Tuesday, May 20, 2008

To Pick OR Not To Pick...


The NBA Draft Lottery came and went while the Chicago Bulls won the 1st pick in next months NBA Draft (Sidenote...Was it ever a surprise that either Chicago or NY would win the lottery? The NBA must be desperate for either big market franchise to be successful). The arrival of the lottery balls was a true sign that the season was over and the offseason had begun. Only four teams remain in the playoff chase towards a championship and the Jazz aren't one of them.

It's unfortunate that the wrong teams have advanced in the playoffs. Most intently, I wish the Jazz were still playing, rather than seeing the despised Lakers and Spurs facing off. Woof! Now, all we can do is await the anticipation of a potential future offseason move; a possible draft pick, free agent signing or perhaps a trade. Because really...I don't think I'll be watching the playoffs anyway.

Now that the lottery has taken place, we can anticipate the coming of next month's NBA draft. And for Jazz fans, the question arises as to what we should do with our pick? The Jazz have the 23rd pick in the draft, and it may not be the most enviable position to be in come draft night. There are certainly better positions. So I wonder, what should we do with it? Keep it? Trade it? I'll give a point and counterpoint argument since..."that is the question!"

Let's pick! Can we find a player in the draft that might be able to contribute next season? Yes, it's very possible. This is a deep draft with decent prospects. An even better question however might be...can we find a player in the draft better than Jarron Collins or Jason Hart? Emphatically, I answer in the affirmative. Yes! Well then, let's pick! The draft is deep at the center position and I believe we can find a player who might be a good, solid piece for our future. Plus, it never hurts to stock up on young talent.

Let's trade it! The Jazz have 13 players on contract for next season. And that's without mentioning CJ Miles who I believe we'd most likely want to retain. We really don't have room for another draft pick. In addition, the Jazz already have 2 young apprentice-types in Fesenko and Almond who never get a lick of gametime action. Do we want to develop another player? Plus, our current team is ready to compete now. It's time for us to invest in winning a championship and not necessarily developing our young talent. We need to prepare for the present, not the future.

The draft is around the corner. Let's bring it on!

3 comments:

Orlando said...

Place me firmly in the trade-the-pick camp. We don't need a project big man to pair with our other project big man. Let's dish this thing and stockpile picks for the future.

The Golden Griff said...

I also belong to the trade-the-pick camp. Hopefully, we can attach Collins and/or Hart to the pick when we trade it.

Pasty Gangsta said...

Definitely trade. The last thing we need is another young guy who won't ever get time. What we do need is a big or a veteran (a la Fish) who is calm under pressure.

I'm sure teams are also dying to get their hands on the 23rd pick in the draft plus Collins or Hart. In fact, I'm shocked that a trade involving some of those pieces hasn't gone through yet.