Morning Jazz 05-06-14

If you kept up with us here at The J Notes yesterday, there was quite a bit of new Utah Jazz articles that we put out. Today, we have more stuff to share with you, including a new mock draft! If you missed any of the stuff we put out yesterday, or any of the other great Jazz reads from around the web, we’ve got you covered here with today’s edition of the “Morning Jazz”.

Trey Burke finishes third in Rookie of the Year voting (via Purpleandblues.com)

Heading into the 2013-14′ regular season, Utah Jazz rookie point guard Trey Burke, was a favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors. After an up and down season, and the votes counted, Burke finished third behind runner up Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic, and the winner of the Rookie of the Year voting, the Philadelphia 76er’s point guard Michael Carter-Williams.

Carter-Williams took home the award with 569 votes. Oladipo followed with 364, while Burke finished just above the Brooklyn Nets rookie Miles Plumlee. Burke got 96 votes.

If you look solely at the stat line of MCW, you can see why he was easily the winner of this award. MCW averaged 16.7 points per game to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per games. He joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Jazz swing man Gordon Hayward, as the only players in the league to average more than 15, 5, & 5 during the season. (Continue reading here)

Utah Jazz: What I would do if I was GM this off season (via Purpleandblues.com)

Every fan thinks about what they wish the Utah Jazz would do and I’m no different. The great part about talking about a subject like this is it gives everyone ideas and lets everyone think of something maybe they haven’t already. For example I’m guessing 90% of fans think Trey Burke is a sure fire Jazz guy for at least the next 7 years, but what if the Jazz draft Dante Exum? What does that do to the team this year, next year or in 5 years?

My point is this, even though the Jazz have certain players you think will be around for a long time doesn’t mean they will be. Dennis Lindsey is trying to build a championship team and to do that the Jazz have a lot of options.

Who are the championship caliber players on this team? (Continue reading here)

Who should represent the Utah Jazz at the NBA Draft Lottery? (via Purpleandblues.com)

The Utah Jazz ended the 2013-14 NBA season tied with the Boston Celtics for the fourth-worst record and promptly got lucky in a 50/50 coin toss to take sole possession of a few extra ping pong ball combinations for the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery to be held May 20th.

The Jazz actually have better odds of falling back to fifth than moving up into the top three.

"They have a greater chance at landing 5th (35.1%), 6th (16%), 3rd (13.3%), 2nd (12.6%) or 1st (11.9%) than staying at 4th (9.9%).–John English, Taxi Squad Show"

Clearly the Jazz require a good luck charm of some sort or another to really cement justification for such a lousy season, one where allegations of tanking were rampant.

Last season Utah Jazz president Randy Rigby asked fans to submit lucky charms that he could take to the drawing with him, ultimately deciding on a lucky Green River fly fishing grasshopper that he got from his fishing buddy.  That particular cast into the pools of fate apparently got snagged on a Tamarisk because the Jazz stayed put in the draw. So, sorry, fishermen, no more baiting. (Continue reading here)

Utah Jazz: Trey Burke’s focus for improvement (via HoopsHabit.com)

What did you expect from Trey Burke in his rookie season?

Pre-draft expectations left most confident that he would be a solid lottery pick who could potentially win Rookie of the Year, depending on the team that selected him.

After watching Burke struggle worse than D-league hopefuls in the NBA Summer League, optimism shifted to thoughts of peril regarding his outlook in his first campaign. Burke couldn’t shoot and didn’t look anything like the stud point guard that led his Michigan team into the Final Four. He managed just 8.8 points and 4 assists on 24 percent shooting from the floor in the four summer games he participated in. He made just one of the 19 shots he took from 3 and had a player efficiency rating of (gulp) 3.5.

Eager to put the summer nightmare behind him, Burke entered training camp ready to lead the Utah Jazz offense. Apparently the basketball gods were angered and Burke suffered a wrist injury that delayed his debut until Nov. 20. Clearly things were pretty ominous for Burke heading into his rookie debut. (Continue reading here)

What Utah Jazz star Trey Burke can teach you about money management (via DeseretNews.com)

Utah Jazz star Alphonso Clark Burke III, better known as Trey Burke, grew up in an average, middle-class family in “Middle America.” Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he describes his family life as fairly unremarkable.

His father, Alphonso Jr., who goes by Benji, and his mother, Ronda, were both professionals who provided a comfortable, “normal” life for their three children.

Benji said he worked hard to encourage discipline in his son when it comes to money, which, he admitted, was challenging considering the mindset of a young person who suddenly finds himself with a multimillion-dollar sports contract. (Continue reading here)

NBA draft tracker: Senior prospects who could land with the Utah Jazz (via DeseretNews.com)

Although the extraordinary freshman class and a few other underclassmen have taken most of the headlines about the 2014 NBA draft, there are plenty of talented seniors who left their mark on college basketball this season. Doug McDermott of Creighton won every major National Player of the Year award and was an Associated Press first team All-American. Three other seniors also earned AP first team All-American honors; Shabazz Napier of UConn, Russ Smith of Louisville and Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati. Even though none of the seniors are expected to be selected in the first few picks, plenty of them will hear their name called on draft night. (Continue reading here)

Be sure to keep up with us here at The J Notes, as we bring you new Utah Jazz content daily. Also, be sure to keep it here with us as we bring you coverage of the NBA Playoffs.