Boston Celtics Shoudn’t Bring Al Jefferson Back to Beantown
There are not many knocks that can be made against the Boston Celtics as a franchise, but the one criticism that holds true over history is that the team has rarely, if ever, been a major player in free agency.
The C’s have had more than their share of great players, but the vast majority of them have either come through the draft (Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, John Havlicek, the immortal Fab Melo) or a trade (Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett).
After finishing the 2012-13 season with a disheartening first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks, it is evident that if Boston wants to contend again, it is going to need more talent than it had this past season.
That makes the fact that free-agent center Al Jefferson is open to a return to Boston (per CSN New England) an exciting prospect.
Jefferson, who was drafted 15th overall out of high school by the Celts in 2004 and spent three seasons with the club, has emerged as one of the best scoring big men in the league today. He was dealt by Boston to Minnesota in the blockbuster trade for Kevin Garnett and quickly emerged as a first-rate offensive player, averaging 23.1 points in his 2008-09 campaign with the Timberwolves.
Over the 2012-13 season, Big Al averaged an impressive 17.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 49.4 percent shooting from the floor while leading the Utah Jazz in minutes per game at 33.1.
There is no denying Jefferson’s talents. He is a nightly 20-10 threat, a true post-up presence with a reliable mid-range jump shot and one of the few elite centers left in the NBA.
With Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter waiting in the wings, it would be incredibly surprising if Utah decided to bring Jefferson back to Salt Lake City on a long-term deal.
All of that being said, Jefferson simply is not the player Boston should be targeting during the 2013 offseason.
For all of his offensive talent, Jefferson has always been a world-class defensive liability. Though he does block the occasional shot thanks to his size and length, he does not protect the rim consistently, struggles at times to rotate properly and is a poor low-post defender.
He has difficulty covering the league’s more physical centers, but is not quick-footed enough to cover the game’s more athletic power forwards or guard out on the perimeter.
Doc Rivers’ Celtics teams have always been defense-first and featured the likes of Kendrick Perkins and Garnett serving as defensive anchors during their most successful years.
For all of Jefferson’s offensive ability, he will never be the kind of defensive paint presence that this team has thrived with during the Big Three era.
At 28 years old, Jefferson is in the midst of his prime, but is unlikely to make any dramatic improvements. Big Al has proven fairly durable over his career, but is still a nine-year veteran with plenty of mileage on his legs and a surgically repaired ACL from a knee injury sustained in 2009.
Unlike fellow free-agent big man Josh Smith, Jefferson is really only capable of making an impact on one end of the floor and cannot log much time at power forward. He has improved as a passer, but is not an elite passing big man like a Pau Gasol or Blake Griffin.
Jefferson is a capable pick-and-roll center thanks to his shooting touch, but Boston’s offense—particularly with Rondo—has never been as pick-and-roll-oriented as other offenses around the league.
Though not entirely his fault, Jefferson has little postseason experience or success. He has appeared in the playoffs just twice, once as a bench player with Boston in 2005 and once with Utah in 2012. He averaged 18.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on 52.9 percent shooting, but his Jazz team was swept by San Antonio.
His 2012-13 Jazz were in good position to make the playoffs before a slump in March that included two four-game losing streaks cost them their postseason spot to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Beyond just Big Al’s fit in Boston as a player, there is the significant matter of how much it would cost to bring him back to Beantown. Jefferson just finished the final year of a five-year, $65 million contract and, as one of the few top-shelf free agents available in the 2013 offseason, is sure to earn a max or near-max deal.
With Paul Pierce’s contract and the non-guaranteed deals for Shavlik Randolph, Terrence Williams and D.J. White, the Celtics have over $76 million on the books for 2013-14 (per Spotrac.com).
This means that, in order to sign Jefferson, they would need likely to get rid of both Pierce and Garnett.
Pierce is a free agent after the 2013-14 season while Garnett is under contract until the end of the 2014-15 season, but could possibly retire earlier, meaning that neither player is locked in long-term.
While Jefferson is a special talent, his production alone does not replace the value of having both Pierce and Garnett back in green for one more season. One option for the Celtics is to give Pierce and Garnett one more title run with a healthy Rondo and a resurgent Jeff Green before opting for a complete and total rebuild.
