WRG 2010 Mock Draft - #9 Utah Jazz

This pick certainly has made the rounds. Acquired in 2004 from the Suns (who acquired it from the Knicks earlier in the year), the protection has finally ran out. It's a nice luxury to have a top 10 pick coming off a second round playoff exit, especially since we traded our original pick in a separate deal (Kyle Korver).

Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver are our two biggest free agents, and we could use some help to replace them. We hope to re-sign Korver, and one of our top draft targets on the wing was just snatched up ahead of us by those pesky Clippers in Luke Babbitt, so we are gonna look towards the front court.

Losing Boozer will be a blow, but we have Paul Millsap waiting in the wings. We're ready to unleash the beast, but we still need to add to the depth in the frontcourt. We really want to add something we've been missing in the frontcourt for a while: athleticism. Boozer, Millsap, Okur...all solid players, but below the rim. We haven't had an athletic big man since The Mailman.

We don't want a project player. We want someone who can come in and contribute, has a good attitude, and is a Jerry Sloan type player. One player fits all these requirements to a tee. That player is Ekpe Udoh.

Udoh's 23 years old and has impressed us with his interviews. He's a good kid, will add athleticism and shot blocking to the front court, as well as a versatile offensive threat. We can't wait to see "The Nightmare" in a Jazz uniform.

Congrats! You're now the 6th black guy in Utah!

WRG Mock Draft: #20, Utah Jazz

Well, we know who our coach is going to be next season, but that's about it.

We have no idea what our roster will look like on opening day. We are talking to every team in the league every day about trades, we have several guys who may or may not opt out of their contracts, and the players we know will be here have had injury concerns.

However, our coach? He is a constant. We know what we need to give him for him to be successful. He needs guards and forwards who live to run the pick and roll, good spot up shooters, a few hustle guys who play physical and are aggressive help defenders, and smart, coachable players who can pick up what he's laying down quickly.

Right now, we need help in all those areas. Our frontcourt is basically non-existent (but we do have a young star we are going to do everything in our power to re-sign). We have a superstar guard and a decent up-and-comer - but not much else in the backcourt. Our wings are solid but unspectacular - and we are thin there as well.

So we feel like we have to improve everywhere, but we won't know the most important area to attack until after the draft (Thanks to the geniuses in the NBA office who made the opt-out deadline June 30. Really. Thanks.).

That means we have to take a guy here who can play right away, shores us up in more than one area, and will enthusiastically play Jerry Sloan basketball without any fuss.

There are a few guards we love at this pick. Deron Williams is our greatest asset and a long-term backup for him is a priority. He is also very good playing off the ball and we like to have him out there without running him ragged for the whole game. However, we think we can address our backcourt through other means. We'd like a veteran in that spot for now, and we think we have the assets to find one.

That allows us to bring in a guy who we feel is a perfect fit for us. He can play all over the court, he is tough as nails and strong enough to be a pick-and-roll monster, he's a great shooter who can drive defenders nuts by drifting out and nailing a mid-range shot instead of rolling to the rim, he can very effectively spot up from three point range, he can defend three positions, and he brings a terrific veteran (he is only a year younger than Deron, after all) presence and attitude that we traditionally look for in our players.

The Utah Jazz select Sam Young.

Is it irony that the oldest player in this draft is named Young? We don't know, because we are unclear about what irony exactly is. What we do know is Utah Jazz basketball, and this guy has it in his DNA.

These questions were all about time travel.

The New Orleans Hornets are on the clock