| 22 June 2011
As there just wasn't room in the Draft Q&A Extravaganza, and also the fact that this dude deserves his own stage anyway, I give you the same queries as answered by The Scout.
Some say his extremities are made of an exotic maple hardwood. Others say he turned down a chance to share a scent with Kris Humphries. All we know is, he's called The Scout.
1. TUJB: There are two or three very different drafts that could happen for
the Jazz depending on who/what type of player they take with the 3
pick. Which likely scenario do you see helping the team the most?
TS: Jan Vesely and Bismack Biyombo would provide the most instant impact. 
Both guys could bring 16 minutes of defensive intensity and
athleticism in their first season that could make the sleepy Jazz
defenders (Al Jefferson, Devin Harris, sometimes Derrick Favors) wake
up and try to defend as hard as these guys are.
While that group also has a potentially excellent long term future, I
think the best long term group would be Jonas Valanciunas and Alec
Burks. Valanciunas' combination of size, touch, rebounding,
intangibles, and fundamentals could make him a top ten, maybe top five
center in the NBA in a few years. While Burks is heavily flawed
prospect right, he can get to the rim exceptionally well and I feel
that his handle and athleticism give him the chance to be a starting
SG in the NBA
2. TUJB: Two of the most mentioned mock drafts include scenarios
Knight/Singleton or Kanter/Fredette. What kind of risk/reward do you
see for each of these scenarios?
TS: Both scenarios are very risky. Knight could turn into a nice Jason
Terry type player, but I'm not sure about his point guard skills. He
very rarely beat players off the dribble in college and it's hard to
make plays when you don't do that. It seems like Knight's lack of
point guard skills combined with the expectation of being a point
guard could cause him to have an extremely disappointing first and
second season (Similar to Jonny Flynn) and could lead him being traded
from the team for fairly little. Singleton could become a solid
rotation wing who plays good defense, hits some threes, and can postup
smaller players or he could fail out of the league because he's very
offensively challenged.
However, the second scenario is even more risky as Kanter has barely
played in the last two years and no one knows what he's going to be.
His size is actually below average for center as well so you're
gambling on him growing another inch (Possible, as he grew 3/4 of an
inch over the last year) to be able to play the position well to go
along with all the question marks about his entire game. Jimmer could
also become a Jason Terry type, but his defense and playstyle could
get him buried on the bench, never to escape.
Both groups have a very, very low floor, the second group has a higher
ceiling, but the first group seems to have a better chance of reaching
their potential since they'll be able to play a little right away with
at least their commitment to defense which the second group has not
shown.
3. TUJB: Some have said that what was once a two-man draft is now a four-man
draft, with some chatter that Derrick Williams may be available at the
3 spot. Why should the Jazz take or not take him?
TS: I don't think Derrick Williams is a good fit for the Jazz (I think
he's a Paul Millsap type player who will probably be worse than
Millsap), but they should definitely pick him at #3. He would have
much higher trade value than any other player they could select and
could allow them to get another good young player who does fit needs.
4. TUJB: It was reported that the Jazz may trade down. Even in this shallow
draft do you give up a rare pick as high as the 3?
TS: I would not trade down as I think this is a three player draft
(Irving, Williams, Valanciunas) and moving down to say 5 or 6 would
eliminate the chances of getting Valanciunas, but if the Jazz think
there's little difference between Valanciunas, Knight, Vesely, and
Kanter (Like many do) and can move down to 5 or 6 while picking up an
assest, they should do it.
5. TUJB: Outside of the oft-mentioned Chris Singleton, Jimmer Fredette, Alec
Burks, Bismack Biyombo, and Tristan Thompson who else is on your radar
at the 12 pick?
Donatas Motiejunas is another name to keep an eye on. Both
DraftExpress and ESPN have said that the Jazz are interested in him.
His stock seems to have dropped recently after a really terrible
workout in Eurocamp, but he's still a possibility at 12. Very talented
lowpost scoring PF/C. He hates defense and rebounding, but I think the
work ethic concerns have been mostly overblown as he's really improved
his body this year. His offense may not be good enough to keep him in
the league as he's still pretty unpolished and makes bad decisions,
and there's no other aspect of basket that could, but he has to chance
to develop into a quality scoring big man off the bench thanks to his
size, athleticism, and post moves.
Jordan Hamilton is another possibility. He's a SF who can shoot (Major
need for the Jazz if they want to play Hayward at SG) and he played in
the Flex last season at Texas.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
