Things to look for this season: Morris Almond

If you've been following this blog for a while (perhaps by some court ordered mandate or potential Gitmo torture method) you may have noticed that I associate C.J. Miles' trials and tribulations to that of the works of Shakespeare. (And really, it's almost apt!) Morris Almond (or 'Mobe' as I like to call him) requires a whole other author to describe him -- probably Charles Dickens. Most specifically the whole "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" bit from A Tale of Two Cities. For Almond the two cities are -- obviously -- Salt Lake City, Utah and Orem, Utah. These are the respective homes of the NBA's Utah Jazz and the NBA-DL's Utah Flash franchises.

Orem, Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah
Morris Almond is the star player for the Utah Flash, the NBA-DL's Impact player of the year who gave teams 50 twice that year and was involved in everything from the All-Star game, H.O.R.S.E. and set league scoring records.	In the Salt Lake he is a guy who only gets burn in garbage time, and seems to be unremarkable in any distinct way . . . save for his lack of hustle on defense and below average quickness and court vision. (3 assists last season, total)

Morris Almond is coming off quite the 'tale of two cities' Rookie campaign in 2007-2008 -- if it wasn't made absolutely clear by now already. This season his Rocky Mountain Review Summer League ball had ups and downs, but over all it showed us that he is a dynamite scorer with NBA ready moves -- but does not really grasp the team game yet (hence the name "Mobe", like "Kobe"). His work so far in the Pre-Season has been -- pretty much -- more of the same of what we expect of him -- just in less minutes.

• 8 points per game
• 12 FGM - 29 FGA (41.4 FG%)
• 7.25 Field Goals Attempted per Game
• 1 Shot for ever 2.45 minutes played
• 1 - 3 from the three point line (33.3 3pt%)
• 7 - 9 at the free throw line (77.8 ft%)
• 1.5 rebounds per game (RPG)
• 0.25 assists per game (APG)
• 0.50 steals per game (SPG)
• 1.25 turn overs per game (TOpg)
• 17:45 average minutes per game (MPG)

Ideally he'd have more than 1 assist in 4 pre-season games -- but let's not forget that is probably better than what he was getting in Summer League this past season. Some of his troubles must stem from the fact that he is essentially two different people depending on if he's with the Jazz or the Flash. In Orem his role is that of 'The Man' and he knows that on every offensive possession his team has the best chance of making a bucket if the ball goes through him. It's pretty much a continuation of what he had to deal with his last two seasons at Rice in the NCAA's. When he's wearing a Jazz uniform it's completely different -- he's at the bottom of the totem pole and his role is completely different. The offense doesn't run through him, it's his job to be a cog in the larger Utah Jazz offensive machine.

In some ways we kind of know who he is, and what he can do -- there's very little benefit to having him run in the NBA-DL anymore because it's not like that improves him as a player, nor does it better prepare him to play with the Jazz (as what the Flash need out of him is pretty much the opposite of what Jerry Sloan wants to see from him). That said, what three things should we look forward to this season from Morris Almond?

