Korver traded to Jazz

[westkoast]

I was just using the nifty NBA.com feature of comparing two players and Kyle is better then Gordan in just about every way possible.  He literally can do everything he can but better plus he is younger.

[Derek Bodner]

IMO when Gordan wants to be, he can be a better defender.  But I'd definitely take Korver as a better overall player.  I have very mixed emotions about the trade.

[rickortreat]

Finally got to see Giricek play last night, and I'm even happier about the trade.  IMO, we lost nothing by picking him up for Korver.

Gordan is a better defender, a bit quicker and moves better without the ball.  He is as good with the stop and pop as Korver, and has better ballhandling skills.

If he gets equal minutes, he will score at a very comparable level to Kyle.  He asked to be traded, because Sloan was getting on him. So now he's in a place where he can be happier, and Kyle gets a chance to be on a better team.

It turns out that the pick they get is not one of the ones from NYC. It will not ever be a great pick, unless the NBA makes a mistake when drafting- which incidentally, they do all the time.

[Ted]

I thought I'd better chime in on the trade.

I loved this trade for two reasons.

1. Gordan Giricek did little for us when he was not in Jerry Sloan's doghouse. He is not a great outside shooter; he can look great once in a while, but is not a consistently accurate shooter. He played average defense, which on the Jazz this year is good, but he never really emerged as a real offensive threat.

2. Gordan Giricek was in Jerry Sloan's doghouse. You knew he was never going to get floor time. Especially with Ronnie and CJ Miles earning more time. How the Jazz got any value when everyone knew Giricek wasn't going to play again is beyond me. They get a guy who is, IMO, marginally a better player with skills the Jazz need BADLY. The Jazz don't need Korver to handle the ball a lot. They need him to be the guy receiving that fourth pass for the open three. We haven't had this kind of accuracy from 3-land since Hornacek or Stockton. As long as he exerts the appropriate amount of effort on defense (i.e. crosses midcourt half the time), he'll be about as good as the rest of the team. He could really open things up for Booz and the others.

You hate to give up draft picks, and unless the Jazz get things figured out, that pick could actually have more value than we think, but the Jazz have enough young guys that need to develop. Use the spot to bring in a decent veteran.

Anyway, I think Korver can thrive by playing like Harping does on offense--coming off screens, cutting to the hoop (did it nicely a couple of times last night) and by doing a few things Harpring does not do like hit the open three. If he can hit the boards as hard as Harp does, he'll be money in my book. I don't expect that from him though.

[ziggy]

I thought I'd better chime in on the trade.

I loved this trade for two reasons.

1. Gordan Giricek did little for us when he was not in Jerry Sloan's doghouse. He is not a great outside shooter; he can look great once in a while, but is not a consistently accurate shooter. He played average defense, which on the Jazz this year is good, but he never really emerged as a real offensive threat.

2. Gordan Giricek was in Jerry Sloan's doghouse. You knew he was never going to get floor time. Especially with Ronnie and CJ Miles earning more time. How the Jazz got any value when everyone knew Giricek wasn't going to play again is beyond me. They get a guy who is, IMO, marginally a better player with skills the Jazz need BADLY. The Jazz don't need Korver to handle the ball a lot. They need him to be the guy receiving that fourth pass for the open three. We haven't had this kind of accuracy from 3-land since Hornacek or Stockton. As long as he exerts the appropriate amount of effort on defense (i.e. crosses midcourt half the time), he'll be about as good as the rest of the team. He could really open things up for Booz and the others.

You hate to give up draft picks, and unless the Jazz get things figured out, that pick could actually have more value than we think, but the Jazz have enough young guys that need to develop. Use the spot to bring in a decent veteran.

Anyway, I think Korver can thrive by playing like Harping does on offense--coming off screens, cutting to the hoop (did it nicely a couple of times last night) and by doing a few things Harpring does not do like hit the open three. If he can hit the boards as hard as Harp does, he'll be money in my book. I don't expect that from him though.

Well based upon his first games performance it was a great move by the Jazz.  Korver is a Pella, Iowa boy, and I have been to Pella a number of times, and we do lots of business with Pella Windows, so I have always followed him.  You know it is always good to butter up the customer by talking up their local boy. He shot poorly, and yet he still did a lot to help Utah snap our 13 game win streak.  The Utah fans were on the edge of their seat every time he shot the ball from deep, wanting to explode, but he missed a number of shots.

He worked hard on defense though, fought through screens, didn't give James Jones a lot of open space and easy shots.  He is a better rebounder that he is given credit for, and he is absolutely money from the FT line.  I can see as the season progresses Utah going with a Boozer, Kirilenko, Korver frontline late in games, with the plan to get the ball to Korver in obvious foul situations.  He will knock them down at a 95% rate, and make it very difficult for teams to catch up.

[ziggy]

Just did a little research on http://www.basketball-reference.com/
Here are the similarity scores for Korver and Giricek, based solely on stats

GIRICEK
Most Similar Season at Age
25. Al Wood (951) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
26. Matt Carroll (958) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
27. Sam Mack (935) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
29. Ollie Johnson (941) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Most Similar Season
2002-03. Roger Phegley, 1980-81 (963) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2003-04. Roger Phegley, 1980-81 (975) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2004-05. Mike Sanders, 1986-87 (959) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2006-07. Chris Mills, 2001-02 (961) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


KORVER
Most Similar Season at Age
23. Reggie Miller (923) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
24. Scott Burrell (935) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
25. Wally Szczerbiak (950) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Most Similar Season
2004-05. Craig Ehlo, 1992-93 (943) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2005-06. Wally Szczerbiak, 1999-00 (959) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2006-07. Glen Rice, 2000-01 (963) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Korver is 4 years younger, and produces similar to much better players.  I think Utah won this deal hands down.

[Ted]

I can see as the season progresses Utah going with a Boozer, Kirilenko, Korver frontline late in games, with the plan to get the ball to Korver in obvious foul situations.  He will knock them down at a 95% rate, and make it very difficult for teams to catch up.

Wow! Ziggy the prophet! Korver hit 5 straight free throws in the last 26 seconds to seal the deal. And I'll take 14 points in 11 minutes anytime.