Should I stay or should I go?

Gordon Hayward... the name sparks debate among Utah Jazz fans. There are many questions that we have. Was he a good draft pick when Paul George was still available? Can he be a leader of the Utah Jazz young core?  Will he eventually reach his potential? Is he worth a max contract? Is he worth the 15 Million that other teams will pay him? Allow me to present the pros and cons of these questions.

Pro:  The Table below shows the top four NBA teams with cap space, however Miami should be eliminated. This money is generally locked up with One superstar, and than spread out to the role players ,but Miami has three superstars expecting superstar contracts. Lebron James  has asked for a max contract and it should be expected that Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will follow him. When I calculate what it could cost Pat Riley,(General manager) the total comes to 50 million dollars. Due to this calculation Miami should be eliminated. This would put the Jazz number three on this list. The Utah Jazz front office, have cap space to pay Gordon Hayward. They can afford to over pay him a little. This overpayment should come with an caveat. If Gordon does not perform up to the level of his salary, than he can be amnestied ( cut from the team ) at any time.
 

Pro:The 2013/2014 Season was hard for everyone on the Utah Jazz, Gordon was no exception. He was a product of not fitting in the right system and a lack of decent coaching. I agree with most fans that say he is a leader, but he should not be your first option to score. He was made that option, and knowing that the Jazz lacked another real offensive weapon other NBA teams honed in on him.  Under this immense pressure, he fell apart. At least that's what fans and critics said. When you look at the table below and you see that his season points, rebounds, and shot percentage within the arc rose from the previous year. (Basketballreferance.com) Look at per game stats as well and you will see the same statistics mentioned above also rose significantly. We are focusing on the most glaring statistic, his three point shooting. I am not sure what we as fans were expecting, but Hayward did show improvement. Look at the highlighted section of each table and he showed improvement. If a player is continuing to improve, why would you not spend a little to get a lot back? 

 

Pro: Of the top 50 free agents on the NBA board, according to D.J. Foster, writer for Bleacherreport.com, "Hayward is rated number nine.  Jody Genessy Utah Jazz writer says, "It is safe to assume that Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward.... Will be one of the first ones that Brad Stevens contacts."  According to a Celtics blog and Dennis Lindsay, "Hayward will be great under the right coach." There is more than one coach that thinks highly of Gordon. Jeff Hornacek said He has superstar potential, as an assistant coach he was able to see the ceiling of Hayward. Other players see the potential. Kobe Bryant said, "I think he's going to have a very bright future in this league. He reminds me of a more talented Jeff Hornacek." With this much potential the price may be worth it. These pros are simple. Do these three pros outweigh the cons?

 Cons: There is a large problem to Signing Hayward. There are other Small forwards available that may be a better scoring option. Hayward did improve, and if he was the only good small forward available, than offering him more may be better, but there are other free agents available, that I believe, would consider coming to Utah.

Evan Turner, Trevor Ariza, and Chandler Parsons are just some of the Small forwards that could  be paid less, and be more productive for the Jazz. According to USA today,there are at least 15 top 10 small forwards Available. Look

at the link below and you will see that there are plenty of small forwards that could help the Jazz and save them about five million in cap room.

http://hoopshype.com/free_agency/small_forwards_2014.htm

 Utah fans must take the emotion out of the decision. I like Gordon Hayward too, but looking at the pros and cons is it beneficial for him to stay? I will not make up your mind. You can decide for yourself.

What do we do now?

Its been at least 6 Months since my last post. This was for good reason. I wanted to wait and see how the season played out. I was going to write every month, but the season was moving so fast that this became impossible. lets catch up with what happened and than look at the future of the Utah Jazz. 

Recently, the Utah Jazz hired Quin Snyder as Head coach. a phrase that I hear often is, " I do not know anything about him." To help you, the reader, get to know him here are some simple facts about him. 

This is a guy who's had success in the college ranks, leading Missouri to an Elite Eight appearance in 2002.

• He also has ties to the Lakers and Spurs, 
• He worked for six seasons as an assistant at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.
• He was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2013-2014 Season

These are just some of the credentials of our new coach. According to multiple reports, Snyder is a player

development coach. He takes time with each player to keep good habits, and change bad ones. 

