re: Our current starting center would probably be the worst starter among all West contenders

With the rest of the roster, our 5 will mostly need to be tough and make things a dog fight inside. They don’t need to be superstars.

Theis is about league average or slightly above in most advanced stats, JRE is near average to slightly below. In a very limited role they aren’t as bad as some are thinking.

Jamison was below average in his time with the Griz last year but is young and did show some upside. Karlo is somewhat similar, young with good size and athleticism, so he has a shot to help too. The rookie is a typical flyer on an athletic young guy. If any of these guys can legitimately contribute then that’s a 3/4 man rotation and 18/24 fouls to create a nightly street fight.

They’ll be undersized but athletic. If they go all out and platoon to keep each other from getting worn down it can work.

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you got downvoted but there was a stat that supported your statement. That’s my biggest problem about keeping him. If he’s in the game he wants the last shot , he just can’t make it

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well good thing murray is the opposite and clutch af.

he came in to get guys the best shot or take it himself (which he makes an asston).

As for center issues, the most comparable team is maybe...phoenix with the "frick the center position" mindset.

Despite Nance playing quite a bit last year --- Just look at the last 10 games vs playoff teams in regular season for JV:
LAL - 7 Mins (L)
@Phx - 4 mins (W)
Orlando - 19 mins (L)
Phoenix - 24 mins (L)
Boston - 15 mins (L)
Milwaukee - 23 mins (W)
OKC - 11 mins (L)
@Miami - 22 mins (W)
@Orlando - 18 mins (L)
LAC - 18 mins (W)

Just for fun game #11
Cleveland - 15 mins (L)

Say what you want, we still need to replace 10-20 minutes of JV to be a solid playoff contender. Sure you might be able to outgun and straight up beat teams like Detroit, Charlotte, etc...

you're gonna struggle vs the other half of the league though

K

Wonder if we can pull off:

Jazz- BI, Missi, JRE
Pels- Collins, Kessler, (2) 1st

Or instead of (2) 1st:

(1) 1st + (1) swap
(3) swaps??
(1) 1st + Cody Williams
(1) swap + Cody Williams

This would put BI's "value" right around (4) 1st and fill out our roster.

Murray/ Jose/ Reeves
CJ/ Hawk/ Ryan
Herb/ Trey/ Williams
Zion/ Karlo/ Jemison
Kessler/ Collins/ Thies

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Why would the Jazz want Ingram?

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If they keep Lauri and plan to sign BI.

They would have a base of:
Lauri/ BI/ Keyonte/ Fillipowski/ Williams

They would have Lauri/ BI guaranteed for 5 years + (11) 1st to use in the next 5 years.

Get in play for Steph/ Booker/ Brown/ Young down the road.

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Wemby had 14/12, Gobert had 4/1, and Theis had 7/8. That's actually not half bad all things considered. Also, Germany out rebounded France 36 to 29 and Theis was the leading rebounder with 8.

It’s a horrendous group. This is a solid backup small ball 5 but that’s going to be Karlo’s role so Theis will start but I bet Karlo plays more than Theis. A trade needs to happen. If Utah would commit to Lauri and give him a max deal then they could try to look for a shot creator to pair with him and Sexton. BI would be a good choice but he’s got to come off the max shite. If he would accept a contract that is 85% the max I think teams would be interested. Right now though, I would trade BI for Walker Kessler straight up. Of course BI is the better player but we get a talented young shot blocking machine to start at center for only $3 million and we would have all that money of BI’s deal back which would put the team under the tax easily and allow you to give Trey his extension. Sure it would be great to get a 1st back with that deal but the cost savings is just too valuable. We would be a more complete team in a better financial situation and we still our draft picks to add to the team.

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You replaced bad rebounders and defenders with worse rebounders and defenders

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Murray was near Josh Hart level rebounder in San Antonio. I think he can cover what you lost with Naji/Dyson. Nance was a barely adequate rebounder. Theis is in the same tier but a little worse. 9.6 Rebounds per 36 for Larry vs. 9.0 for Theis. All in all I think you can call that a wash.

The JV deficit is going to be hard to make up. Kessler and Duren are in the same rebounding tier as JV. If they can't swing something like that then they are just going to have to do it differently. Build your defense around the top 2 players in steals the last 3 years in Murray and Herb. Play in transition a lot. Space the floor and attack the paint with drives to get their bigs in foul trouble and run them off the floor.

This is not something they would be able to paper over without a trade. They are going to have to become really good at something new this season to make up for the rebounding issue.

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Nance & Naji were your 2nd and 3rd best rebounders last year, Dyson was 5th

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Our backup center was our #2 rebounder? Wow, who could've imagined that?

It's almost as if that's a primary responsibility of the center position.