The 2013 NBA draft saw a handful of trades and while not all of them made much sense (I’m talking to you, Philadelphia 76ers), the Utah Jazz executed the draft to perfection.
It’s not often that we see a team trade in the draft and it’s extremely rare to see a team trade up twice in the draft to get the players that they want, but that’s exactly what the Jazz did on Thursday night.
Here are my grades for the Utah Jazz’s selections in the 2013 NBA draft.
Trey Burke: A+
The Jazz likely had a plan heading into draft day that they needed to find their starting point guard on Thursday night and they pulled it off in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Utah traded its No. 14 and No. 21 picks to the T-Wolves in return for National Player of the Year Trey Burke, who was drafted No. 9.
This was a brilliant move for the Jazz.
The point guard position was easily their most inconsistent and unproductive spot on the floor last season, as Mo Williams and Randy Foye certainly weren’t the long-term answer at the 1.
In Burke, Utah gets a player who excels at penetrating the defense and getting the ball to his teammates. Burke averaged 18.6 points and 6.7 assists last season at Michigan and proved to be a clutch shooter throughout the NCAA tournament.
Burke was easily the most talented point guard of this draft class and the fact that Utah traded up to snag him shows that the Jazz are getting more aggressive and looking to make some moves in the Northwest Division.
Excellent move last night for Utah.
Rudy Gobert: B
With Al Jefferson being a free agent this summer, the Jazz bolstered the center position through another trade on draft day.
Utah surrendered its No. 46 pick and cash to the Denver Nuggets for their 27th pick, where the Jazz drafted Rudy Gobert. You may not know much about the French big man, but ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider access required) tells us that Gobert is the longest player in the draft, boasting a 7’9″ wingspan and 9’7″ standing reach.
The 7’2″ center certainly isn’t the same offensive talent that Jefferson is, but what Gobert will do in Utah is protect the rim, crash the boards and even run the floor on the fast break.
With Burke at point guard, the Jazz will be pushing the ball on the fast break a lot more next season, and having a center who can run the length of the floor and play on both ends is definitely worth the trade that the Jazz executed last night.
I thought the Jazz had a lot of work to do heading into Thursday night, but after seeing how aggressive they were in their pursuit of building a complete roster, I think Utah really bolstered its roster.
And it only took one day.
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