This week’s Real Sports Live program again had me on to discuss the Jazz’s season so far, the legacy of Andris Biedrins, Corbin’s performance relative to expectations, and whether the most important part of this offseason will be the draft, free agency, or the coaching decision.
I apologize for my hair.
Comments
What did you mean when you said no one on the roster was any better than a 9 or 10 guy to build a franchise around? The order in which you’d take current NBA players? That’s actually not that bad, if you think, say, Favors could be the 10th-best player in the league. It’s not that often a Durant-type comes around. And when you say after four seasons, Hayward and Favors are pretty closed to being finished products, how far would you take that argument? I think Favors’ ceiling is probably around the LaMarcus Aldridge level. I know that statistically you’re right, after year four you have a pretty good idea what you have, but does that mean Favors will cap out at 13 points and 8.8 rebounds a game? To me it seems he could still develop offensively. If he keeps improving his outside touch, I think he could potentially be an All-Star. Not a LeBron, but an Aldridge. Am I up in the night? Please elaborate a little.
Author
He asked if I could rank each player on a scale from 1 to 10, that last comment was at least an attempt to acknowledge that request.
I don’t think the Aldridge comp is crazy, but it would be a really big leap in production. Aldrdge’s 4th year he was already scoring 18 per game… That’s a really big leap from 13. It’s possible, but I wouldn’t characterize it as likely. And then: is Aldridge a franchise guy? He’s a really good player, and I like him a lot, but IMO you’d probably need an amazing group around him, or more likely a better player to win a title.
But yeah, if I were doing NBARank, I’d give Aldridge a 9. Favors right now is probably a 7-8.
I agree, Aldridge is not an alpha dog. I don’t think he’ll ever be a player that can lead his team to a championship as its best player. To be honest, I’m not sure I would give him a 9. Maybe an 8 or 8.5. But I think for a couple of reasons, I’d at least let next season play out before saying he’s reached his peak: first, he’s six years younger than Aldridge, almost to the day. Second, Aldridge had two college seasons. And it’s pretty obvious that Favors’ outside shot is light years ahead of where it was even last season. That’s something that you can continue to improve in the NBA, even after hitting your peak physically. Taking into account his defense and his mean streak, I’d be tempted to take Favors over Aldridge. It’s entirely possible that I’m wrong, but we’ve seen flashes of really good offense. I still want another piece, but if Trey can improve and consistently be the force we saw flashes of early this year, I believe he, Favors, Burks, and whoever our rookie is next year can be a huge force. I hope that rookie is Wiggins or Parker, but since we don’t know if Jabari will even be in the draft, and having seen some of Wiggins’ imperfections, I’m far less obsessed with it having to be him than I would have believed even a couple of months ago.
By the way, you did great on the show (other than the aforementioned hair). I don’t know how much you’ve been on TV, but you were far more poised than I’d have been.