1. Pass the Rock more -- Being a good offensive player is more than just being able to give other teams' buckets. If he's not going to get on with the hustling, rebounding and defending -- the least he can do is learn the playbook and make passes. I'm sure it's quite discouraging to actually pass the ball to an open guy in the NBA Developmental League, only to have him clang the shot. I watched every Summer League Game and I saw Morris passing the ball, only for his team (and his boxscore) to be rewarded with nothing. Pretty much he's been somewhat classically conditioned to dislike passing. Here I am being all Mr.Psychology and getting past the FA-err and try to figure out why he's seen as an offensive black hole. Whatever the cause, he has to break out of it. My solution would be with the Cognitive-Behavioral therapy of systematic desensitization. Basically, the more time he plays with other guys who can make shots the more and more he'll understand that positive results can happen when he passes the ball. He hasn't really played with good players (even in garbage time he's running out there with Jarron Collins, and not Mehmet Okur), so it's not like he's had good targets. If he's running around against second string guys with Korver, AK and Millsap I'm sure we'll see some more passes -- after all, passing is contagious.
2. Get caught up in a numbers game -- See what I did there? I put him on the bench in our team in Salt Lake City . . . I guess assuming that a) Brewer and Miles start and b) Harpring is still out for part of the season. The grim reality is that there are too many talented people for too few minutes. (96 total at the wings -- Brewer and Andrei need at least 30, and Kover needs around 20, so that leaves 16 TOTAL to be divided between C.J., Morris and Harpring) If you just take out guys playing small forward there's only 48 minutes to go round for four guys -- which is just insane any way you slice it. The time Morris does see on NBA courts are going to be high pressure situations for him as he tries to make a name for himself and earn more playing time. Basically this could just lead to him jacking a lot of shots as that's probably what he does best. That's quickly not going to fly with the Jazz brass, and even though it doesn't make him better, makes it harder for him to adjust to his role on the Jazz, and reinforces bad habits -- eventually may lead to him playing the majority of this 2008-2009 season in Orem . . . just like last year.
3. Take it out on the NBA-DL -- And that's just going to make him angry, and cause him to go all Hulk like on the NBA-DL out of frustration. (After all, he can audition for other teams that way, as it's filled with scouts, and after he drops 50 a few times next year some Shooting Guard anemic teams may drop Kevin O'Connor an e-mail or two).

I may be in the minority here, but I really think that the bad parts of the NBA-DL outweigh the benefits of sending Morris down there. I don't know what they do down there in Flash practice, but when it's game time they want to win, and they do that by having Almond shoot a lot. I only watched about 5 or 6 Flash games last season, and it doesn't look like they do anything but post him up, or run plays for him. Jerry doesn't call those plays in Utah -- so it's not like sending him down there makes him any better prepared for playing for Jerry. The best way to make him earn playing time with the Jazz is to -- I dunno -- have him be on the active roster? And for the record, he had more asissts per game with the Flash than Harpring did with the Jazz (and with better shooters) . . . I just say put Harp on the IR, and have Almond and others take his place. (unless we are playing Ron Artest or Carmelo Anthony -- he completely takes those guys out of their games)

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!

While some other blogs may try to imitate, my blog is the one that started to bust out Shakespeare Quotes for this C.J. Miles drama from the beginning, and ran with it. Anyway, this is the official "CJ is Back" post to notify the world (5 days after the fact). After waiting the full time period allowed, Kevin O'Connor, Jerry Sloan and the rest of the Jazz Brass have agreed to match the initial offer signed by restricted Free Agent C.J. Miles for a reported amount of $15 million dollars over 4 years. So, sorry Northwest Division rival Oklahoma City Barons, no Ceejay for you! I'm not surprised by this news, and expected it after the whole Brevin Knight / Jason Hart trade. I also approve of this move, as you don't want to make the Utah Jazz some sort of college for shooting guards who are drafted right out of high school -- this team deserves to see some returns for this investment.

 

The Jazz got rid of DeShawn Stevenson, and now he's a solid NBA starting guard who can pass, score, shoot the three and be an athletic defender. (Isn't this exactly what we want, a potential mix of Brewer, Korver and Almond?) Part of the reason why the Jazz didn't let Ceejay go was because he is still the youngest SG on the roster (just turned 21), and has the potential 'upside' to become that Gestalt type of character that we need.

Furthermore, C.J. Miles is a Dallas area product who came directly to the NBA from Skyline High. He was drafted in the same year as Deron Williams (himself a product of The Colony in the greater Dallas area as well); and sees himself as an older brother type for the young Ceejay. (He even got Lil' John to come to CJ's birthday party!) The chemistry in the team is quite good and Miles is a part of this younger group of players who all get along with each other. If nothing else, this was an opportunity for Deron Williams (aka the face of the franchise) to flex some of his star power muscle.

