I think the Wolves have a higher ceiling as well, they have a player destined to be a top 10 guy in the NBA. They also have a great shot at landing a 2nd potential superstar this draft. Mudiay, Okafor, or Karl-Anthony Towns would all be good players to match Wiggins with. Mudiay-Wiggins-LaVine trio in three years could run circles around teams.
They always seem to have a really good frontcourt. They went from Jefferson/Millsap/Favors to Favors/Kanter to Favors/Gobert - what they lost on offense, they got on defense. If Exum / Burke can take a huge step forward next year, and Hayward can develop into a 20+ ppg player, Jazz might compete for the playoffs next year.
they are about 2 more years away from competing for a playoff spot. they won't compete for one until trey burke gets more mature. It may even take 3 years.
People forget they also have Alec Burks whose out for the year, but he is progressing nicely into a very sold shooting guard. Trey Burke is trash though, total garbage player. They need to dump him.
I love the way they're playing. I was really impressed. Gobert's effect on the opposing team is similar to the impact Thabeet had in college. You can build around that. I don't Jimmy Butler is worth the max to them because he wont put them on the map single handedly, but he'd be great in that system. If he's one of those guys looking for a short deal that runs out when the cap increases I'd go for it.
They're headed in the right direction, but it's too early to say they're going to be as good as the old Stockton2Malone teams. As other people have mentioned they still have a lot of missing pieces or undeveloped players. As always they'll be tough to beat @ home, but I wouldn't be worried about them yet.
Doesn't matter. The Jazz won't be signing any max free agents because nobody wants to go there. They have to draft someone. Since they are now a little worse than mediocre instead of being complete trash, the odds of that happening are slim. The brightest future I see for the Jazz is 9th seed.
Depends on DAnte Exum I think. They need a little more shooting. Their defense has been incredible recently.
It's almost impossible to win in the playoffs without stars, because in a 7-game series teams have plenty of time to counter your strategies. You have to have match ups that you can win even against perfect game planning. Utah is a decent team, but are very very far from contending. To win one playoff series you have to be top four in the western conf, and there are 9 teams clearly better than them now.
I'm certainly nervous. Excellent record since All Star break. Much like Timberwolves and other blossoming teams, I'm hoping for the eventual decline due to losing guys in Free Agency (who wants to live in Utah )
Gobbert is the truth. His impact on Defense and Rebounding is unquestionable. Gobbert, Favors & Haywood will have them competing for a playoff spot next year. Pelicans and Jazz will be the two teams battling for the Mavs spot (especially if Dirk continues to regress with age)
Not sure how much cap room they have, but I could actually see a Monta Ellis type thing happening there. Overpay, and of course still not going to win a title, but Ellis, Hayward, Favors, Gobert is one of those great solid teams... in many ways ala the Mavericks now that could compete for a 5-8 seed. They might take that. They really need to get real lucky in the draft 1 time.
