Grading the Dante Exum-Jordan Clarkson trade for both Jazz and Cavaliers

We break down the deal between the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers which involved Dante Exum and Jordan Clarkson.

On Monday night the Jazz and Cavaliers reportedly agreed to a trade that will see former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum traded to Cleveland, along with two second-round draft picks, for Jordan Clarkson. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The second-round picks heading to Cleveland from the Jazz are in 2022 (via San Antonio) and 2023 (via Golden State).

Clarkson, a five-year veteran of the league, spent the majority of his career with the Lakers before joining the Cavaliers in 2018. This season he is averaging 16.8 points per game, and will provide the Jazz with some much needed bench scoring for a team that has struggled offensively for much of the season.

So, that’s the deal. How do we grade it?

Cavaliers: A-

This is pretty clearly an asset grab, and the chance to take a flyer on a player in Dante Exum who has a good pedigree — he was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Exum has never really put it together for the Jazz. There was a torn ACL, and recurring injuries, and rumblings that head coach Quin Snyder didn’t like Exum. SLC Dunk has a really nice breakdown of everything that went wrong with the relationship.

But now Exum gets a fresh start. He’s just 24 years old, and has shown ability in flashes. In Cleveland, he should get his chances.

Will it work? Who knows.

But it’s not like the Cavaliers were going anywhere with Jordan Clarkson, and they basically got gifted two draft picks (second rounders, but still) to see if they can revive Exum’s career. If they don’t, he’s only got one year left on his current contract. That’s a fantastic gamble, if you ask me.

Jazz: B-

Jordan Clarkson is a nice player, and will provide the Jazz’s laboring offense (currently 21st in the league) with a bit of pop. Mike Conley has struggled to find his game since arriving in Utah, and if the team is done with Exum, they might as well give up a couple draft picks and bring someone in they think can score the basketball.

Still, for a win-now trade, this feels pretty … tepid. The Jazz are currently in sixth in the Western Conference, and this trade should help them get going. But are they winning a title with Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Conley in his current iteration, and Clarkson? I mean, maybe they win a playoff series?

If they felt they needed to get Exum off the team, fine. But to give up two draft picks, even second rounders, to bring in Clarkson — who, again, I like! — feels a bit shortsighted. Assets are assets, and I’m not sure this is a trade that moves the needle.

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Why Arkansas fans shouldn’t freak out about an awful Signing Day (but USC fans should)

Arkansas had the 88th-ranked recruiting class. USC had the 78th. But USC fans should be the ones who are really freaking out.

When looking at the rankings of recruiting classes during early signing period from yesterday, two schools jumped out for a lot of people — Arkansas and USC.

Arkansas’s recruiting class was ranked 88th in the country, per 24/7’s recruiting rankings. That is … not good for an SEC school. That is not good for any Power Five school. That’s not all that great for an AAC school.

USC, on the other hand, was ranked 78th, just behind such notable schools as Bowling Green, Troy, Western Michigan and Toledo.

You might notice that USC’s ranking is 10 spots ahead of Arkansas. But here’s the thing: USC fans are the ones who should be really worried here.

It’s all about context.

Before we delve into this, let me say quickly: Yes, I know these two schools have nothing to do with one another. The only thing connecting them is that they’re both P-5 schools who probably feel their recruiting classes should have higher rankings. But I promise I’m getting somewhere, and it’s really about how to perceive these rankings, and how context changes everything.

(Also, one big huge caveat that these rankings are in many cases meaningless. These are teenagers. I get that. Some will turn into stars and others will flame out. Still, these rankings do a decent job predicting program success, and let’s just agree to accept their problems and move on.)

So, context. Arkansas is ranked 88th in this recruiting class, but an educated Arkansas fan has to be feeling OK this morning. Why? Arkansas has a new head coach, Sam Pittman, who’s been with the program for about 12 minutes. He and his cobbled together staff had to come together quickly and grab some players and … they did just that.

Pittman’s new staff, featuring a few ex-assistants from Missouri, was even able to convince a couple recruits who were leaning toward Mizzou to switch over to their side. They stole a few from a divisional rival, and in the end, got nine three-star recruits and one four-star recruit in their class.

Sure, SEC West rival Alabama had 19 four-star and three five-star commits, but that’s Alabama. By stealing a few from Mizzou, Arkansas kept things close with a rival, and seriously hurt Missouri in the process — the Tigers came in at 80th in the rankings. (Decent argument to be made that Mizzou should be more nervous than Arkansas!)

For an Arkansas staff with just a few weeks to work, they have to feel good about that haul. It’s going to take time, here, and the school will have to be patient. But Arkansas, even with the 88th ranked recruiting class in the nation, has reasons for optimism.

Clay Helton. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

USC, on the other hand. Woof. USC does not have a new coach. Clay Helton was, and remains, their coach. USC is in Southern California, which, unlike Arkansas, is one of the most talent-stocked areas of high school football in the country. The population of Southern California is huge, and the college football is good.

USC has history. It’s in a Power 5 conference. It has an established, albeit under-performing coach. It’s in one of the best locations for recruiting in the country.

And it’s getting beat by Bowling Green for recruits.

This is nothing less than a disaster. There is no excuse for it. Did Helton and his staff assume they were going to be fired and just not bother recruiting? I’m just struggling to understand how this is possible. