by James Finneral
The Utah Jazz took a big hit when the forward tandem on Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson left Salt Lake City. The Jazz are now in rebuilding mode gathering young and talented players who are the league's future stars. Despite the upside, the Jazz just simply do not have the talent right now to be a playoff team in the Western Conference.
This Jazz team does not currently have a prominent team leader, but their shooting guard Gordon Hayward is probably their best player. Hayward shot down a big time deal to play for a rising Charlotte Hornets club to come back and lead the Jazz. Hayward is a big strong guy who can shoot and drive to the basket. He has been improving each year since he has been in the league and should continue to improve and become the leader of the Jazz. At 6'8" Hayward can play the small forward which might actually work out best for Utah. Jazz sources are saying that 6'6" guard Alec Burks may win a starting position. Burke had a nice season last year averaging 14 points and will probably be forced to play shooting guard with Trey Burke already at the point. Burk's athleticism will fit in nicely with the very athletic Utah roster.
The Jazz took a pretty big risk in the draft by selecting Australian point guard, Dante Exum. Exum is a great talent that certainly has the skills to play in the NBA, but picking him is risky cause no one knows how the competition in Australia stacks up to NCAA competition. Exum is a decent shooter and scorer, but he is a pass first guy who tries to make his teammates better. Luckily Exum does not have to jump into a starting role immediately. He will get quality minutes from the bench and get a feel for NBA competition before he is ready for a starting role. The man who will be playing in front of him is Trey Burke, the second year man out of Michigan. Burke posted a pretty nice rookie season averaging 13 points and 6 assists. He may be undersized, but Burke can put up a couple 30 point games last year showing that he can be an effective scorer in the NBA. Burke will only get more and more comfortable and should develop into a great young point guard in the following years. With two young point guards the Jazz can be a team to be feared in the future, but wouldn't the smart thing be to trade one?
The Jazz front-court will be headed by Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. Derrick Favors is one of the Jazz's most consistent players who averaged nearly a double-double along with a block throughout last season. Favors is relentless on the glass preventing teams from getting second chances and also giving his team another chance to score. At only 23 years old, Favors is only going to get better and he is prime for another solid season in 2014-2015. Enes Kanter is going to have to step up this year for the Jazz to have a chance at being successful. Kanter had a decent season last year scoring and rebounding the basketball, but his defensive game needs some work. Kanter is strong enough to hang with the big boys down low, but a lot of teams had success in the paint against the Jazz last year. If Kanter can protect the paint for the Jazz then they will be able to stay in games even against tough opponents.
The Jazz are one of those teams that definitely need a few years before they can be contenders in the Western Conference. They have plenty of talent, but the players have to live up to their potential for them to move forward. In a matter of years the Jazz could be one of the most feared teams in the league, but they will need some time to work up to that achievement.
Potential Starting Lineup:
PG: Trey Burke
SG: Alec Burks
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Enes Kanter
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