Which Team Has The Best Young Talent: Indiana Or Utah?

The last thing anyone normally associates with Utah and Indiana is excitement. If you’re an NBA fan – unless you live close by – no one ever really thinks about the Jazz and the Pacers at all. They’re not good enough to go deep in the playoffs and they’re not crazy enough to be laughingstocks. They are what they are. Consistent. Middle of the road (for the most part).

But in case you haven’t been watching them for the last year or so, you might want to listen up. Quietly, these two franchises are building talented, and potentially dangerous (for other teams), young cores. There’s Indiana with Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert, Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough. Then Utah has Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter and Kyrylo Fesenko.

But which group is better? Who would you rather have for the next 5-10 years? We argue. You decide

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UTAH JAZZ
The sun is beginning to shine in Utah after a year of uncertainty and half a decade of questionable signings and roster issues. The Jazz were able to secure pick Nos. 3 and 12 in this year’s draft and selected Enes Kanter, who many considered the top international prospect, and Alec Burks of Colorado.

These two players were added to Utah’s already-young core of Kyrylo Fesenko (24 years old), Gordon Hayward (21), CJ Miles (24), Paul Millsap (26) and Al Jefferson (26). With the exception of Devin Harris, Utah’s starting lineup for next season doesn’t look like it will have anyone over the age of 26.

Management in Utah is primed to be in a favorable position regarding roster moves as well. It seems that Devin Harris’ name has come up in trade talks before and he’s a highly-valued trade chip. Utah would definitely be able to package Harris and a draft pick together in order to require that someone take on the lumpen expiring contract of Mehmet Okur, clearing $10.8 million off the books for next year.

The Jazz also have the ability to move either Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, but since the Jazz have absolutely no one penciled in as far as salary for the 2013-14 season they could very well just sign both of those players back after the new CBA reduces their probable market compensation.

That Burks is a scoring 2-guard is a valuable asset that teams like Chicago have tragically yearned for. His scouting report says that although he has issues with his jump shot, his ambidextrous slashing ability and propensity to get to the foul line is a formidable offensive asset. Great scorers get to the charity stripe in this league and Burks has a natural talent for it.

Kanter is still a bit of a mystery to people given his tumultous background but he’s a big body at 259 lbs and if anything, can be a decent shooting big man. He will have Al Jefferson, Fesenko and Millsap to protect him for a few years while he develops and that should serve him well.

Perhaps most importantly, that the ownership in Utah has put a focus on gathering young, reasonably-paid talent shows a change of direction from the Andrei Kirilenko signing from a few years ago. There’s no doubt that Greg Miller – whose family made their fortune in the car dealership business – will follow in the footsteps of his father in paying the right players at the right time, as they did with Stockton and Malone. Utah won’t be able to pay all of the young talent on their roster if they all become the superstars Miller thinks they will, but he’ll have the advantage of a few years of advanced scouting on them so he can decide which ones to keep and which ones to let run free.

That being said, with a year or two to gel the Utah Jazz roster looks to be a young, extremely talented and deep team that will provide the fans in Utah something to cheer about for years to come. It’s few and far between that a team loses their two star players yet doesn’t have to go through a rebuilding process. It looks like Utah is going to avoid a lengthy stay in the gutter and return to prominence much, much sooner than anyone thought.
-DANE CARBAUGH

INDIANA PACERS
Remember “Farmville”? That brainwashingly-addictive Facebook game that turned every teenager across the country into a harvest-craving-computer-zombie (including my own brother, who would nonchalantly walk through the house with the family laptop, imitating boredom while covertly surveying which room in the house would serve as the bunker for his next three-hour agricultural hiatus). Well in case you forgot, it was a simple game. A three-step repetitive process of planting seeds, growing crops, then harvesting for money. Various items were available for purchase in the “store” – fences, animals, houses – all their to improve your farming experience. In other words, the biggest waste of time in the history of ever-ness.

Well…after a four-year personal vendetta, I decided to give it a whirl (it’s an iPhone app now). Turns out – it’s not so bad. The whole farming thing, it’s actually kinda fun. Alright fine, I’m playing right now.

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But several teams in the NBA have take accustom to this “farming” mentality. One of which is located in the fertile plains of Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Pacers have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA with nine players under the age of 26. Of the eight Pacers who led the team in minutes, five were younger than 25. Simply put, the Pacers have one of the best young cores in the league. And with the addition of George Hill (25) – an experienced and talented young guard – the young get younger.

But back to farming. The Pacers are at stage two of the farming process. They’ve planted their seeds by drafting young talent, but their not far enough along to harvest their crops (contend for a title). They’re at stage two, the waiting period. It’s the Pacers job to handle their talent with care. Watering each morning, monitoring sun exposure, making sure the proper nutrients are absorbed. Young talent is fragile and delicate. One wrong move and your creation shrivels up like a pruney finger.

Stage 2 however has gone well. The youthful Pacers made the playoffs after a four-year drought (you see how I’m keeping this agricultural), losing to the top-seeded Bulls in a hard fought series. But this team has pieces, young talent with high expectations for the future. The coaching staff has done a nice job developing their youth, consistently putting them in situations to succeed.

With Darren Collison and George Hill – their two under-25 point guards – the Pacers are in good hands. Both players had opportunities to grow behind veteran stars – Chris Paul and Tony Parker – and are getting opportunities to step into more prominent roles. Paul George, a budding young talent, will provide this team with scoring and athleticism. He, much like Collison, and Hill, attended the “on-the-go” teaching academy. George was thrust into the playoffs in his rookie season, averaging 26 minutes in the five games against Chicago. Though his numbers dropped a bit, the experience should go a long way. Now for the trees. Roy Hibbert (24), Josh McRoberts (24) and Tyler Hansbrough (25) give Indiana an energetic and imposing front line. The Pacers finished fifth in the NBA in total rebounds last season, a direct correlation to the tenacity these three displayed on the boards each and every game. As we’ve seen over and over again, teams that can control the paint win games. With these three – all under the age of 26 – they should have no problem regulating the painted area for years to come.

The Pacers aren’t ready yet. They may not be close. But they’ve done things right. They deserve time and they deserve our attention. Who knows, maybe this team turns into a budding contender in two or three years.
-SCOTT HORLBECK