The 2014 free-agent class boasts plenty of intriguing talent, including Eric Bledsoe, Luol Deng, Pau Gasol, Marcin Gortat, DeMarcus Cousins and Andrew Bogut.
The Celtics are not expected to be major players for marquee stars like Chris Paul or Dwight Howard, making it a serious gamble for Boston to risk blowing up its roster this offseason and landing nothing more than Jefferson to build around.
The team also needs to preserve some cap room for when Avery Bradley and Rondo come off the books, as both will likely fetch plenty of interest on the open market.
Even among the free agents available in the 2013 offseason, there are pieces who would fit the team better than Jefferson.
Josh Smith is a versatile talent who can play multiple positions, has a close relationship with Rondo and would give the team another young athlete who can run the floor along with Green in transition.
Jefferson’s Utah teammate, Paul Millsap, is capable of playing both forward spots and is both a good rebounder and a solid defender who will not be as costly in free agency as Big Al.
If the C’s do choose to rebuild sooner rather than later, they could also target younger players like Tyreke Evans (23), O.J. Mayo (25) or J.J. Hickson (24), all of whom would fill needs on Boston’s roster and have yet to reach their respective ceilings as players.
Jefferson is by no means a bad player; he is an efficient scorer and a strong offensive rebounder who could immediately jump into a starting role for the Celtics.
However, given the cost of bringing him in, the style of basketball Boston plays and the other free agents available in both 2013 and 2014, it simply does not make sense for the C’s to bring Jefferson back to town this offseason.
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Baylor forward Jefferson staying for senior season (Yahoo! Sports)
WACO, Texas (AP) — Cory Jefferson is staying at Baylor for his senior season.
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Jefferson helps Jazz cool off Thunder 109-94 (Yahoo! Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant had not been called for a flagrant foul in his six-year professional career.
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Utah Jazz Trade Rumors: Al Jefferson or Gordon Hayward Could Be Traded
In the beginning of the season, Al Jefferson was considered one of the Utah Jazz players who was likely going to be dealt before the trade deadline. Most recently, Jefferson was rumored to be in trade conversations with the San Antonio Spurs (via Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops).
According to Paul Coro of Azcentral Sports, the Phoenix Suns are another team in the running to land Jefferson, but they are also interested in the Jazz’s young versatile swingman, Gordon Hayward:
The Suns also have shown interest in a bigger splash for Utah’s Al Jefferson or Gordon Hayward. Dudley could be a part of either of those deals with center Marcin Gortat likely needed to make one work for Jefferson, a 28-year-old power forward who makes $14 million and is averaging 17.4 points and 9.5 rebounds. Hayward, a 22-year-old swingman, is averaging 13.5 points in a reserve role.
Jefferson will most likely demand a hefty contract during the offseason and a small-market team like the Jazz would probably not offer him one, especially since they have already found their two future big men—Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.
The Suns could offer a package surrounding Marcin Gortat for Jefferson, and this trade would help both teams. Gortat turned down a multi-year contract offer earlier this season (via AOL Sporting News), so it’s unlikely that he will remain with the Suns if he demands more money.
If the Suns end up giving Gortat and Jared Dudley for Jefferson, the Jazz would get rid of his bloated contract for some quality veterans on more reasonable contracts.
As for Hayward, I highly doubt that the Jazz would take any offer for him at the moment, considering that he is one of the future building blocks on this young team. He is a versatile, two-way swing-man who has incredible potential, and will only get better from here on out.
If the Suns want to make an assertive effort to land both Jefferson and Hayward, they’ll probably have to give up more than just Dudley and Gortat. I can’t even see the Jazz accepting a bigger package including picks and other young players because Hayward’s ability and skills are a rarity in this league.
The only way I can see a deal happening between the Suns and Jazz is if Kendall Marshall is included in the deal. Mo Williams is a capable playmaker, but it’s unlikely he would be the future point guard for the Jazz as they move forward.
Even so, I wouldn’t trade a proven young player in Hayward for an unproven rookie point guard who has only played 18 NBA games.
