Trade Grades
Click here for link to Indiana Pacers Trade Grades
Click here for link to Atlanta Hawks Trade Grades
Pacers get: PG Jeff Teague
Jazz get: PG George Hill
Hawks get: #12 overall draft pick (via Utah) [SF Taurean Prince, Sophomore, Baylor]
Now this one’s a bit of a head-scratcher. Yes, point guard was something that needed to be addressed for Utah, but this was certainly not the solution. The Jazz are in that blossoming stage of rebuilding -- where all of their youth is now starting to develop and the team is ready to compete for postseason bids. The best player of the bunch -- star SG/SF Gordon Hayward -- is already 26 years old, while other key pieces like star C Rudy Gobert are 23, while guys like PG Dante Exum are only 20. Clearly, the path for Utah to take was to continue stockpiling youth talent, such that the ages align in such a way that all of these guys will be in their primes at the same time, where the Jazz could really start competing for titles. The logical path here, then, is to keep their draft pick, and use it to select PG/SG Wade Baldwin IV (Sophomore, Vanderbilt) to bolster their backcourt. This would allow Utah to still compete for a back-end playoff spot this season, while more importantly, preserving and adding to the team’s long-term potential.
But instead, the front office opted for a quick-fix solution in George Hill. Now sure, Hill is a solid point guard, averaging 12.1 points and 3.5 assists with solid shooting percentages. But he’s already 30 years old, and is playing on an expiring contract. Are the Jazz really going to want to re-sign a 31 year-old next summer when at least one of the young point guards -- Exum or Burke -- will just be starting to break out of their proverbial shells? Unlikely -- thus Hill will probably just be a one-year stopgap solution to Utah’s point guard woes. Conversely, Baldwin could have been the long-term solution. See the difference?
Grade: C-
Click here for link to Indiana Pacers Trade Grades
Click here for link to Atlanta Hawks Trade Grades
Pacers get: PG Jeff Teague
Jazz get: PG George Hill
Hawks get: #12 overall draft pick (via Utah) [SF Taurean Prince, Sophomore, Baylor]
Now this one’s a bit of a head-scratcher. Yes, point guard was something that needed to be addressed for Utah, but this was certainly not the solution. The Jazz are in that blossoming stage of rebuilding -- where all of their youth is now starting to develop and the team is ready to compete for postseason bids. The best player of the bunch -- star SG/SF Gordon Hayward -- is already 26 years old, while other key pieces like star C Rudy Gobert are 23, while guys like PG Dante Exum are only 20. Clearly, the path for Utah to take was to continue stockpiling youth talent, such that the ages align in such a way that all of these guys will be in their primes at the same time, where the Jazz could really start competing for titles. The logical path here, then, is to keep their draft pick, and use it to select PG/SG Wade Baldwin IV (Sophomore, Vanderbilt) to bolster their backcourt. This would allow Utah to still compete for a back-end playoff spot this season, while more importantly, preserving and adding to the team’s long-term potential.
But instead, the front office opted for a quick-fix solution in George Hill. Now sure, Hill is a solid point guard, averaging 12.1 points and 3.5 assists with solid shooting percentages. But he’s already 30 years old, and is playing on an expiring contract. Are the Jazz really going to want to re-sign a 31 year-old next summer when at least one of the young point guards -- Exum or Burke -- will just be starting to break out of their proverbial shells? Unlikely -- thus Hill will probably just be a one-year stopgap solution to Utah’s point guard woes. Conversely, Baldwin could have been the long-term solution. See the difference?
Grade: C-
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