Minnesota Timberwolves Deal Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz
In one of the most logical trades of the off-season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz.
Jefferson’s playing style never quite meshed well with the general team mentality of the Timberwolves. The big man thrives in a slow-it-down, low-post game with as much contact as possible. Minnesota as a team was focused on being athletic and fast, a type of game-play which is much less financially binding.
In turn, the Jazz has been desperate to replace Carlos Boozer who played a very similar style of basketball to Jefferson. With the Jazz, Jefferson will get to play the basketball which he is best at. Additionally, he will be able to score and rebound on the block and divert some attention from the Jazz’s main asset: point guard Deron Williams.
Williams and Jefferson seem like a perfect duo, a concept which the Utah Jazz have relied on heavily throughout coach Jerry Sloan’s lengthy tenure.
In exchange for Jefferson, the Timberwolves receive two first-round picks and young centre Kosta Koufos. Sources close to the deal also report that the deal included a traded player exception for salary-cap flexibility purposes, though this was not part of the official trade announcement.
Jefferson had a solid past season with the floundering Timberwolves and average 17.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. In the Jazz’s offensive system, both sets of numbers are likely to improve.
The Timberwolves now have a much smaller, sleeker offensive unit that includes Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, and the newly acquired Michael Beasley. In such a scheme, Jefferson was simply extra baggage.
"With the arrival of Michael Beasley, it would have been difficult to play Al the kind of minutes he deserves without jeopardizing the development of both Kevin Love and Michael,'' Timberwolves president David Kahn said in announcing the deal. "The first-round picks we receive plus the flexibility that we now have under the salary cap made this the right time to make what was a difficult decision.''
Jefferson has struggled a bit as of late and has been recovering steadily from a major knee operation. The Jazz hope he will fill the void left by Boozer’s departure, and if Jefferson can return to prior form he is the perfect man for the position. In 2008, prior to blowing out his knee, Jefferson averaged 23.1 points and 11 rebounds in 50 games. Boozer managed 19.5 ppg and 11.2 rpg last year.
Boozer is also expecting a big season with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have been one more star away from a super contender, and Boozer hopes to be that final piece in the puzzle.
The Bulls, who seemed like strong candidates in the LeBron James sweepstakes prior to James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade all signing with the Miami Heat, has a very strong supporting cast set up for Boozer.
Boozer will have Derrick Rose to supply him with lots of shot opportunities in a very similar manner to Deron Williams. Unlike the Jazz, the Bulls also have depth with players like Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.
With Jefferson, the Jazz roster is not much improved, but essentially stabilized. Per Jazz tradition, the team should quietly and easily qualify for the play-offs as a four or five seed prior to being dismantled by a flashier team in the second round.
The Utah glory days of Karl Malone and John Stockton are gone, and Jerry Sloan’s rigid coaching style no longer translated to success in the more fluid and dynamic playing styles of the contemporary NBA. Either way, Jefferson is perhaps the best fit to this archaic system though it will most likely be of little impact in the general scope of things.
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