Post by Andrei Kirilenko on Jul 3, 2014 0:29:17 GMT
Salt Lake City
It has been a busy offseason for the Utah Jazz. After finishing the season on a 5 game win streak and losing a coin flip to Denver, the Jazz bounced themselves from a top 5 pick to pick number 8; and many thought the entire tanking season to be a waste. Numerous reporters in Salt Lake City were calling for GM Josh Barber's head. However, like always, the veteran manager had a few tricks up his sleeve. The team managed to trade the 8th pick in a package deal to Houston for the 2nd overall pick- which Barber would enthusiastically use to draft Jabari Parker. The team also added point guard Jeff Teague and center Marcin Gortat in free agency, filling gaps in the two most dubious positions for the Jazz last season.
Our inside reporter Bosh Jarber sat down with GM Josh Barber to discuss the offseason in detail.
What were your plans going into the offseason?
Barber: I had a general idea of what I wanted to do. There were a couple free agents that I really wanted to target, and I knew who I wanted with the 8th pick. To be honest, I never expected to have as successful an offseason as I did. We've never attracted better than a 78 rated free agent to Utah before (Raymond Felton), yet we got two this season. Sometimes things just fall into your lap.
What free agents in particular did you want to target?
Barber: Sticking with the Bad Boys theme, our number one target going into the offseason was Tyreke Evans. We thought we had the best shot at convincing him to come to Utah moreso than any other free agent. Our second target was Serge Ibaka.
What about Tristan Thompson? He was a big part of the team last season.
Barber: Honestly, we never expected him to opt out. I'd be surprised if he finds as good of a situation as he had here in Utah. He had a starting role and was making $6 mil a year. Him opting out really opened the doors for us to be creative. It gave us the cap space to throw big money at two free agents instead of one. As you said though, he was an integral part of our team and we would still love to have him back in Utah.
How did the Jeff Teague signing come about?
Barber: As a Wake Forest graduate, Teague is a guy I absolutely love. We never really thought we had a shot at getting him because the Thunder were holding all the cards. After some initial negotiations though, we caught wind that the Thunder weren't even making a run at him, so we went all-in. We knew Teague had to be our guy, and we're extremely happy that he chose the Jazz. It just goes to show, if you do your due dilligence, you might just get lucky.
After you signed Teague, a lot of people thought you were done- but then, out of the blue, you trade up for Jabari Parker. How did that happen?
Barber: As soon as we heard that the Rockets were looking to trade the pick, we threw everything we had at them. They liked what we were offering, but they wanted to shed salary so they could make a run at some free agents. At that point, we were still pursuing Serge Ibaka and didn't want to give up the space. However, we didn't hear back from Serge for a few days and knew it was too risky to wait on him- so we pulled the trigger. I told GM Barkley I would take on Tyrus Thomas' contract, and less than an hour later we were drafting Jabari Parker.
Wow, that's quite the timeline. Did you consider taking anyone besides Parker?
Barber: It's funny, because we really wanted Aaron Gordon- who, it turns out, would have fallen to us at 8. But no, if we were going to give up that much to move up, it had to be for Parker. He was number 1 on our draft board from day one, and we're extremely lucky to have him.
A lot of people are wondering if the "Bad Boys" era is now over in Utah with so many new players. Care to comment?
Barber: We embraced being the Bad Boys for a while, but I think that left when we essentially swapped Dion Waiters for a Mormon. I guess we're no longer the villains.
Your last move this offseason was to sign Marcin Gortat. Want to give us the inside scoop on that one?
Barber: Marcin was another guy we never thought we had a shot at, and, to be honest, never really considered going after. Once we realized we could easily move Tyrus Thomas' contract, and that we had molded Utah into an attractive destination with the acquisition of Teague and Parker, we just had to go after a center. It's funny, this is another move that came about due to the uncertainty of Serge Ibaka. We decided to pull the trigger on Marcin because we couldn't risk waiting any longer on Serge's decision. I think a lot of teams are regretting not doing that now, so we're really lucky to get Gortat. He's a guy who can really be a game changer for us. We didn't have any kind of post presence last season, and Gortat is an absolute beast down there. We've got four shooters around him, so we really expect him to dominate.
Any more offseason plans?
Barber: We still have a few tricks up our sleeve
What are your plans for the future of this team?
Barber: Well, we're young and talented right now, so I think the future is really bright. Obviously we are going to develop Jabari and hope he turns into a star, but for the most part I think we really just need to grow as a team. We've kinda pieced some things together this offseason, so now we need to see how it works out.
