2013 NBA Draft Recap: Trey Bien!! It’s a Good Day to be a Jazz Fan

Wow. What a way to put your stamp on a franchise. Not only for Dennis Lindsey but for Coach Tyrone Corbin. Trey Burke, Rudy Gobert and Raul Neto are the newest members of the Utah Jazz in one of the most entertaining drafts in recent memory. ESPN breaks down 15 of the 16 draft night trades. Dennis Lindsey confirmed around 11:40 pm mountain time that the Jazz had acquired #47 pick Raul Neto from the Hawks for a 2015 2nd round pick the Jazz own from the Nets. This is a big step in the right direction for this franchise and the youth movement has begun. Here is a breakdown of the Jazz draft night moves.

1. Trey Burke. The Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves agree to swap picks after the player the T-Wolves wanted, Caldwell-Pope, went one pick earlier to the Pistons. The Timberwolves drafted Burke with the 9th pick, and the Jazz draft Shabazz Muhammad with the 14th pick and Gorguei Dieng with the 21st pick. The trade was made official 15-20 minutes after the Jazz made the 21st pick. In Burk the Jazz are getting the Naismith College Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, Wooden Award winner and Bob Cousy Award winner. He lead the youngest team in the NCAA tournament to the Final Four. He made clutch shot after clutch shot even after shooting low percentages in most games. This shows his fearlessness and his belief in his abilities. As my own Grandfather McDermott would say after a poor shooting game, “Just keep shooting!” Burke’s game will fit in nicely with “The Core 4” and we should have an exciting brand of basketball to watch for years to come.

Jun 27, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Rudy Gobert walks off the stage after being selected as the number twenty-seven overall pick to the Denver Nuggets during the 2013 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

2. Rudy Gobert. The Denver Nuggets selected Gobert with the 27th pick and soon after Twitter was lighting up with reports he was being traded to the the Jazz for the 46th pick and cash. With the 46th pick the Jazz selected Virginia Tech guard Erick Greene and just before pick 55 was announced the Jazz trade with the Nuggets was made official. In Gobert the Jazz get a 7’2″ center who is 19 years old and still filling into his body. He has a lot of raw talent, but with the help of big man coach Karl Malone the Jazz can mold him and teach him the nuances of the game. His wingspan is 7’9″ and his standing reach is 9’7″. He is a very big human being and the thought of Gobert and Favors protecting the rim makes me absolutely giddy. Love the pick.

July 16, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Brazil guard Raul Togni Neto (5) dribbles the ball against the United States in the second half at Verizon Center. Team USA won 80-69. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3. Raul Neto. The Atlanta Hawks selected Neto with the 47th pick and then traded him to the Jazz for a 2015 2nd round pick. Neto is a 21 year old, 6’2″ point guard from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais in Brazil. Dennis Lindsey described him as a pure point guard. Chad Ford of ESPN had this to say about Neto “Neto was the Eurocamp’s best guard a few weeks ago. He starts in the ACB (Spain), is super quick and really sees the floor well. Another draft-and-stash player.”

All three players are expected to be introduced at the Zions Bank Basketball Center at a 3:00 pm news conference today. Jazz fans should be ecstatic with how the draft turned out. All lot of things had to happen, such as Cody Zeller going 4th to the Bobcats, in order for this to happen for the Jazz. Things fell their way and they got the best point guard in the draft and a really good project. As the great Frank Layden said “You can’t teach height!” The Jazz got better last night, and the future is very bright.