What I Would I Do If I Was Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor on Draft Day

If I were Kevin O'Connor on draft day, I would start off the day with a giant bowl of Wheaties, just for the superstitious sake of the possibility of it making me a champion. I would top it off with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice while trying to control my anxiety. 

Then I would go the bathroom mirror and take a good long, hard look at myself and think.

This is the biggest draft of my tenure. I would think back on previous drafts and the decisions I’d made. I would kick myself for picking Kris Humphries with the 14th pick in 2004 instead of Al Jefferson who was taken with the next pick at 15, but then realize it’s alright because we have acquired Jefferson. I would kick myself again for then selecting Kirk Snyder with the 16th pick of the same year instead of Josh Smith also taken with the next pick at 17.

I would again calm myself by realizing Josh Smith is an incredible talent but would not have made it in Utah with his personality clashing with Sloan. That is a scenario I’m glad I avoided. I would realize I also made a mistake by drafting Kosta Koufos with the 23rd pick in 2008 instead of Serge Ibaka taken 24th. But then I would realize it was OK because...well that one still looks rather grim, as Ibaka’s defensive presence would be a nice addition to the Jazz frontcourt.

It’s all right...I tell myself I have made my share of excellent picks as well. I was the one, who despite falling in the draft order, was able to trade up to draft Deron Williams with the third pick in 2005, who is now one of the premier PG’s in the NBA. I was the one who found Paul Millsap in the second round. I was the one who found Wes Mathews after the draft. I can again rise to the occasion and make the most of the draft.

I then shower and get ready for work and be sure to wear the exact same outfit I wore to the lottery. Same suit, tie, shoes, socks, underwear, hairstyle, everything! 

I arrive to the Jazz’s war room before the draft and look at possible scenarios. In no way do I see Cleveland passing on Kyrie Irving, scratch him off the list. The second pick could be interesting as Derrick Williams is far and away the next best prospect, but the Timberwolves already have players with his skill set. If they pass on Williams, my first pick becomes easy. Take Williams and never look back.

If they do draft Williams or trade the pick to someone who does pick Williams, things begin to get interesting. Where do I go? Maybe I go with that Enes Kanter guy who has been impressive in every chance I have had to see him. He dominated the best post players in college at the Nike Hoops Summit, and again, he was impressive in the Chicago camp. He may very well be the best choice; let's look at how he fits with our roster.

If we pick him, we need to play him to shorten our rebuilding process, let's say 25-30 mpg. Now we have Paul Milsap, who will get some minutes at SF but still needs say 10-15 mpg at PF. Al Jefferson will require 30-plus mpg, and Memo Okur will get around 20 mpg. Derrick Favors will require around 35 mpg as his development is most important. My job and legacy depend on how well he develops. I traded my franchise PG in a deal centered around Favors and need to help him get every opportunity to develop, and this begins with consistent and lots of playing time.

Let's see now, between PF and C there is 96 minutes a game to divide up between the four. With Kanter’s 25 mpg, Memo’s 20, Milsap’s 10, Jefferson’s 30 and Favor’s 30 that brings the total to… 115 mpg…wait a second, that does not add up! Now what do I do? We could sit Okur? No, I can’t do that; we were one of the worst three-point-shooting teams in the league last year and that was before trading Williams. Now, we are even worse; no we need Memo’s minutes, as he is now our best deep threat.

Even if Millsap was able to play the entire game at SF, we would still be nine minutes over, and that is something Millsap is most likely not only not willing to do, but would feel is asking too much. Jefferson is too good of a player to decrease his minutes, and Favors needs the minutes more than anyone to secure my job and make the D-Will trade worthwhile. That leaves Kanter with no minutes to play, and there is not much point in drafting him if we are not able to play him. 

This pick only seems logical if we are able to trade someone. Perhaps Jefferson or Okur? Jefferson’s trade stock will be high after his second half of the season, but he is also the current best player on the team. This might be something that needs to be addressed later. Okur is our best deep threat, but he also is coming off an injury and who knows how efficient he will be? Maybe it is best to attempt to dump his contract and get what we can in return? Both of these options are possibilities, yet neither is likely to happen.

Who else can we pick? Perhaps Jimmer? No that is just a bit high to consider drafting him with the third pick.

Maybe one of the other two top PG prospects, Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight? Walker is a winner and led his team to a championship. He is smaller than I would like. We took Deron Williams over Chris Paul because we liked his size. Knight has good size and is a solid defender. He is also the youngest player in the draft and possesses a solid shot. He could develop into a very solid option at PG and possesses the skills to slide over and play SG to take advantage of potential mismatches. 

We do have Devin Harris at PG, but he has been unable to remain healthy through a season and is not a long-term solution. Besides he could be a solid mentor as Knight has a similar skill set and could learn a thing or two from Harris. Now if there was just a way to further maximize our pick…

(Light bulb goes off) I know what I can do! I can make it seem as though we may draft Kanter despite not having minutes available for him. This way, teams such as the Cavs or another team who is interested in Kanter may offer up a deal of the draft rights of Kanter, for the draft rights of Knight as well as a second-round pick. This way, I could add another potential rotation player to increase our depth early in the second round, and it would make sense as to why we brought in several late first round to early second-round prospects! Yes, this sounds like a plan.

For the 12th pick, we will be able to sit back and take the best available prospect regardless of position. Hopefully, a team in front of us will take Jimmer so I am not left with the dilemma of do I draft the hometown hero, or do I draft someone I believe may be a slightly better player? I prefer not to be in this situation and will cross my fingers someone either takes him or trades up to grab him.

Now, we are better set up for the future. Next year, we can possibly get another lottery pick with the other pick we received in the Deron Williams trade as well as our own.

This will give us six lottery selections over a three-year span, and as long as I don’t pull a Snyder, or a Humphries...or a Koufos, we will be in a great situation as our young core play together and develop cohesion. They will have the talent and athletic ability to play with anyone, yet have years of experience with each other to be able to execute late. The future looks bright indeed.