NBA
NBA AM: Utah Jazz On The Rise
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Jazz Have A Bright Future: One of the best stories in the NBA after the All-Star break was the rise of the Utah Jazz. With a young roster starting to find its way, they became one of the better defensive of teams in the league and one of the more entertaining young teams to watch.
Jazz big man Derrick Favors emerged as a legitimate presence in the post, while small forward Gordon Hayward started to live up to his enormous max contract. Young players like Dante Exum and Trey Burke showed promise, while Rudy Gobert emerged as one of the best young defensive big men in the NBA.
Unlike most offseasons for the Jazz, this summer won’t be about trying to find a cornerstone; those are already in place. The Jazz have a few small needs to address and may have the means to do it.
The biggest questions surrounding the Jazz are at both guard positions. Exum, their 2014 fifth overall pick, showed flashes, especially on the defensive end. He took the starting spot from Burke (their 2013 ninth overall pick) halfway through the year, but he must continue to improve his shot and offense. Alec Burks emerged as a scoring threat, signing a huge contract extension before injuring his left shoulder and missing most of the season. Burks is on the road to recovery, but still has a lot of rehab in front him before he can start answering questions about his long-term fit in Utah.
Rodney Hood, also drafted in the first round last year, has shown promise but he too was plagued by injuries all year. Hood is already been in the gym, hoping to make his mark in summer league and continue contributing for this young team.
The Jazz do have some roster flexibility, and still have another lottery pick to work with. If the NBA Draft lottery holds true to the standings, it could be the 12th overall pick, which should yield a solid addition.
A big need for the Jazz is veteran leadership. While exploring options for an impact shooting guard and perhaps a starting-caliber point guard (while Exum develops) should be at the top of the offseason wish list, filling out the bench and bringing in some veterans who can really bring leadership should be a focal point.
The Jazz turned a big corner last season, especially down the stretch. If their young guys can continue to improve this summer, the Jazz could be one of those teams that could be in the discussion at the lower end of the Western Conference playoff picture.
For the Jazz to make the postseason, they may need one more player to move into elite status. With Favors, Hayward and Gobert all looking like young stars in the NBA, one more player rising to the challenge could be all Utah needs to get into the heat of the playoff discussion, even in the West.
The Combine Cometh: Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress released the invitees of the 2015 NBA Draft Combine. A list was circulated to NBA personnel and select player agents, and has not be released to the media officially. While the list is subject to change, the current group looks like this:
| Underclassmen D’Angelo Russell – Ohio State Justise Winslow – Duke Willie Cauley-Stein – Kentucky Stanley Johnson – Arizona Myles Turner – Texas Kelly Oubre – Kansas Sam Dekker – Wisconsin Devin Booker – Kentucky Bobby Portis – Arkansas Trey Lyles – Kentucky Kevon Looney – UCLA Tyus Jones – Duke Cameron Payne – Murray State Montrezl Harrell – Louisville Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – Arizona Christian Wood – UNLV R.J. Hunter – Georgia State Jarell Martin – LSU Cliff Alexander – Kansas Justin Anderson – Virginia Rashad Vaughn – UNLV Dakari Johnson – Kentucky Chris McCullough – Syracuse — George Lucas – Pinheiros Robert Upshaw – Washington Terry Rozier – Louisville Michael Qualls – Arkansas J.P. Tokoto – North Carolina Mouhammadou Jaiteh – Nanterre Andrew Harrison – Kentucky Tyler Harvey – Eastern Washington Jordan Mickey – LSU Olivier Hanlan – Boston College Michael Frazier – Florida Aaron Harrison – Kentucky Vince Hunter – UTEP Chris Walker – Florida Brandon Ashley – Arizona Terran Petteway – Nebraska |
NCAA Seniors Frank Kaminsky – Wisconsin Jerian Grant – Notre Dame Delon Wright – Utah — Anthony Brown – Stanford Norman Powell – UCLA Aaron White – Iowa Rakeem Christmas – Syracuse Alan Williams UC Santa Barbara Joseph Young – Oregon Jonathan Holmes – Texas Richaun Holmes – Bowling Green Keifer Sykes – Wisc. Green Bay Branden Dawson – Michigan State Treveon Graham – VCU Dez Wells – Maryland Larry Nance – Wyoming Quinn Cook – Duke TaShawn Thomas -Oklahoma Marcus Thornton – William and Mary Corey Hawkins – UC Davis Pat Connaughton – Notre Dame Chasson Randle – Stanford Ryan Boatright – UConn |
The final list included 62 invitees, which is about on par with previous years. In a typical NBA Draft, roughly 80 percent of Combine invitees end up getting drafted, so this list is usually a good barometer for who teams like and are strongly considering drafting.
There are a couple of notable international players that will not take part in the Combine, because their current season is not yet over. Mario Hezonja and Kristaps Porzingis are both expected to be high first round selections and will not attend.
As was the case last year, top overall pick candidates Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and Emmanuel Mudiay will not attend either. Sources close to the process say all three have enough assurances of where they will be drafted that the Combine can only introduce negatives to their story. All three will meet individually with teams once the Draft Lottery is held, and all three are expected to meet with teams in the top five at best. Surprisingly, D’Angelo Russell has agreed to take part in the Combine process, although he is only expected to meet with teams.
The NBA is requiring certain invitees to play in five on five, as part of their invitation. It will be interesting to see how certain players handle that request as players cannot be forced to play since they are not under NBA contract and are not bound by any agreed terms.
Sources close to the selection process said certain players were told they must play or would not be eligible for any of the other benefits of the Combine.
The Combine gets underway on Tuesday, with individual team meetings taking place Wednesday and on-court portions beginning on Thursday.
Basketball Insiders will be on the ground in Chicago this week and will be pushing out interviews and video content throughout the event.
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