Photo by NBAE / Getty Images

Miles' friendship with the star of the team may not be enough to guarantee playing time, and he knows it:

"It's been discussed that if I come in and work and show that I should play, then I will play, and that's what I plan to do." (Miles, 2008, ESPN.com)

It's funny, though, the number of outside observers who thought that Miles would be gone, or that, perhaps, Miles wanted to go. What Miles wanted was security. He has that. He gets paid the same to run around in the shadows of Kevin Durant / Jeff Green on a virtual expansion team as he does getting to play with his friends and win division titles and play deep in the playoffs every year. Which would you take? This is what C.J Miles said on the 1320 KFan shortly after the news happened:

"I don't have any hard feelings [about what Jerry Sloan said to the media] . . . I'm in Utah, back in a Jazz uniform where I belong, and I look forward to playing [with my boys Deron, Ronnie B, and Millsap] again." (Miles, 2008, 1320 KFan)

Both photos from Andrei Kirilenko's New Years Party (Dec. 31, 2007)

Miles also pointed out that he did not want to leave Utah, and that he does not feel like he was put in a situation where he had to leave, either. He would have to work hard, and fight for minutes on any team -- so why not work hard and get minutes on the Utah Jazz? So, now we get to see if he can be that guy that we need, a solid SG who can improve upon his work last season (48 fg%, 39 3pt%) and continue contributing where and when we need him to!

"We should be woo'd and were not made to woo"

Yes, more Shakespeare means more Ceejay news. Apparently C.J. has signed an offer sheet to play with the Oklahoma Jerkoffs or whatever they are calling themselves.

"Miles signed a four-year, $15 million contract Friday with Oklahoma City, according to sources. Utah will have seven days to decide about matching the offer sheet and keeping the restricted free-agent guard.

"Troy Weaver, who spent four years as the Jazz's director of player personnel and head scout, left in May to become Oklahoma City's assistant general manager. Although Weaver liked Miles, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti was said to have drive the deal." (Siler, Salt Lake Tribune, 2008)

Essentially the Jazz control his destiny as a Restricted Free Agent because the team threw him a very small bone a few weeks ago:

"The Jazz, who tendered the three-year veteran a one-year qualifying offer this offseason for $1.2 million, will have seven days to match the restricted free agent's agreement with the newly relocated franchise from Seattle." (Genessy and Buckley, Deseret News, 2008)

While I wasn't a fan of his single cut "Whip Game", which he recorded last summer at Dee Brown's studio, I was a fan of C.J.'s potential as a basketball player. (Btw, Whip Game has been removed from YouTube) As such, locking up this guy (who very well could become exactly what the Jazz want at SG) for 4 years at the low-low rate of $3.75 million per season is a steal of a deal. After all, this is the same franchise that's paying Jason Hart nearly as much, and paying Matt Harpring almost twice as much per season.

All indications as of Friday night suggest that the Jazz brass do not know what they are going to do about C.J. (Buckley, ESPN, 2008; Genessy and Buckley, Deseret News, 2008; Siler, Salt Lake Tribune, 2008) -- but the point of keeping 14 guys on roster (what the Jazz currently have) as opposed to 15 for 'roster flexibility' is a pretty weak reason. Utah doesn't usually make many roster moves anyway. Hiring a 70 year old grandmother to teach yoga would improve our roster flexibility. I'm not alone in wanting him back in a Jazz uniform next season. Deron Williams, formerly of The Colony, has a certain affinity for C.J., who went to Skyline High -- both Greater Dallas Area high schools. They were both products of the storied 2005 NBA Draft, and Deron looks out for C.J:

Photo credit Getty Images/NBAE

"I want him back here in the baddest way. I think he can be a great player for us if he gets the opportunity. I don't think he's ever been really given an opportunity to come in and prove himself." (Deron Williams, via The Salt Lake Tribune, 2008)

Morris Almond, fresh from a 16 point drubbing by the Spurs, feels as though

"[the free agency] is the league, a constant change . . . I don't worry too much about things I can't control . . . I'm proud of him, and I'm going to call him tonight." (Almond, via NBA.com, 2008)

Almond does recognize that if the Utah Jazz do not match the offer put forth by Oklahoma that there may be more opportunity for him here, for him to "capitalize on" (Almond, via NBA.com, 2008). It goes without saying that Morris stands to benefit the most from Ceejay's departure from our team.

