HOOPSAHOLIC

The Utah Jazz could be in some trouble as they approach the start of the 2014 NBA season. Why, you may ask? Well, seeing that the most interesting news about the Jazz this offseason were the naked photos that leaked of Trey Burke, probably doesn’t give the most hope for the team moving forward. The Jazz have been in “long-term rebuilding mode” for quite sometime now. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap both came and went, and now the team will be lucky to keep their head above water this season. 

The Jazz will look (and hope) for Gordon Hayward to lead this young team into some type of relevancy. The Jazz matched the four-year max contract offer that the Charlotte Hornets offered him in the offseason, so now they officially have a ton invested in the wingman from Butler. Hayward is an above average NBA player, but how many legitimate teams would actually pay this dude max money? Seems like more of a desperation move than anything. Last season Hayward averaged 16 points with five assists and five rebounds. He will be one of the few scoring options this team will have, so don’t be surprised to see those numbers will improve this season. 

Derrick Favors is another player the Jazz are hoping can help lead this young team. Last season he averaged 13 points to go along with eight rebounds. Those stats aren’t terrible, but going into last season the Jazz was hoping he would emerge as one of the better post players in the league after Jefferson and Millsap bounced out of town. If Favors and big-man Enes Kanter can get in a rhythm and team up to dominate the post, the Jazz will be able to rebound with anyone. Kanter had a lot of promise after sitting out at Kentucky for a year and declaring for the draft, he’s just yet to show all of that promise. Going into last season I thought this post duo would be one to reckon with but I was clearly wrong. There’s still hope though because both players are still very young and still have plenty of potential.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Jazz decide to do with their point-guard position this season. They drafted Trey Burke in the lottery two years ago, and then drafted Australian phenom Dante Exum in this year’s lottery. I’m still skeptical about Burke’s pro potential because of his size. He can shoot with the best of them, but last season he only averaged 12 points and five assists. Those stats aren’t bad for a rookie, but he had plenty of opportunities on a team that was going nowhere and giving away shots to anyone who wanted them. Literally there was so many shots to go around it was like an open bar. Exum is actually one of my favorite prospects in the 2014 draft class, because he has the potential to be one of the top guards in the league. His long length, and knack for finding his teammates should translate well in today’s NBA. He made it no secret that he wanted to be drafted to the Lakers, so it’ll be interesting how he adapts to Utah after coming from “The Land Down Under”. 

The Jazz also has Alec Burks who they could start at shooting guard this season. Last year he averaged 13 points and played okay under the circumstances. Steve Novak is also on this team, so he should be able to help with shooting off of the bench. Former dunk champion Jeremy Evans will be another “key” contributor off of the bench this season.