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Utah Jazz: Trade Proposals For Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson
The Utah Jazz have a very bright future, headlined by their ridiculously talented young frontcourt duo, made up by Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors, the 3rd picks in the 2011 and 2010 drafts respectively. They also have two very talented young wings in recent lottery picks, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks, the former, is already their best perimeter scorer. That is a lot of young talent, but with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, their two highest paid players, set to hit free agency at the end of the year, they will be stocked with cap space. However, word is that at least one of the two will be traded before the February deadline and whether they trade Millsap or Jefferson they will get an excellent return to add to their future core, which is already fantastic. They may keep one long-term, but they would be wise to let it ride with their young players and add pieces around them, because Favors and Kanter are two of the most talented young prospects in the NBA and could be the foundat…
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Duke Basketball: What Makes Amile Jefferson Effective
When Ryan Kelly went down with a foot injury in Duke’s win over Clemson on January 8, many wondered who would be able to replace the versatile 6’11″ forward.
Ten days and two games later, it appears Amile Jefferson is most likely to fill that role.
Jefferson, a 6’8″ freshman from Philadelphia, Pa., was one of the most highly-rated high school basketball players in the country last year, being named to multiple high school All-American teams and voted the Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in Pennsylvania.
Jefferson arrived at Duke with a tremendous amount of hype, but struggled to earn minutes through the first part of the season. That tends to happen when you are playing behind two great senior forwards.
However, now that Ryan Kelly is out “indefinitely” because of his injury, it has provided Amile Jefferson the opportunity to earn more playing time. Through two games, he’s making the most of it.
In Jefferson’s past two games, he’s played a total of 40 minutes and contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and one block. It’s too much to ask Jefferson to replace Kelly because they have such different skills, but Jefferson is doing everything he can to help his team win.
What is it that has made Amile Jefferson so effective in the last two games?
Energy
It’s hard not to notice when Amile enters the game because of the tremendous amount of intensity and energy he brings to the game.
For a team that is led by Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee—two seniors known as quieter guys—Jefferson’s boisterous personality and energy are great assets to his team.
Jefferson’s energetic style of play also constantly has him in position to make plays. At 6’8″, 195-pounds, Amile Jefferson doesn’t have the physical strength to muscle people around in the post. Instead, he makes up for his lack of size by being extremely active and he often finds himself in the perfect position to grab a rebound or put back a missed shot.
Wingspan
With a 7′ wingspan, Amile Jefferson almost looks awkward in his frame. For a guy who is 6’8″ to have such long arms, this gives him a great advantage when going after rebounds and playing defense.
Jefferson’s wingspan also helps counter his lack of weight, which will probably change once he’s had a full offseason in Duke’s strength and conditioning program.
But even without the weight, Jefferson’s wingspan gives him to opportunity to snatch rebounds off the rim and make plays around the basket.
His long arms also give him the potential to be an outstanding defender because of his ability to disrupt passing lanes and block shots. Once he learns how to play defense without fouling, he has all the physical tools to be a great defender.
Footwork
Jefferson receives a great deal of praise for his energy, but he also combines that with a great deal of skill, particularly for a freshman.
His ability to move in the post and constantly be in position to receive a pass out of a double-team is a testament to Amile‘s footwork. He has also shown a knack for grabbing rebounds it looks like he won’t be able to get, which means he has an awareness of when he needs to leave his feet to grab the ball.
Also, Jefferson has shown a surprising ability to make plays with the ball when he receives it in awkward positions. There were a couple instances in the NC State game when Jefferson made some tough running shots in the lane and his drive at the end of the first half against Georgia Tech was a display of excellent footwork and body control.
His polished footwork isn’t something you typically see from a freshman.
The questions about how Ryan Kelly’s injury affects Duke will continue to be asked as long as Kelly is out. But the question of whether or not Amile Jefferson will be able to contribute have been answered. Jefferson has answered loud and clear with a resounding, “YES.”
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Jefferson, Hayward help Jazz stop Heat 104-97 (Yahoo! Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — LeBron James once scored 51 points against the Utah Jazz, and needed 50 on Monday night to become the youngest player to reach 20,000 for his career.
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Duke Basketball: Why Amile Jefferson Needs to Play More Minutes
Far be it from me to question a four-time National Champion and two-time Gold medalist, but I think it would be highly beneficial if Amile Jefferson got more playing time. For both the current season as well as next year and beyond, Jefferson’s development as a player will be instrumental.
So far this year, Amile Jefferson is averaging 3.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game and has four blocks and four steals on the season. Those numbers are pretty good for a freshman playing in the post, especially when considering that Jefferson is averaging just 9.7 minutes per game (via ESPN).
