This is from an interview at the ESA right after the draft of a fan at the event.  Why would the Jazz marketing people put this on the website? Do they want everyone to think that this is a typical Jazz fan? Okay, maybe it is.

Technorati tags: utah jazz, nba draft

And with the 25th pick in the 2007 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select, Morris Almond.

The ESA went crazy when O’Connor made the announcement before being officially announced by David Stern. After boos filled the arena with the selection of Marco Belinelli by Golden State, the excitement in the air grew with each pick that didn’t involve Almond. The chants of “Almond Joy” erupted when the TrailBlazers selected Rudy Fernandez with the 24th pick. The Jazz get their shooting guard and the fans get a new infinite source of signs to hold up at games.

The Jazz got probably got the best shooter in the draft. And Utah fans know first-hand from Almond’s 42-point game performance against the Utes. I don’t think he’ll contrbute as quickly as Belinelli would have, but I’m sure he’ll get the chance to work hard and fight for minutes with CJ (if he stays), Brewer, and Giricek. Not much more that I can add that hasn’t already been said.

The Jazz also swapped picks with Philly and received Kyrylo Fesenko from the Ukraine. “The Ukraine is not weak!” He could develop into a useful backup. As S.A.S says, “You can’t teach height.”

I’d give the draft an overall B. Neither of them will probably turn into a Millsap type surprise, but if Almond does what Sloan tells him to do, he could find some good PT.

As for the party, there were free hot dogs and drinks. Standard free food. You get the same at RC Willey on Saturday’s at their weekly random excuse for a “sale” event. But hey, it was all free. The NuSkin Jazz Dancers threw a few t-shirts and balls into the crowd. I was fortunate? to pick up a ball that everyone else around me had dropped. It would have been nice if the girls could have thrown further than the length of their skirts. I don’t know why they didn’t have them perform at all. It was about two hours until the Jazz picked. They also had a bingo game with prizes except that you had to race down to the floor and be first to the bingo table to get your prize. The best part of the whole thing was being with other fans and not just sitting at home watching it.

Up next, the Rocky Mountain Revue. It will be intersting to see if Seattle comes this year. I’m sure tickets would go like mad if Durant was going to be here. We shall see soon.

Here are some pics of Bolerjack, the brain trust, and O’Connor calling in the pick

Technorati tags: utah jazz, nba draft, 2007

I’m off to the draft party at the ESA in a bit. Just thought I’d post my redo draft for the Jazz for the past 7 drafts if they had to do it again. Of course to do anything like this, you have to throw out all factors like team needs, salaries, etc. We’re just looking at the best player. Who could the Jazz have drafted that was better than the person(s) drafted. And we’re just looking at the first round. Here’s the list starting with 2006:

2006
Drafted - 14. Ronnie Brewer
Could have had - ???

I think the Jazz made the best pick here. No one below Ronnie pops out as someone we should have taken. Of course we got Millsap in the 2nd round. This may change later.

2005
Well, this is a no-brainer

Drafted - 3. Deron Williams
Could have had - A year ago almost everyone would have said Chris Paul of course. But now, the Jazz look like geniuses. Couldn’t go wrong with either. I bet Atlanta wish they had the pick again though.

2004
14. Kris Humphries
16. Kirk Snyder
21. Pavel Podkolzin (traded)
Could have had - Al Jefferson, Josh Smith

None of these picks panned out. And now one of the rumors with the Celtics is shipping Al to Utah as part of a AK trade.

2003
19. Aleksandar Pavlovic
Could have had - Boris Diaw, Leandrinho Barbosa, Josh Howard

Ouch. This was one of the most loaded drafts in history. LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, etc. Missed the boat on this one.

2002
19. Ryan Humphrey
Could have had - Tayshaun Prince

Didn’t miss out on too much else. After Yao, this draft wasn’t that good. Do you see a theme though? We don’t keep many drafted players. Of course the second round had Carlos Boozer. Glad that’s rectified.

2001
24. Raul Lopez
Could have had - Gerald Wallace, Tony Parker

Another ouch. Lopez’s career was killed by injuries and suckitude while Parker is one of the best in the league. Of course we wouldn’t have Deron now.

2000
23. DeShawn Stevenson
Could have had - Didn’t miss out here.

We’ll see what we get tonight. Not expecting much. Except a free hot dog and drink. Yes!

Technorati tags: utah jazz, nba draft, nba

So tomorrow you can head on down to the ESA and catch the NBA draft while chowing on some free hot dogs and drinks.  It’s also a much better environment to watch the draft.  So when the Jazz select Kyrylo Fesenko, you can hear the collective moan and whats? of other Jazz fans.  That’s what makes the draft so great.  You don’t know whether you’re going to be getting another Millsap or the next Jose Ortiz (who actually has had a long career playing in Europe and for the Puerto Rican national team that beat Team USA in 2004).  What it looks like the Jazz won’t be getting is the #5 pick from Boston.   Ainge has stated they’re not likely to trade the pick.  And if they did, it would probably be part of a trade that would land them Garnett or Marion. 

This also means that it looks like AK is staying for now.  I still like AK and think he’s a big part of this team.  But it’s going to be on the defensive end mainly unless the Jazz go with the game plan they had with Golden State in the playoffs.  He was effective there a a slasher and scorer.  But with Utah’s day-to-day system, he’s still going to be the fourth option.  I’d love to see him get a lot of put backs, but he’s needed on the defensive end there.  His offensive role could be limited even more if the Jazz acquire a reliable shooting guard.  I also just bought my boy an AK jersey last year that he wore once.  So I’d like for AK to stay so I could get a better return on my investment.  Shouldn’t there be a law that the team has to replace jerseys with another one if the player is traded within a year of purchase?  I would like some assurance on future purchases.

So with the 25th pick in the 2007 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select, Marco Belinelli.  Belinelli gives the Jazz the shooting guard who can nail threes consistently and is athletic enough to run and slash.  He seems to be the most polished of the Euro guards and should be able to contribute immediately.  There’s some question on his contract, but it’s expected that he’ll be able to buy out of that.  Now if the Jazz could replace Collins with a tree stump, we’d be set.

Bonus:  The top ten draft outfits [video].   Three former Jazz men, Thurl Bailey, Kelly Tripucka, and of course, Karl Malone.