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Lakers Get |
Jazz Get |
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Patrick Beverly |
Talen Horton-Tucker |
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Stanley Johnson |
I've been picking on the Jazz a lot of late. But just yesterday I was really thinking about it and came to the conclusion that in the 30+ years I've been following the NBA, I don't remember them ever having been garbage.
During the Stockton + Malone years, they were perennial playoff threats, if not flatout contenders. And that team they had during the aughts with Deron Williams and AK-47 and them was also pretty promising. And I also forgot about that time they were able to poach Carlos Boozer away from the Cavs.
What I can't really remember tho is what transpired between Williams compelling Jerry Sloan to quit and the Gobert + Mitchell years. But even as recently as last season, like everyone knew that the Jazz at least had the potential to go all the way. And now, with Danny "the Genius" Ainge onboard, they were able to get something like 10 players (!) for Rudy Gobert, i.e. the same type of package the Nets attempted (and failed) to get for KD himself.
So now that the alpha dog is undisputedly, as things currently stand, Donovan Mitchell, there's really no need to have someone like Patrick Beverly on the roster. My assumption is that Mitchell is going to run the Jazz's offense, which in turn is not going to rely much on set plays. So as I said before, you need dudes out there who can run around and keep up with him. And now, the Jazz may have even scored two of those.
No one really knows how Stanley Johnson and especially Horton-Tucker is going to pan out. But I feel, even though he didn't put up a ton of points last season, that the Lakers should kept Stanley. Well, I really felt like that when Malik Monk was still around, because at least imo, those two complemented Lebron well.
One thing I can say about Patrick Beverly is that he's one of the very few players in the NBA who can make his present felt even without the ball, and LBJ is not likely to concede the point to him. So that means the real reason the Lakers brought him over is to defend the other team's PG.
The problem is though that you need a G next to Lebron that can actually shoot - something that the Lakers really didn't have last season. That's why, when I first promoted the idea of Beverly going to LAL, I included Mike Conley in that equation also. A couple of days ago, I saw NBC for the first mention Russell Westbrook in a potential trade with the Jazz, which is something I suggested over a month ago. So maybe this isn't over yet. And hey, LAL, might as well go out and pickup Hassan Whiteside also.
CONCLUSION
I was reading something else on NBC today like the Lakers acquired Beverly in advance of trading Westbrook, which would make this transaction look more sensible from their perspective. But I must admit that a defense of AD + Westbrook + Beverly + Lebron (if he's vested) would probably be pretty difficult to score on. I still remember when Beverly clipped Westbrook, and reportedly they've had "beef" since. But maybe that can kind of 'competitiveness', if they're on the same roster, can result in more inspired play, now that they both have something prove.
Meanwhile, I admire what the Jazz are doing. There's too many superstars looking for new homes for the system to accommodate them all, and you can't just be like 'we're going to tank' with someone like Donovan Mitchell on your squad. So the best these organizations can do is at least field the most competitive roster they can (like the Trailblazers). And Utah still has so many assets that I don't think their wheeling and dealing is done yet.`
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