SHAKEUP: Utah Jazz Face CRITICAL Draft Decision—Who Will DELIVER More Wins ? Boozer or Peterson?

1. Man… Jazz fans were frustrated with Gordon Haywards lifeless PR interviews, I remember with Donovan Mitchell how the first couple of years there was joy followed by 3 years of PR “are you leaving? Do you like Rudy” exhaustion. And then Rudy beloved 3xDPOY with the weird interviews and being despised and voted by his peers as most overrated.

   I loved all three of those players.

   And now… we have a generational draft class. With a consensus top 3. And can you believe it? 2 of those top 3 have strong ties to the state of Utah, established relationships…. One is outgoing and charismatic to the moon, the other is thoughtful and trained since birth as the ultimate professional.

   And we want… the guy who barely functions in front of a microphone. The guy who him and his camp who cant spin a pr story that he is having a catastrophic medical issue but is trying so damn hard to play? The guy who didn’t have the trust of one of colleges most legendary coaches. The guy who alienated a legendary fan base.

   The guy that we so desperately want to be a 6’6 combo guard but in reality will be a 6’5 perimeter threat.

   David lock every last non grey hair on your head will be grey by the time Peterson leaves Utah in 7 years. You are sentenced to spend half of the rest of your podcasting career explaining and defending every little unexplainable, uncomfortable, irrational statement uttered by Darryn at the podium. Your greatest joys at work will be seeing Keyonte and Ace walk up to the post game media interview rather than Darryn.

   All this for 2 reasons. For claiming geeky little numbers while stating Darryn is 6’6, AJ 6’9 and Boozer 6’10… and for having the pleasure of considering myself as the most negative person you have ever interacted with.

   I’m being facetious, dramatic and negative and when the Jazz draft Peterson 2nd on Tuesday I will cheer the young man on for the rest of his career same as I have the guys I first mentioned. But man, passing on 6’9 unique scorers for a 6’5 TRAD SG… makes me sick. I can only laugh.

2. Please stop talking about Boozer as a 5. Quit comparing him to ANY 5, especially the Joker…..

3. It is cut and dry. It will D Peterson if he's available. Jazz need defense. They also need a superstar.

4. I cant wait untilThursday morning

5. All three are really good, none of them are great. To get that level takes a good culture and teamwork. Boozer is the best at that right now.

6. Say chalk one more time jeez

7. AJ is not similar to Banquero or RJ Barrett. He's just not. He's far more athletic, so much so that with NBA spacing, I think he'll average mid 20's from the start of his career. His shot is NOT broken, he just needs to work on more arc. Just look at his shot, it's not even close to being broken. A few tweaks, he's good to go on 3 pointers. At one point you brought up one of the Thompson twins comparing 3 point shooting. Their shooting form is putrid compared to AJ.
   David, I've been a big fan of yours even before the Locked On days, but you're off base here. AJ would be a dream come true followed very closely by DP, so much so that I'm going to be beyond thrilled by either one. Booz is very talented but requires a complete overhaul of the roster, whereas AJ and DP are plug in and start cooking.
   AJ or DP and Ace is a dream come true for this old geezer who just wants a championship, after watching 99.9 per cent of all Jazz games since the day they got here. JMO

8. What’s gonna happen?! Aaaahh! I’m praying for DP or Booz! Please let one of those happen!

9. Boozer is Dani Adbia without coronation.

10. It wasn’t until today that I decided I want Mikel Brown. He basically gives you everything Peterson does without all the question marks and drama. He can play both guard positions, has size, athleticism, and high basketball iq. For me, the Jazz are too heavy in their front court for Boozer.

11. Don’t buy into the flashy mess of DP I do believe the health concern would be manageable, but it did do mental damage to him hence the check in himself out of games for fear of triggering the cramps unfortunately you don’t want to invest such a high price into someone like that because it is one thing to overcome a physical ailment, but a mental element is significantly more challenging to address. That’s why I believe AJ will be drafted number one and that’s why you are hearing Camron is rising because more front offices are weighing the longevity of DP’s mental toughness. Any other draft class Camron would be number one hands-down so to get him at number two should be an absolute joy to us Jazz Fan’s knowing that he is a professional. He is very humble with respect to plan in the state. Also if Ace is going to be our 1A – 1B best player in five years. DP will hinder the growth of him. Especially with the changes in the draft lottery, we should be ecstatic to get Camron when realistically his caliber of talent is a number one overall pick.

12. Too many red flags about Peterson. If we take boozer, you will know why we did

13. I absolutely hate the idea of grabbing Boozer..Locke I feel you’re trying to sell Boozer on us hard core. Almost like you’re preparing us for it. “But he wins at every level’..does he? Did he win at Duke like so many over the past 35 years..”he won in high school”…just like 500 other NBA player ahead of him?! Defense is questionable, bucket getter last 2 minutes is questionable..to high of a pick to get for 2nd best player on team. Best case scenario.

14. Everyone talking about boozer at 2 needs their Jazz card taken away.

    I would take Wilson before boozer because at that point you at least get the long term ceiling. Boozer will do fine in the NBA. But is that really what we tanked 4 years for? Fine?

15. Bias creeps in with everything. There are 2 flaws in David’s communication of his analysis that many fans are adapting into their opinions.

