UTAH JAZZ

One of the veterans of online NBA sim community decided to change the league. He was known to lead perennial contenders in the other league, teams that were always there but never good enough to get over the hump. He already smelled the victory three years ago when he was up 3-2 in the finals. But the Spurs got last two.

 

So what’s the approach to take in the new league? Generally we saw three ways to make a team; the veteran heavy team that can win now (could also be named the Jazz approach), the youth team that will win in 2025, and the in-between approach, aka I shouldn’t bottom out, but my team isn’t all that good either. Tim went all in and took the best possible player right now in each round.

 

The star. This is Jimmy’s team! Butler signed a new big max contract in NBA and will stay in Utah for a long time. And as an added bonus he comes without all the off-court garbage he produces in real life. Wings win you games in NSL and NBA. Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Thabo Sefalosha, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyle Korver… You get the picture, this roster is old… eh, experienced. In fact they’re second oldest team in the league, right behind Indiana (that isn’t that old outside Vince & Paul).

 

Injuries. We can’t talk about Jazz without talking about Cousins and his tendons. He’s supposed to miss a whole year after ACL surgery in the summer. Coach Snyder hinted about a quick recovery yesterday, Jazz might be expecting him back at the end of the of the season. Well, this reporter thinks that kind of talking is just gobbledygook. But Jazz fans will keep their hopes up. There’s also that little issue with home harassment case in Mobile, Alabama. There was also Darren Collison on the roster at one point, but he decided to spread the word of the lord, or something. Unlucky for Jazz.

 

Youth. Every team needs and injection of energy here and there. Every team got a pick. Jazz took 12^th pick and got Rui Hachimura, a forward from Gonzaga. He had many doubters but so far, he’s proving them wrong. There’s also a sweet shooting guard that will be another key bench contributor. And there’s also… There’s another end of 1^st guy on the team, Ty Jerome.

 

Starters. Lineup. Rotation.

Kyle Lowry - Landry Shamet - Jimmy Butler - Rui Hachimura - Kevin Love

I wasn’t really paying attention to preseason lineups, but they probably featured heavy doses of Boogie. Korver, Scott (who might start), Korver of the bench. The team is really thin for a title contender.

 

Cap situation.

Jazz are paying over 90 million for three guys, Jimmy, Kyle and Kevin. Solid big three, a bit long in the teeth, but you can’t really argue with that production. Boogie is on near minimum deal, but won’t contribute and even when he comes back might not be what he was. There’s only bit of youth. Tim will have a lot of work to do to fill out the gaps. Go all in for Nunn. Is he the real deal or just flavor of the week? Remember Alonzo Trier? Yeah, me neither. Though there’s always a Linsanity. Next year will be tough. Lowry signed an extension. Korver, Thabo, Neto Cousins all expire. No big deal, but someone will have to fill their place.

 

Expectations. You don’t go into the season with Butlers, Loves, Lowrys to just compete. You want wins, a lot of them. But does that group scream a contender to you? Depth after the big three is a big problem. Rui and Landry better show they’re ready to contribute, more then expected.  Injuries might influence the results a lot, more then for other teams. Love is expected to miss a third to half season each year by now, Jimmy and Kyle might see some load management and their not a stranger to missing games either. In a normal league this group looks more like a strong playoff team, probably second round exit. Not sure how other teams measure up, but there’s always a chance to go all the way.

 

What to do? Cross your fingers, hope to win? Make trades to balance the roster, acquire depth? Tim has never been a big trader, he pulled the trigger twice around draft. Love, Collison and Scott for Ibaka, Ariza, Parker looks bad in retrospect. Trade in picks, Hachimura and Jerome for Doumbouya and future 2^nd looks like a steal so far. Is there another trade to fulfill the needs? Rui is better then whatever they could get for him. Ty is a better option, maybe someone sees a potential, one of the rebuilding teams could send a win now guy for him. There’s not much market for Lowry or Love imo and there are no backups at those spots to make the trade .Text