Post by Andrei Kirilenko on May 25, 2014 13:06:34 GMT
Salt Lake City
When John Stockton took over as head coach of the Utah Jazz on February 22nd, the team was 16-37 and had no real direction. Since that point, however, Stockton made some key coaching decisions, such as the implementation of a four-guard lineup, that helped the team close out the season with a 13-16 record. While fans and management have viewed the Stockton era as a mini-success thus far, Coach Stockton sees even more room for improvement,
"The first thing we did after the Warriors game was sit down with the video staff and start going through tape from this past season. I tasked every single one of the coaches with identifying an area of the team for improvement- and, unanimously, every coach had the word 'defense' on his list by the time we were done with our evaluations."
The defensive woes of the Jazz are being addressed in two ways. First, multiple sources are noting that Stockton is beginning to favor guard Avery Bradley to run the point next season instead of Dion Waiters. Bradley is widely regarded as the best perimeter defender guard in the league, while Waiters is more renowned for his volume scoring. Secondly, after raising the concerns with GM Josh Barber, the organization made a trade to acquire Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from the Orlando Magic. Kidd-Gilchrist, 20, is a small forward who is rough around the edges on offense, but brings a defensive intensity with him that earned him a starting position on the Magic. Early indications point to Kidd-Gilchrist taking over the starting small forward spot from Al-Farouq Aminu, who is widely known to be a favorite player of GM Josh Barber.
The team has the 8th overall pick in the upcoming draft and over $20 million in cap space this offseason. Barber has noted in other interviews that he will not be drafting positional needs but rather solely on talent and potential. The organization has yet to make any public comments about potential free agent targets, but rumors are circulating around the league that both Stephen Curry and Blake Griffin would be willing to take a pay cut to play under Coach Stockton.
When John Stockton took over as head coach of the Utah Jazz on February 22nd, the team was 16-37 and had no real direction. Since that point, however, Stockton made some key coaching decisions, such as the implementation of a four-guard lineup, that helped the team close out the season with a 13-16 record. While fans and management have viewed the Stockton era as a mini-success thus far, Coach Stockton sees even more room for improvement,
"The first thing we did after the Warriors game was sit down with the video staff and start going through tape from this past season. I tasked every single one of the coaches with identifying an area of the team for improvement- and, unanimously, every coach had the word 'defense' on his list by the time we were done with our evaluations."
The defensive woes of the Jazz are being addressed in two ways. First, multiple sources are noting that Stockton is beginning to favor guard Avery Bradley to run the point next season instead of Dion Waiters. Bradley is widely regarded as the best perimeter defender guard in the league, while Waiters is more renowned for his volume scoring. Secondly, after raising the concerns with GM Josh Barber, the organization made a trade to acquire Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from the Orlando Magic. Kidd-Gilchrist, 20, is a small forward who is rough around the edges on offense, but brings a defensive intensity with him that earned him a starting position on the Magic. Early indications point to Kidd-Gilchrist taking over the starting small forward spot from Al-Farouq Aminu, who is widely known to be a favorite player of GM Josh Barber.
The team has the 8th overall pick in the upcoming draft and over $20 million in cap space this offseason. Barber has noted in other interviews that he will not be drafting positional needs but rather solely on talent and potential. The organization has yet to make any public comments about potential free agent targets, but rumors are circulating around the league that both Stephen Curry and Blake Griffin would be willing to take a pay cut to play under Coach Stockton.