Utah Jazz, The Future

Now off into the future. The never ending rebuilding mode we had entered into a couple years ago of course continues, but hopefully we will some beak through in some of our great and upcoming youngsters. It is always a question of how will players play on the court by themselves. Seeing stats on how will they be a game changer. That is one thing that the jazz will need to find. After Alec Burks behind the back cross over against Kobe, it makes you start to wonder could he finally get to the potential level we know he had when the Jazz originally drafted him.

In many cases though a single player can't do everything by himself. Take a look at Carmelo Anthony. Great player, but no championships. He has held scoring titles several times and even had other All Stars on his team, but never was able to win a championship. The chemistry of the team was never high enough to bring them to a championship.

You then flip the scale and look at the San Antonio Spurs. Yes, they have great coaching and yes, they also have a couple Hall of Famers. Although, would they be Hall of Famers if it were not for how their chemistry is? Highly doubt it. Manu and Parker thrive off of the way that the team works together. Even players like Boris Diaw can reimagine themselves on that team through how the players mesh together.

So now the question is how will this team play together? Will rookie Coach Quinn make the changes necessary and training to bring this team to the playoffs and eventually a championship? Well in order to know if the team can play together, lets meet the team that will be starting.

Point Guard: Trey Burke (6'1" Michigan); In his second year he is planning to come in with a storm once again. Last year he missed the first 16 games with an injured finger and came back helping the jazz to go on one of the best win streaks of their season. He averaged 12.8 points per game and 5.7 assists. Hopefully he can develop into a double double machine and get the ball spread a lot.

Shooting Guard: Alec Burks (6'6" Colorado); Burks got drafted in 2011 and has seen little playing time as a starter. He has always lived in the shadow and never reached the true potential many thought for him. This year is his year though to try and shine. He at least doesn't have the whole world on his shoulders, but enough responsibility to help nudge him forward to take the next step. He averaged 14 point per game last year.

Small Forward: Gordon Hayward (6'8" Butler); Mr.New Contract needs a good year. Well, he already has the contract so I think in better terms it's that WE need an AMAZING year from him hopefully. He has done great at scoring and playing defense, but I have always referred to him as a second rate Paul George. Don't get me wrong I love him as a player, but can he be a focal point of an offense and bring us to our first championship? We will see.

One thing that the kid has is work ethic. You could see it at Butler during the Brad Stevens days and their amazing runs. He definitely works harder than anyone else. I am happy that the Jazz decided to go big and resign a player. After letting so many others go, lets hope that finally we can keep a player AND see them become the All Star we know they should be. Hayward averaged 16.2 Points per game.

Power Forward: Derrick Favors (6'10" Georgia Tech); We need a big year from this big man. We got rid of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap with such a belief that this guy would grow into something big. It's time to shine now buddy. I definitely believe that there is a Defensive Player of the Year in this kids future. He has played solid basketball and I believe he has the biggest upside of all of the players on the Jazz (that I see right now, Exum could have a huge ceiling also), but it is during these next 2 years it will define his career. If he can't make it now, he won't make it at all. He averaged 13.3 points per game, 1.5 blocks and 8.7 rebounds last year.

Center: Enes Kanter (6'11" Switzerland); The Jazz wouldn't be the Jazz without a large awkard foreign guy. The front court is where it gets a little bit more difficult to judge. Both Kanter and Favors are centers and so how they play together is a little bit different to judge. If they play together we will see. Kanter is going to have to work hard this year to keep his job, especially since it his contract year. He was very hyped coming out of the draft, but also didn't get the playing time he deserved for a while. No excuses this year. He averaged 12.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds.

After a year of waiting and hoping to see Jazzbari Parker playing in a Jazz uniform after so many losses, didn't come to fruition. I honestly wasn't sure that the Jazz would end up drafting him if he was open (which would've been retarded), but just cause think of the hassle they would get from the stadium if they ever benched him. Or if they decided to sit him his first year? I believe that is why they have avoided the whole Jimmer Fredette scene. That could very possible turn out really ugly.

In the previous offseason the Jazz did loss some key players, which the player Al Jefferson stood out the most of all of those. He left to a more lucrative contract in Charolotte and ended up having a phenomenal season there. Not only did we lose the man with the beautiful mid-range J, but we also lost a homegrown Paul Millsap. The second round pick, that blossomed into a great player left for the Atlanta Hawks. He ALSO had a great season and ended up going to the All Star game.

What's up with Jazz developing players, just to have them leave and turn rapidly into amazing players. Look at Wesley Matthews. Remember when he was drafted to the Jazz. He was great, but we didn't want to pay him. Now he is great in Portland and helped to bring them farther into the playoffs.

The Jazz at times had stint of hope and that they may have a future. The roster was an interesting mix of very young players with Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. Along side veterans like Richard Jefferson, Marvin Williams, and Jamaal Tinsley. Sometimes it would mesh, but the several games I went to you would see a lack of defense and terrible three point shots thrown up by Jefferson. You wanted to pull your hair out. In the first 15 games they only won 1 game. In that time their new star rookie they traded up to get, Trey Burke, was injured. Finally after Trey Burke came back he looked good helping the jazz to finally start winning. Many people, me included, thought we had a case of the Rookie of the Year on our hands. Too bad that the 76ers had an aweful team that featured a rookie and he got so many touches and handled just about everything about the offense and won the ROY award.

Tyrone Corbin had a rough year. Coaching the team to be in the bottom half of the league in every stat except for turnovers per game. Not that great. The team ended up with a 25-57 record and was the 4th worst team in the league, as far as records go.

In the offseason, the Jazz ended up falling one spot in the draft lottery. Which was a disappointment in such a loaded draft. All of the sports analyst said that you wanted to be in the top 4. That's where the top players in talent are. After is where it drops. Wiggins, Parker, Exum, Embiid. Those were the guys, or at least up until Embiid started having back problems. Then the whole draft was thrown off. Magically for us Dante Exum, the unknown 19 year old from Australia, dropped to the fifth pick and we were able to snatch him up. Later on in the draft we were able to pick up Rodney Hood, a shooter from the Coach K clan.

Then of course comes free agency, which is never nice for the Jazz. We almost lost out on Gordon Hayward to Charlotte after they offered him a max contract, but since he was a restricted free agent, then we could match it. After some deliberation, they made the sketchy move and did it. A lot of people find it very questionable, but I actually don't mind it. What if we finally decided to keep a guy that then turns into an All Star? We always let them go and then they fully blossom. That could be because of how we train them and the coaching, but luckily one of our off season moves was to grab a new coach. Quinn Snyder, also from the Coach K clan. He was an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks and is a first time head coach.

This year we got rid of a lot of the experience and this is a rookies team with a rookie coach. It will be interesting to see how they do in this years season. We can just hope and pray for some miracles and that whatever the Phoenix Suns were on last year, we can take a hit of.