The great potential that the jazz have

First off what has happened this season isn't exactly ideal.  To start we have an injured at one point in time all-star riding the bench and I don't think he'll come back this season (memo).  We lost Matthews in before the season even started to the ever so lets screw the jazz by trying to overpay their free agents and seeing if they match Trail Blazers.  We were kidding ourselves with miracle comebacks.  How great would it be if I think we had an better chance right now to win the lottery with two different picks.  The one we owe the t-wolves is top 16 protected.  Can't tell you how hard it was to find that info.  Now we are a playoff fringe team with no chance of doing anything in it and can't really fall enough to get a decent draft pick, so not ideal.

Alright so on to what just happened.  We just lost D-will who is 17 on PER rankings at a very respectable 22.17.  Now he has been suffering from a wrist injury, heres hoping he decides its time to shut it down for the season and heal.  Hes probably too competitive for that though.  He is definitely in the conversation as the best point guard in the NBA.  He also was a much better grab for the Nets then Melo was.  Although he doesn't have the same kind of star power.  He has great size, a good finisher, a killer cross over, and also a good shooter.  So that will be missed.  

Now what we got in return.

First I love Devin Harris.  He is wicked fast, knows how to get to the line, and can play really good defense.  His draw backs are he can't shoot and is injury prone.  Now he may not have the assists average you would want from a Jazz point guard but I don't think that should be a problem.  As he has been a score first point guard and may actually be better for us in that respect then D-will was.  I think hes ability to drive will actually help players like Al Jefferson and Millsap as he gets opponents bigs in foul trouble and have to play help D.  I don't know how he is with the pick and roll but he if hes good opponents could be in trouble.  Also I am way stoked about his defense, seriously we suck at D we need the help.  We might not keep him because I could see us getting Caron Butler's expiring contract and opening up more cap for next year.  But if we do I think it could add a completely different dimension to us.  Lets pray if he does stay that he can return to his all star form.

Alright well theres Favors, I honestly don't know much about the kid.  I looked on youtube and he can dunk. Maybe him and Evans can have their own dunk contest.  So what jumps out at first is his athleticism.  The guy can run down the court and he can finish.  The main problem right now is that he lacks polish in the offensive game.  I think right now if we keep Millsap and don't shoot ourselves in the foot more for tax relief then he will have a great mentor.  He has upside as well on the defensive end, could be a good shot blocker as he develops more and will help on the boards.  Which I noticed has been a weakness this year.  Overall he has a lot of upside and could make us have a dangerous frontcourt this next year.

Now the two draft picks, the first one is UNPROTECTED pick for the next year!  Why I want to D-will to throw in the towel on the season.  Because this could be huge, if the nets don't start winning games.  Which I doubt they will the team is just frankly terrible.  Right now they are getting the 6th overall draft pick with a 6.3% chance of winning the lottery.  Which isn't great but hey its better then nothing.  I love to think how magical it would be to get the number overall pick in what has been considered a weak draft but whatever.

The second pick comes is the 2012 1st round pick for the Golden State Warriors.  It is protected in the top 7 and then top 6 for the next two years.  Knowing how Golden State plays we will probably get a 10 or 11 pick in 2012.  Which is something to be excited about as well.  In less for some reason they learn to play defense but I doubt that.  Still good enough offensively to win games so we don't have to worry about waiting forever for it.

Overall I think the jazz lose some star power, but I hope this has shown that they gain a lot.  I didn't talk about it but I doubt Deron's leadership abilities.  he's a good player but he hasn't done anything for this team leading them.  They have some building blocks to build around and could be become instantly good again with a little luck and some people getting healthy.  That is if we don't start over again and implode the roster more. Apparently the Jazz are getting calls about Millsap.  It looks like we are going to be about 2 years away from really being considered at least a second tier team.  The future is looking bright and we should be able to build upon Favors, Hayward, the nets draft pick, and hopefully our own from this year. Heres to next season.