With only a week left until the NBA Draft, the props are up at the Delta Center. Blackboards are covered with the names of every college prospect imaginable. Several phones are hooked up and sitting on tables, ringing every few minutes. The coaches are spending their days in the office, musing over possibilities and watching films of college players.
"Over the three weeks preceding the draft, we'll talk to every team at least three or four times," says Jazz Director of Basketball Operations Scott Layden.Once again, the Jazz are preparing for their annual try at landing a good player in the NBA Draft. It isn't easy when you're as far down the list as the Jazz. They tied for the fourth-best record in the league, and will pick No. 23 this year. That selection will come at next Wednesday's draft.
As usual, the Jazz are keeping as quiet as possible about their plans. "Ideally I'd like to get someone who can play in the NBA," says Layden.
While Layden remains evasive about his plans, he will allow that the Jazz would ideally like to draft a big man, probably a center. Starting center Mark Eaton is 35 years old and Mike Brown is sometimes too small to handle backup duties. "I think everyone in the draft, Jazz included, will look big," said Layden. "If there's an opportunity to use a draft selection to get a bigger player, a lot of teams would do that. Is it likely there will be such a player in the late first round? I'm not sure," he says.
He adds, "We'll look for a big man first, but where we are, he may not be there. So in that case, we'll be looking for the best athlete we can."
Jazz General Manager Tim Howells said the Jazz could go for a point guard or combination point/shooting guard if a big man isn't available.
Obviously, the best big men this year will go far too early in the draft for the Jazz to take advantage. The likes of LSU's Shaquille O'Neal, Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning and Duke's Christian Laettner will be gone before the Jazz can get the big screen in focus at the Delta Center. The next tier of centers includes Arizona's Sean Rooks, UNLV's Elmore Spencer, Arkansas' Oliver Miller, Pitt's Darren Morningstar, ASU's Melvin Robinson and North Carolina-Wilmington's Matt Fish.
"What we would like is to have someone who could start and average 20 points a game," jokes Layden. "But that's not realistic."
Layden says the strong areas in the draft begin with O'Neal, Mourning and Laettner - all inside players - and after that comes an impressive contingent of forwards such as Stanford's Adam Keefe, N.C. State's Tom Gugliotta, Notre Dame's LaPhonso Ellis, UCLA's Don MacLean, Southern Mississippi's Clarence Weatherspoon, St. John's Malik Sealy, Alabama's Robert Horry and Oklahoma State's Byron Houston.
Should the Jazz go with a point guard, there are a number of possibilities, including Wisconsin-Green Bay's Tony Bennett, Oklahoma's Brent Price, Arkansas' Lee Mayberry, LaSalle's Randy Woods, Connecticut's Chris Smith and Georgia's Litterial Green. But Layden says going for a three-point specialist, as many fans suggest, may be getting too specialized. "That's really a specialized area. Maybe looking for a perimeter shooter is a better way to put it. You're always looking for that. If you have a great post-up game, it really helps if you have good perimeter shooting."
The chances of the Jazz "trading up" to get a better draft selection are slim, Layden says. "Nowadays, teams want so much for their early picks," says Layden. "The players become bigger than life. "