Snyder is a great fit for this reason. Corbin did nothing for player development. In fact, he hindered it. Our core five only played a total of 48 minutes together. If this is the future of the Jazz, wouldn't you want the players to develop. Quin is different because he knows how to get the best out of his players. 

The second reason Snyder is a great fit is defined in one word, Accountability. During his introduction press conference, Quin spoke extensively of this. " Us holding each other accountable, players and coaches. This is the clay that holds a team together." 

The final reason that Snyder is a great fit comes down to defense. During the introduction interview Quinn spoke briefly about this " We would like to have a defensive identity, that's an area where we would like to take a stand. It involves habits, it involves energy, effort, and focus." 

This is just our young team needs. I wish Corbin the best, however he was not a great fit for this team. 

With a captain now in place it comes time to decide the future. Where are we currently going? The Utah Jazz have the number five pick in the upcoming draft. Due to some luck, and some serious hullabaloo going on Cleveland won, again, the number one pick. There are three options the Jazz can do. 

First they can trade up, second trade out, and third stay put. 

The best option of these would be to trade up. Here is the reason for this, Gordon is a shooting guard, he can play the small forward, but he is better as a shooting guard. We need a small forward. Bring on Jabari Parker. The Jazz have cap room, and have the assets to make a trade that would allow them to benefit from this pick. The Jazz are young, and are not expected to make the playoffs next year, so why not allow one more young guy to learn and grow, and gel with this team. 

Jabari could be the best superstar since Deron Williams. The question could be, would Utah be able to keep him once free agency rolls around. The answer is a resounding yes. He fits in with the main culture of Utah, and Utah would have the cap room to keep him, when the time comes. As a player he fits with the Jazz, he is our go to option. with Trey, Alec, and Jabari, Utah would have instant offense. This means that the pressure would be taken off Favors and Kanter to produce. We can let our bigs do what they do best, pound offenses into submission

With the off season starting off strong I am certainly excited to be a Utah Jazz Fan. Lets go Jazz

We are Utah Jazz fans

We are Utah Jazz

                While growing up I heard the line repeatedly “the numbers don’t lie.”  I have never had a reason to disbelieve that statement until today.  When you look at the Utah Jazz 2013/14 Season record it simply does not reflect their style of play. Doc Rivers, coach of the Los-Angeles Clippers said “their record does reflect how hard they play, and how much you have to prepare for them.”  As I look at the Statistic over the next three months, you will learn how good the Jazz are going to be.

I know I just said I may have changed my mind when it comes to the numbers, but I speak only of the wins and losses categories being deceiving. At the end of February, March, and April I will analyze within this blog statistics that show the major improvements of our young core, however I will first analyze the October, November and December so you will understand the beginning from the end.

When October came and the season began, we were not surprised at the level of experience, however when future all-star Trey Burke was injured it made the season expectations go from bad to worse. This meant that the organization would have to rely on John Lucas and Jamaal Tinsley. The proved to be a bad combination. Both point guards would average a combined eight points per game in October and November.

Jump to November, when things went from bad to worse. Gordon Hayward was shooting 38% from the field and 28 % from behind the three point line (NBA.com). This meant that jazz had lost their largest offensive weapon. Imagine that your military lost all fire power. Where would you be? In the same place the jazz were. The team would continue its slide losing fourteen games and winning three. This included a terrible stretch when they recorded 0 wins in their first seven games. The stats did not lie, the jazz shot a measly 71 percent from the free throw line (nba.com), 42 percent from the field, and 32 percent from the three point line.

Quicker than a light turning on, the season suddenly turned around for the Utah Jazz. Trey Burke joined the lineup, Jamal Tinsley was released of his contract, and John Lucas was made the third rotating point guard. Trey Burke saved the burning ship from completely being destroyed. The Jazz started winning games simply because he knew how to dictate the offense. Marvin Williams would join the jazz after being injured, and suddenly they were respectable. They would finish the month of December with seven wins and nine losses. Their field goal percentage had jumped up to 43% and their dismal three point shooting sky rocketed to 39.1%. The jazz offense was now clicking and players like Hayward, Favors, Kanter, and Alec Burks were contributing.

So why do I write this long introduction? I believe in order to know where you’re going you must know where you have been. Over the next three months I will discuss statistics, opinions, and predictions.

I will break down players, key games, and great moments. Follow this and you will realize the jazz are a championship team in the making. Lets go Jazz!