now they have just over $45 million on the books; however, not included in that is about $8 million in team options on a handful of players; including Trevor Booker who they will retain at $4.75 million. This upcoming season does mark the start of Alec Burks hefty pay raise to $9 million-plus salary and with that raise come some lofty expectations for the young man. Burks recovered from surgery last season to play in 27 games where he started each one; however, his production didn’t take that step forward like many within the organization had to have been hoping for.
Given the current makeup of this team it stands to reason that the team is looking for the Australian basketball product and last year’s fifth overall pick Dante Exum to step up and be the team’s point guard. This would allow Burks to be the hybrid point/shooting guard and play more like a Monta Ellis-type player who is less concerned about playmaking and more about scoring. If Exum can become that player that allows that flexibility then the jazz have a great trade chip in Trey Burke who is uber-affordable and comes with a team option in 2016-17 at only $3.3 million. Burke could easily net the Jazz a good prospect in return and potentially a draft pick as well.
Draft Needs:
The Utah Jazz will undoubtedly be looking to draft the best athlete here with the twelve overall pick. Unlike the top lottery teams the Jazz don't have any glaring needs in terms of starters as their rotation is pretty solid. Where the Jazz are lacking somewhat is bench strength in terms of frontcourt players. As good as Gobert, Favors and Hayward are, they can't play 48 minutes a night and this is where the biggest drop off in terms of talent lies.
Should the Jazz try to address their frontcourt depth then they would be well served to look at Bobby Portis from Arkansas or Kevin Looney from UCLA here. Both these guys are stretch fours who measure very long for their height. Looney has a 7'3" wingspan that certainly helps inside; however, his game is better suited to the perimeter. Looney proved he could knock down the college three ball and be a fairly consistent jump shooter; however, teams couldn't match his length which served as a huge advantage and Looney was a dismal free-throw shooter for UCLA.
Portis from Arkansas is an equally long player who can shoot just as efficiently from the field and he shoots better from the charity stripe. Portis has an unorthodox shooting motion, but he makes it work with a high, yet awkward, release. Portis doesn't have huge potential as a draft pick; however, he does have an NBA ready body and game. He has areas to work on, but he is so much more versatile offensively than Looney and that is what the Jazz need. As important as rebounding is, with Favors and Gobert cleaning the glass, there won't be much left over anyways. So long as Portis can improve on his defensive positioning he will be a solid player off the bench and the Jazz would be well served to reach a bit here for him at the twelve spot.