It has been a busy offseason for the Utah Jazz. After finishing the season on a 5 game win streak and losing a coin flip to Denver, the Jazz bounced themselves from a top 5 pick to pick number 8; and many thought the entire tanking season to be a waste. Numerous reporters in Salt Lake City were calling for GM Josh Barber's head. However, like always, the veteran manager had a few tricks up his sleeve. The team managed to trade the 8th pick in a package deal to Houston for the 2nd overall pick- which Barber would enthusiastically use to draft Jabari Parker. The team also added point guard Jeff Teague and center Marcin Gortat in free agency, filling gaps in the two most dubious positions for the Jazz last season.
Our inside reporter Bosh Jarber sat down with GM Josh Barber to discuss the offseason in detail.
What were your plans going into the offseason?
Barber: I had a general idea of what I wanted to do. There were a couple free agents that I really wanted to target, and I knew who I wanted with the 8th pick. To be honest, I never expected to have as successful an offseason as I did. We've never attracted better than a 78 rated free agent to Utah before (Raymond Felton), yet we got two this season. Sometimes things just fall into your lap.
What free agents in particular did you want to target?
Barber: Sticking with the Bad Boys theme, our number one target going into the offseason was Tyreke Evans. We thought we had the best shot at convincing him to come to Utah moreso than any other free agent. Our second target was Serge Ibaka.
What about Tristan Thompson? He was a big part of the team last season.
Barber: Honestly, we never expected him to opt out. I'd be surprised if he finds as good of a situation as he had here in Utah. He had a starting role and was making $6 mil a year. Him opting out really opened the doors for us to be creative. It gave us the cap space to throw big money at two free agents instead of one. As you said though, he was an integral part of our team and we would still love to have him back in Utah.
How did the Jeff Teague signing come about?
Barber: As a Wake Forest graduate, Teague is a guy I absolutely love. We never really thought we had a shot at getting him because the Thunder were holding all the cards. After some initial negotiations though, we caught wind that the Thunder weren't even making a run at him, so we went all-in. We knew Teague had to be our guy, and we're extremely happy that he chose the Jazz. It just goes to show, if you do your due dilligence, you might just get lucky.
After you signed Teague, a lot of people thought you were done- but then, out of the blue, you trade up for Jabari Parker. How did that happen?
Barber: As soon as we heard that the Rockets were looking to trade the pick, we threw everything we had at them. They liked what we were offering, but they wanted to shed salary so they could make a run at some free agents. At that point, we were still pursuing Serge Ibaka and didn't want to give up the space. However, we didn't hear back from Serge for a few days and knew it was too risky to wait on him- so we pulled the trigger. I told GM Barkley I would take on Tyrus Thomas' contract, and less than an hour later we were drafting Jabari Parker.
Wow, that's quite the timeline. Did you consider taking anyone besides Parker?
Barber: It's funny, because we really wanted Aaron Gordon- who, it turns out, would have fallen to us at 8. But no, if we were going to give up that much to move up, it had to be for Parker. He was number 1 on our draft board from day one, and we're extremely lucky to have him.
A lot of people are wondering if the "Bad Boys" era is now over in Utah with so many new players. Care to comment?
Barber: We embraced being the Bad Boys for a while, but I think that left when we essentially swapped Dion Waiters for a Mormon. I guess we're no longer the villains.
Your last move this offseason was to sign Marcin Gortat. Want to give us the inside scoop on that one?
Barber: Marcin was another guy we never thought we had a shot at, and, to be honest, never really considered going after. Once we realized we could easily move Tyrus Thomas' contract, and that we had molded Utah into an attractive destination with the acquisition of Teague and Parker, we just had to go after a center. It's funny, this is another move that came about due to the uncertainty of Serge Ibaka. We decided to pull the trigger on Marcin because we couldn't risk waiting any longer on Serge's decision. I think a lot of teams are regretting not doing that now, so we're really lucky to get Gortat. He's a guy who can really be a game changer for us. We didn't have any kind of post presence last season, and Gortat is an absolute beast down there. We've got four shooters around him, so we really expect him to dominate.
Any more offseason plans?
Barber: We still have a few tricks up our sleeve
What are your plans for the future of this team?
Barber: Well, we're young and talented right now, so I think the future is really bright. Obviously we are going to develop Jabari and hope he turns into a star, but for the most part I think we really just need to grow as a team. We've kinda pieced some things together this offseason, so now we need to see how it works out.