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SALT LAKE CITY — The first domino has fallen for the future of the Utah Jazz’s roster, it didn’t happen the way people expected it to.
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin made a change in the starting lineup and inserted another young player — even if it was for just one game.
Marvin Williams was hurt and Enes Kanter started last Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Although the team wasn’t successful, Kanter was. He earned another start Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs, even with a healthy Williams. The team lost again, but Kanter's playing relationship with Derrick Favors started showing. Favors scored 28 and both players grabbed double-digit rebounds and fought the Spurs.
The key to that all was that Kanter earned his way into a start.
Against Houston Monday night Williams started again against the smaller Rockets, but that shouldn’t diminish how far Kanter has come this season. He had a lot of hype coming into the season and started flat, but tough coaching, a lot of yelling, patience and a ton of work from Kanter had him playing early and often for the Jazz. After the season was bleak early, he now has earned a start and has fought to get better.
His struggles and work will pay off in the long run. It wasn’t something given to him. Nothing has been given to him. Corbin has been very tough on the young guys. Some think too tough in comparison to the veterans. However, Kanter should benefit for this in the long term. He knows he has to work to get time and he has done it.
This is the same idea that the Jazz are building on — you are owed nothing, because you have proven nothing.
There have been times this year when Kanter looked unstoppable. Last year Al Jefferson said the sky was the limit for Kanter. He has proven it true at times. He also showed that he is still in his third year, coming off an injury and still very young in basketball experience.
Corbin didn’t dismiss him to the doghouse and hope he would come out of it. Corbin let him play through, maybe out of necessity, and Kanter started showing his worth and promise.
This is how the Jazz are building now.
Yes, the veterans are playing more and they aren't as talented as the young core is, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t better right now.
The best player plays. This season Alec Burks and Kanter played very sparingly while struggling through the early parts of the season. They were shouldering a load that might not have been fair. They weren’t ready for it. Both had times where they looked awful. Now they are making plays and it can be argued that they are the best players on this team.
This team is building for the future, not looking toward the future.
Corbin could have easily let players rot on the bench, but he didn’t. He knew he needed them this year, and by chance he comes back next year and the years beyond.
The front office didn’t just randomly sign players. Yes, it could have had more talent and spent its money better, but that wasn’t the point. Having young players build from the ground up, as painful as it has been this season, has been the idea.
The most important part of any building is the foundation. Without that foundation it is just a matter of time before the house on the sand washes away.
Check and recheck the foundation.
If people suspect there is a problem with the cornerstone they test it. If it won’t work out, replace it. They don’t just go in eyes closed and hope it works. Those teams are the Sacramento Kings and Oakland Raiders. Sure, the rosters could look good, but that doesn’t mean they tested well or the answer to a successful building.
Is Gordon Hayward the cornerstone for the Jazz? It doesn’t seem like it, but can he be a piece of the foundation? Sure. Same with Favors, Burks, Kanter and Trey Burke. They have been tested, and while they aren’t producing the prettiest results, they are showing they can handle some pressure, just not all of it.
The Jazz will get a good-to-great draft pick that could become the cornerstone and then the foundation is there for a great house to be built.
Replacing the foundation on anything is painful.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints laid the foundation for its symbolistic Salt Lake Temple, realized the sandstone base wouldn't work and had to replace it all. The building ended up taking 40 years. Now it is solid. It could have crumbled years ago.
It has been an awful year for the Jazz. It could be the worst year for the Jazz ever. However, this year is all about checking the foundation and building upward.
The Jazz have dug themselves a pretty big hole, but now they can build up and make the best future they can. They can build something built on players earning time, fighting, scrapping, working their way up and proving they are a practical piece of the puzzle.
The first building for the Jazz with Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone and John Stockton took years to construct. Stockton and Malone didn’t start right away, but the building stood for more than a decade.
This isn’t about a quick fix. Change is painful. Of course it is, there might be other ways to do it, but there is no better way than to check the foundation.
Now the next step is to see whether the foundation passes inspection so the real construction can begin. If it passes, then this Jazz building could be around for a long time. If so, this painful season will be worth it, every excruciating moment.
