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SALT LAKE CITY — Trey Burke has the keys to the Utah Jazz as a rookie, which flies in the face of Jazz history, but his situation is very different from former Jazz All-Stars.
Burke will be the starting point guard this year, in stark contrast to two former great Jazz point guards: John Stockton and Deron Williams, who did not start as rookies. There are many reasons for this, including talent and direction of the team.
There is a fallacy going around about the front office trusting Burke more than the previous point guards. This might be part, but Stockton and Williams sat for different reasons.
The first reason Burke will start while Stockton and Williams sat involves the other players at the position. Stockton's rookie year was the 1984-85 season. He spent that season sitting behind Rickey Green. Green isn't listed as one of the great point guards in Jazz history, but his stock wasn't any higher than in 1984.
In the 1983-84 season, Green led the NBA in steals per game. He scored 13.2 points per game and had 9.2 assists per game. Green was 29 and the Jazz were looking for his future replacement. They selected Stockton with the 16th pick in the draft.
Green scored an average of 13 points and had 7.8 assists per game in Stockton's rookie year. Green started his decline, and Stockton was able to take over after the 1986-87 season when Green only scored 9.6 points and dished out 6.7 assists. Stockton was able to step in and have a Hall-of-Fame career.
Previous season for rookie comptetition
| Name | PPG | APG | SPG | Exp. with Jazz | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rickey Green | 13.2 | 9.2 | 2.7 | 4 yrs | 29 |
| Keith McLeod | 7.8 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 1 yr | 26 |
| John Lucas III | 5.3 | 1.7 | .4 | 0 yrs | 31 |
With Williams, it is a little harder to dissect the situation with his incumbent point guard. Keith McLeod was the starting point in Williams' rookie year, and McLeod was serviceable as a player. The year before, McLeod scored 7.8 points per game with 4.5 assists. He was only 25 and had some growing to do.
The Jazz traded up and selected Williams with the third overall pick in 2005. McLeod got to show what he could do, but ultimately, Williams won the starting job and showed why he was highly drafted. Stockton came off the bench for three years while Williams sat for 32 games.
The biggest competition for Burke's starting job is John Lucas III. Lucas had a career-high season scoring average of 7.5 points two years ago. That year he averaged 2.2 assists and was 29. He is now 31 and has no ties to the Jazz organization. There are no point guards on the roster with any significant playing time on the team.
Bottom line: It is far easier to insert a rookie with no incumbents than with an All-Star or another contributing young player.
While the team's talent is one cause, the team's direction might be just as important. In the years Green started over Stockton, the Jazz were on the way up.
Stockton's rookie year the Jazz were a .500 team. The Jazz, lead by Frank Layden, were in a winning mode. They had the pieces in place to make a playoff push, and they did just that. Starting in 1983, the Jazz made the playoffs every year until 2002-03.
When the Jazz drafted Williams, they were trying to get back into the playoffs after missing two straight years. They brought in Carlos Boozer from Cleveland, Andrei Kirilenko was an All-Star, and Mehmet Okur stepped into the starting role. The talent was there, and McLeod wouldn't have to do too much. Williams eventually took over and the Jazz made a Western Conference Finals push the next year.
Now the Jazz are looking at an actual rebuild. After missing the playoffs last year, the Jazz lost the core of their team. Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Mo Williams are all gone. The team is missing veteran leaders and will be looking at finding itself this season. A losing record isn't just acceptable, it's expected.
A rookie point guard who will make mistakes and screw up only helps the cause for a great pick in the highly-touted 2014 Draft.
Speaking of the draft, wouldn't it be good to know if Burke can actually handle the duties for the team? There are three point guards in the upcoming draft, assuming they all enter, who would have probably been a top pick this year.
Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State is a 6-foot-4 point guard who would have been a top-three pick this year, but instead went back to school. Dante Exum is a 6-foot-6 point guard from Australia who is shooting up boards. He has the elite tools on both ends of the court. Andrew Harrison is a 6-foot-5 point guard who has the skills to become an All-Star. Harrison needs experience, but would have been the top point guard in this draft.
Burke is a good young man and has shown his ability to win in college. He was the first point guard because of his intangibles. But he is only 6 feet tall, and there are worries about his ability to defend. The Jazz have to hope Burke shows his ability to play well or shows his limitations. Burke can lock down the position for years if he succeeds. If he shows that he is lacking, his replacement could be found.
The Jazz can't afford to sit Burke and hope he can succeed. They have to find out now if Burke has greatness in him.
