Jazz can get help from 12th pick


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SALT LAKE CITY — Now that NBA draft lottery is history, the Jazz can narrow the focus on whom they intend to select with the 12th pick in the first round.

Who've you got?

As usual, the Jazz will have several options, ranging from shooters to big men and point guards. The key is to pick a rookie capable of breaking into the rotation and helping the team reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The franchise has not won a playoff game or series since 2010.

Label this draft class as good news/bad news. Draft gurus indicate the class lacks superstar quality but has enough depth to allow Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey to say his board goes beyond 12 players.

“Relative to positional size, this draft is good,” Lindsey said. “I think you have many players that eventually will be starters, and then if they develop they could maybe develop into more than a starter.”

Given the strong finish that saw the Jazz go 19-10 after the All-Star break, they can afford to be picky. The Jazz already have the nucleus of potential All-Stars in Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.

From this perspective, it appears the Jazz need a shooter to take the pressure off of Hayward, who shot 44 percent from the field and was the team’s only consistent outside threat. No other integral perimeter player shot better than 41 percent. The return of Alec Burks, who missed most of last season with an injury, will help.

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“You can’t get enough shooting,” said Jazz television analyst Matt Harpring. “As this game develops in the NBA, it’s going more and more to 3-point shooting.”

With Gobert anchoring the middle, the Jazz have a great rim protector for the next decade. They also have athleticism (Favors) and toughness (Trevor Booker) along the frontline, which lacks only depth.

In addition to shooting, the Jazz are well below average at point guard. The Jerry Sloan era, which saw at least adequate point guard play from whomever the coaching legend put out there, is long gone.

The youthful combination of Dante Exum and Trey Burke, who are both under 23 years old, was woeful on offense. But the Jazz aren’t likely to use the first-round on another young point guard. At only age 19, Exum is the future, even if it takes another two or three seasons for him to develop.

The potential wing players include Jazz fan favorite Sam Dekker, Jerian Grant, Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre. Big men that may be available are Bobby Portis, Trey Lyles, Frank Kaminsky, Kevon Looney and Myles Turner.

Dekker, the 6-foot-9 sharpshooter from Wisconsin, saw his stock rise considerably with an outstanding junior season in which he shot 52 percent from the field. In six NCAA tournament games, he averaged 18.6 points and scored 27 points in the regional final game against Arizona.

“Right now we are still keeping a pretty open and broad mind before we start narrowing that pool,” said Jazz president Randy Rigby.

The inexact nature of every draft makes it hard to predict if the Jazz will land a contributor to coach Quin Snyder’s rotation. Like every team, the franchise has some great picks and then bypassed the opportunity to draft the likes of Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard.

Whoever the Jazz draft, it will be after having done considerable homework. At a cost of at least $3,000 per individual player, the Jazz expect to bring in about 90 prospects.

Obviously, the Jazz won’t sift through all 90 players before making a selection. The majority may be viewed as potential D-league players, hoping to make a lasting impression when the Jazz need to fill a roster spot during the season.

Over the next month leading up to the draft, the Jazz brass will put in the necessary time to make an intelligent selection. And then like everybody else, they will hope the player pans out.

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