The table below shows that the Hornets’ Mark Williams and the Jazz’s Walker Kessler have many similarities. The two are about the same age and body, both played in college for 2 years before entering the NBA, and their draft picks are also close. More importantly, the team to which the two belonged made a similar deal before the trading deadline, paving the way for the two to succeed in the team.
Williams can be regarded as one of the last generation of Blue Devils coached by coach K. He was a freshman (of course he didn’t dare to suspend the NBA), and he emerged as a sophomore and became the goalkeeper of Duke’s restricted area. The sophomore averaged 2.8 pots per game, and his shooting percentage was an exaggerated 72% (you don’t need to watch to know how he scored). The market in the draft has also risen accordingly. Last year, Duke had 4 players selected in the first round of the draft. Williams was selected 15th overall, surpassing Griffin (#16) and Moore (#26), who were more promising. Second only to champion Banchero.
Except for Williams who sprained his ankle shortly after the start of the season and was waived, the Hornets are expected to be a playoff team (at least at the beginning of the season), so Williams’ rookie honed playing time is limited. The main center of the Hornets is the veteran Plumlee (a senior at Williams Duke University) who has a contract year and a salary of about 9 million this season. All 56 games are starting centers.
But with the impact of the Hornets’ injured soldiers (ball brother, Hayward, Oubre…), the record reached the point where they could not enter the playoffs without driving a tank, and the team naturally began to plan for the future. The Hornets sent Plumlee to the Clippers before the trade deadline in exchange for guard Jackson (the Hornets bought out the contract and joined the Nuggets). The Hornets’ intention is obvious, that is, to let Williams take over in advance, and also take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the Clippers, because they urgently need long-term Clippers to prepare for the playoffs. In this deal, they also sent an extra 2028 second-round pick.
The Hornets almost made the playoffs last year, and it depends on how the lineup can be strengthened and come back next season. Hayward fell heavily in the opening game in 2017, and has since become a frequent visitor to the disabled list. His 30 million-level annual salary contract will not expire until next year. Whether and how the Hornets can trade him will be a headache. I don’t even think that Rozier should be in the Hornets’ future blueprint, but at least the iron triangle of Ball Boy, Williams, and Washington is basically formed.
Kessler joined the University of North Carolina, another famous basketball school in the ACC league with Duke in his freshman year, but his playing time was limited (less than 9 minutes per game, because there were 4 senior players in North Carolina who had to share 40 minutes), Second, after the epidemic, Kessler wanted to be closer to home, so Kessler transferred to Auburn University in his sophomore year. Coming to Auburn, Kessler is on his own, and the increase in playing time will naturally come out. Just averaging 4.6 pots per game is almost sure to get the NBA admission notice.
The Jazz this season, at least in the first half of the season, was considered one of the biggest surprises in the league. Before the season, the offensive and defensive goalkeepers Mitchell and Gobert were traded to the Cavaliers and Timberwolves respectively. The Cavaliers and Timberwolves need to retain their core combat power to compete for the championship, while the Jazz’s goal is to collect first-round picks and look to the future (the Jazz got a total of 7 first-round picks by relying on these two). Therefore, in addition to the draft picks, what the Jazz received can be said to be the “Unhappy Front Alliance”: a combination that is not satisfactory in other teams, so no one should be optimistic that the team that has just started rebuilding can enter the playoffs, right?
Unexpectedly, the Jazz refused to admit defeat. Under the leadership of the team, which prioritized sportsmanship and did not deliberately “authorize” losses to improve the chances of being selected in the draft, the Jazz, led by Markkanen, Clarkson and veteran Conley, went all out to win and even ranked among the top players in the Western Conference. spear. Desperate Saburo’s trumpet center Vanderbilt and white shooter Olynyk occupy the Jazz’s center position, so Kessler’s opportunities to play are limited. However, Kessler seized the opportunity to play on behalf of the team, especially in the three consecutive games in mid-January: 13 points/9 rebounds/7 pots against the Magic, 15 points/12 rebounds/2 pots against the Seven Sixers, and 20 points/2 pots against the Timberwolves. 21 plates/2 pots, double 20! While Kessler’s playing time remains uncertain, there’s no longer any doubt that he’s the Jazz’s starting center of the future.
Before the trade deadline, the Jazz made a three-way deal with the Lakers and Timberwolves, involving 8 players. The Jazz unilaterally sent Conley, NAW, Beasley, Vanderbilt, and 2 second-round picks, and received the insignificant Toscano-Anderson, Center Jones, but most importantly, because he helped the Lakers get rid of Westbrook, he won the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2027 (top 4 pick protection).
Kessler naturally became the Jazz’s starting center. He, Markkanen, and Olynyk formed a rare rotation of three white center forwards, which is quite in line with the Mormon tradition. As for the starting point guard Sexton, who also took over smoothly, whether he can really stand firm in the Jazz’s starting lineup, I think it depends on the results of the future draft.
Incidentally, Kessler was selected by the Grizzlies with the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft, but the Grizzlies then traded him to the Timberwolves. But in two weeks, Kessler was sent to Utah as one of the (many) bargaining chips due to the Gobert trade. He has changed three teams before playing a game. Kessler’s outstanding performance has already made the Grizzlies regret it. If the Grizzlies hadn’t made that deal, what would the combination of Kessler and Jackson not be full of hot pot?