When he has been given substantial minutes, Jefferson has been able to effectively insert himself into the game. In his college debut against Georgia State and in Duke’s third game of the season against Florida Gulf Coast, Jefferson played 13 minutes in each contest. Against Georgia State he had five points, and against Florida Gulf Coast he had four. In both of those games, Jefferson pulled down two rebounds.
Unfortunately, the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and ACC/Big Ten Challenge retarded his progress somewhat. Against Kentucky, Minnesota, VCU, Louisville and Ohio State, Jefferson played sparingly, scoring only two points over the course of those five games.
But in the month of December, Jefferson has been back on form, showing signs of his excellent potential.
In the blowout versus Delaware, Jefferson played 21 minutes and came up with a season high in rebounds, six and in points (12). Riding that momentum, Jefferson contributed to the Temple victory. In only nine minutes, Jefferson scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and added two rebounds.
The Cornell game offered much of the same, but the Elon game on the following night exposed some problems in Jefferson’s growth as a player. Against Cornell, Jefferson scored eight points and had three rebounds. Against Elon, Jefferson also had three rebounds but failed to score a single point.
More troubling is that over those two games Jefferson committed five turnovers. He’d committed only two in the previous nine games. (gamelog via ESPN)
At this point in his career, Jefferson is limited when it comes to creating his own offense, as demonstrated by the increase in turnovers. His role, then, is meant to be a rebounder who will most likely find points on offensive boards and put backs.
While that sounds good in theory, Amile Jefferson hasn’t prove himself to be a force on the glass. To be fair, as a team, Duke hasn’t rebounded well this season. But given Jefferson’s role in the rotation, his inadequacy is especially troubling.
The obvious answer to Jefferson’s lack of rebounding prowess is that at 6’8” he’s only 195 pounds. Not only is that an easy explanation, it offers an easy fix: An off-season or two in the weight room.
However, I think there is a better solution to the problem and that is to let Amile Jefferson play more. With more playing time Jefferson would be able to get his feet under him. More time on the court would allow him to grow into his particular type of playing style.
Jefferson may never bulk up to the 200 plus pounds of a low-post banger, but I think his slight frame suits his game. When he has been effective, Jefferson knifes around the big bodies planted in the lane. He’s highly mobile in the blocks, and when he is attacking from the baseline, it’s hard for flatfooted big men to stay in front of Jefferson.
In some ways, Jefferson’s skills are similar to John Henson. Obviously, Henson was three inches taller (give or take), but just as Henson darted around in the lane, so does Jefferson.
Of course, at the college level such a skill set is not easily refined. It will take a lot of trial and error to get a feel for where the spaces in the paint open up for a player agile enough to fill them. That depth of knowledge requires on-court experience in the form of playing time.
Jefferson clearly wants to set up in the post and slice around defenders for rebounds and easy baskets. And this is something Duke desperately needs, so why not allow Jefferson to grow into a role that addresses this team’s weakness?
It’s imperative that Jefferson develop his low-block abilities, because as conference season approaches, Duke will essentially play three games every week. That grueling schedule can lead to injuries and fatigue.
Moreover, Marshall Plumlee is going to take some time to come up to speed having missed so much time due to injury. And although Mason Plumlee has managed to avoid foul trouble so far this season, the physical teams in the ACC will attempt to draw fouls from Duke’s lone center.
The injured Marshall Plumlee and undersized Josh Hairston do not offer as much as Amile Jefferson could in terms of a true post player. Perhaps Marshall Plumlee will develop into a quality center, but Jefferson presents better scoring potential from the low post. As for Hairston, Jefferson already averages more points than him despite playing fewer minutes (via ESPN).
In all, Duke needs Jefferson to develop into a reliable off-the-bench player who can spell Ryan Kelly or Mason Plumlee and contribute to improving Duke’s team rebounding. The only way Jefferson can develop into this kind of contributor, however, is if he’s given time on the court to fine tune his slashing style of post play.
If he can grow that kind of John Henson-game of agility and darting post moves, Jefferson can certainly solidify Duke’s depth and make the tough slog of conference play a little more palatable.