    1) AJ can’t shoot.
    Actually AJ has a poor percentage catch and shoot three point shot. Now David is fine to emphasize the importance of this number as much as he wants. But the absolute that AJ can’t shoot is false. He is above average shooting the three off the bounce. He is 99th percentile in the mid range off the bounce. AJ can shoot, he just doesn’t shoot the shot David likes and uses as a critical marker of success. But the conclusion is wrong.

    2) Boozer is not athletic. Boozer doesn’t dunk a ton, he also isn’t much of a rim deterrent. He doesn’t have vertical athleticism in his game. However Boozer is athletic, he is the youngest prospect of the 4 and he played bully ball at the college level at 18. He also has a max vert of 35 and standing vert of 28 which is just 3 off your “uber athletic” Darryn Peterson. So boozer is athletic and he is nba athletic. Just not above the rim.

    And I think context matters. 2/3 of the top 3 guys are labeled as poor defenders. 2/3 guys were the cruxes of their teams entire offenses and could not and were directed not to get into foul trouble. Only 1/3 guys was their teams offense better with him off the court. The defensive capabilities between the 3 are not that different. Keep that in mind.

16. AJ is 1 of 1. Quit comparing him to players and thinking he’s not going to be good because you can’t find a “statistical match”

17. Nathan Grubel looks like he played a ton of ball. Like an AI version of an NBA expert in a sense

18. The way Wilson is being dismissed here is something that will be revisited..

19. I gotta say – I find it frustrating that 90% of these draft conversations are about the offensive capabilities of these players. I think DP is the obvious choice because he's the best two-way player of the top three guys. That makes him the obvious choice.
    I think the top three players from last year's draft will have better careers than the top three from this draft because Flagg, Harper, and Edgecombe are all great two-way players. The only great two-way player in this group is DP.

20. I really think that DP is going 1. So AJ to Utah. (And I say that as a certified BYU hater, but I'd love to have AJ on the Jazz)

21. The real question is if Boozer is going to be able to rebound at the NBA level like the college level. Which I don’t think a 6’9 boozer is out rebounding any 7 footer in the league. His pick and roll game is not gonna be as good in the NBA because it’s lots of pump fakes and bruising, which he won’t be doing against the better NBA centers at 6’9. And his IQ you’re assuming is staying better than all these NBA players like it was in college? He had the clear advantage growing up with an NBA vet dad and elite coaching. Once everyone gets the same coaching in the league the advantage isn’t gonna stay that big of a gap. Boozer is gonna be Al Horford at best in this league.

22. I’m finally sold. If DP is available, we take him.
    If DP goes to the Wizards….. want Boozer

23. AJ is an extremely underrated passer. He also scored from the mid range at a higher rate and higher percentage than any of the players you mentioned in comparison. He can more or less get to the basket for a dunk or layup always even with three guys in front of him. He could be slotted into the Jazz this year and definitely have a positive impact on the floor. His size and athleticism are unlike almost any already in the league and he has tools and the tenacity to develop as a defender although he did struggle on that end of the floor. He shot the three a lot better at the beginning of the year when the team still had more to it than just letting AJ go in isolation or pick and roll which led to worse shots. If he is there at two we have to take him.

24. The AJ comps are trash. Paolo Banchero? Stop with this nonsense. Paolo is a bruiser downhill. That is not AJ. RJ Barrett? Gtfo. He is slower, shorter, ans even right now, less skilled than AJ.

25. NOT BOOZER he's a terrible fit with the current roster. He can't play center and JJJ is better at the 4. We also have Lauri and Flip at the 4. Boozer is positionally the least versatile of the bunch as he is pretty much just a 4, and we don't need that.

26. We need the best player available. DP if available should be our pick.

27. I am going to troll you all in 4-12 years when Boozer is the best player in this draft. Stop dismissing him. I don’t want to hear anything about fit with the number 2 pick.

28. I wonder if Washington forces Jazz to trade up, by picking Peterson.

29. D.P.-1 AJ-2 Boozer-3

30. When I watch Boozer, I see a guy who dominates through his rebounding, physicality, and stength. I don't see his skillset improving at the NBA level, I think everything he is good at is going to be harder playing against NBA Centers and PFs. Where does he fit on this roster? Plus, out of the three Boozer is the worst defender without a doubt. I also question his athleticism.

31. DP's willingness/ability to play is my biggest concern. He strikes me as someone that will sit a lot if he's not 100%. David, great statistic (DP has never played 30 games in a season in high school and college) and he will be asked to play approx. 100 games for a playoff deep run.

32. If it looks like that in the summer Ace Baily improved his ball handling, there is absolutely no need for Peterson, I would trade for AJ or take Cam boozer

33. Boozer is an absolute hard no. Sorry, but he cannot defend, and that's a large part of Flip's problem that holds him back. Boozer is closer to being another Flip than he is to Jokic let's be honest. And that is NOT a #2 pick. If AJ is 1 and the medicals don't pan out for DP, it needs to be either Wilson, Acuff, or Brown. Boozer will be fine, but that's about it, nevermind that bigs drafted at 2 usually bust

34. I can't wait for Cameron "The Blue Marvel" Boozer to just start dunking on everyone and prove to the world that he has NEVER been an unathlectic player #GENERATIONAL #OpenyoureyesFC

35. So many ads

36. David….it's clear you don't like AJ…and you like Boozer. You are selling it pretty hard…not really sure why….I would take AJ before Boozer.

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