Over the past few offseasons C.J. has pissed the Jazz front office off, and his on court production has been entirely less than convincing. That said, this is a relatively cheap contract for 4 years; and when his number has been called, C.J. has done his best. (successfully defending Carmelo Anthony last season when Ronnie Brewer was injured, for example) For the majority of the season he was shooting above 40% from three, and has the uncanny ability to be one of those "stealth dunkers". Other teams don't appreciate his hops, dribbling ability, and finishing strength -- and hence, guys like Amare get crammed on by 6'5 benchwarmers.

The Jazz have also made a bad habit of letting some talent slip away because of money grubbing . . . this is the same team that drafted Raul Lopez (with the intention of stashing him in Europe and thus, not paying him) instead of Tony Parker (former MVP of the NBA Finals); that also let Maurice (Mo) Williams go for nothing; and basically decides to "not" show people "the money".

Kevin O'Connor and the rest of the Jazz brass need to really look at the pros and cons of this move.

"We received an offer sheet, but we really haven't had a chance to analyze the contract," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said. "Se we'll wait and see what we've got and make a decision based on what's the best thing for the Jazz." (Kevin O'Connor, via The Salt Lake Tribune. 2008)

This is a very cheap move for insurance, and if nothing else, helps to keep Deron happy. When your max player and face of the franchise goes on record to say (paraphrasing, here) "I want this guy on my team" it's probably not a good idea to piss him off -- on the same day he signs a $70 million contract with you.

The [fans] doth protest too much ...

UPDATE: Kevin O'Connor appears to agree that C.J. Miles is allowed to mess up his own life --

"We've had conversations, and there's where it stands," O'Connor said. "I understand he's got every right not to attend -- and that's his prerogative." (O'Connor via Buckley, 2008)

[Yes, I seem to subconsciously feel a sort of Shakespearian tragedy surrounding C.J. Miles, so I'm running with it.]

Photo taken at Andrei Kirilenko's New Year's Eve Party December 31, 2007

What about the other side of the situation? Jazz fans on the Internet want C.J. to play (well, some of them do, some of them want him banished to far far away land); Jerry Sloan wants him to play, at least so he is not:

"Way, way behind" [like when he came into camp out of shape] last year and said he hoped he'd learned a lesson about staying in shape. "If he's behind again, I don't know what to do about it," Sloan said. "We'll just pick somebody that's ready to go." The Jazz have tendered Miles a $1.2 million qualifying offer to return this season, but Miles would like a multiyear deal. Miles' agent, Billy Ceisler, hasn't returned calls for more than a week. Sloan did suggest Miles remains in the Jazz's plans. "We didn't give [Miles] less of a chance last year," Sloan said. "I couldn't do anything about his conditioning. But you can't get in shape in three days for the NBA." (Siler, 2008)

But . . . there HAS to be more to it than just that. It's not just that Sloan and the rest of the Jazz brass feel one way, and all of the blame goes to C.J., right?

Well, Ceejay has to take care of himself. While he has a slightly better chance of not getting injured by playing disorganized ball over the summer than he does playing organized ball (let's understand that Ronnie Brewer got injured in his last Rocky Mountain Review, and started the season off slowly -- thankfully he was under contract; a situation that continues to elude Miles). I think that Miles may garner more exposure if he actually plays ball in front of scouts, regardless of the competition.

If CJ does play in the RMR, and busts it open, then we at least know that he's better than these fringe professional athletes. On the other hand, it was explained to me via the Internet that if Miles sucks it up and plays in this, he is basically admitting that he sucks, and that you are no better than your competition. He is a 4th year NBA player who would resign part of his summer to play against D-Leaguers and undrafted rookies.

He was supposed to be better than that. So a mixture of potential pride, a decision to stray away from potential injury and the hope that his age (still 21) assumes that he still has just enough of that quality that trumps actual NBA performance . . . potential.

That seems to be the story of C.J. Miles . . . potential. He has shown flashes of it over his "career"; and in order to prolong his, and maximize his earnings, he's been advised not to have this extended audition with his potential employers.

Smart business sense? Savvy? Stupid?

We fans have our say, C.J. deserves his as well.