Additionally, looking ahead to next season, Jefferson will be an integral part of the 2013-14 team. Even with Jabari Parker, Duke’s only center would be Marshall Plumlee, whose development and health are huge question marks as of right now. Jefferson, therefore, may be pressed into center duties or at the very least will be expected to come off the bench for Parker.
So it stands to reason that Jefferson needs to play more. His development as a player is crucial to Duke’s success this year as well as in future seasons, and the only way for him to really come into his own is to see meaningful minutes. Amile Jefferson is already a good player, but given the chance, he could turn into a great one.
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Jazz reportedly likely to trade Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap
The Utah Jazz are currently in position to make the NBA playoffs out of the Western Conference, but they reportedly are likely to make a trade that would change their roster significantly.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Jazz will be looking to deal either Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap at some point over the next few months.
Stein reports that it’s assumed throughout the league that either player will be traded. One of the big reasons for the trade is that both players will be free agents in July, meaning Utah would lose the players without receiving anything in return. Additionally, the Jazz have two other big men whom they would like to see develop in the front court. Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter were the No. 3 overall picks in the 2010 and 2011 NBA drafts, respectively.
Utah entered Saturday’s play 13-11. They may be reluctant to trade both big men for fear that it could knock them out of the playoff hunt, but they could opt to deal one.
Jefferson is leading the team with 17.3 points and 10.4 r
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Arizona Basketball: Will 2013 Recruit Rondae Jefferson Be an Immediate Star?
The Arizona Wildcats are still undefeated at 7-0 and are ranked No. 8 in the country. After beating the UTEP Miners earlier this season, the Wildcats officially signed Rondae Jefferson, the 6’7″ small forward from Chester, Pennsylvania.
The five-star recruit was ranked No. 17 on the ESPN 100 and also ranked first in the state and fourth in his position. While these numbers are great, the question lingers: Can he make an immediate impact on such a talented team?
Arizona has been relatively untested early in the year and have even struggled early against lesser opponents in Charleston Southern and Southern Mississippi. They are starting two seniors in Solomon Hill and Mark Lyons, and their dynamic sixth man, Kevin Parrom, is also a senior.
But don’t cry for the Wildcats. They already have two transfer students in 6’10″ forward Matt Korcheck from Cochise College and 6’1″ guard T.J. McConnell from Duquesne. They also signed four-star recruit Elliott Pitts out of Dublin, California.
Jefferson will fill in nicely for the departing Hill and might even exceed the current production of the starting forward. Jefferson has a dynamic range and can also play shooting guard as well as small forward if coach Sean Miller opts to not have him play the power forward position.
Miller told Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star that he was ecstatic about the new recruits in Jefferson, and Pitts said that Jefferson is a physical player and a winner from one of the most competitive regions in the country, where he has led his team to 58-straight victories.
He’s a warrior. He’s similar to Solomon in that he can do a lot of things. He can handle the ball, he has a chance to be a great defensive player, he’s almost 6-7 and long, very unselfish, can pass and I think he is a player who is a great teammate. He can be at a lot of different spots. His versatility is the greatest thing that he has going for him.
One of the main reasons that Jefferson selected Arizona over his second-choice Florida and hometown Temple was that he was told that he would have a chance to start right away. With the departure of Hill and Parrom, this big man will obviously have impress coach Miller to prove that he is the better option than this year’s top recruit, Grant Jerrett.
Jerrett was the jewel in Miller’s 2012 recruiting class crown as the No. 9 overall player and the No. 2 power forward in the country. He started the first two games and has since been relegated to coming in off the bench. Jerrett is now 12-of-33 from the field, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, averaging just over five points per game.
Is Jerrett‘s story a tale of woe or more of a cautionary tale? While all the pieces were in place for Jerrett to make a big splash at 7’2″, he was replaced on the starting lineup by scrappy 6’8″ Brandon Ashley. Ashley leads the team in field-goal percentage, is second in rebounds and third in scoring.
The lineup next year could be the best in the country with junior and leading scorer Nick Johnson, sophomores Ashley and Jerrett and center Kaleb Tarczewski. The only questions are who will get the start in the backcourt with Johnson and will Jefferson outshine Ashley or Jerrett?
I predict Jefferson will get the chance to start next year with Ashley while Jerrett will be a great swingman/sixth-man much in the same vein as Kevin Parrom.
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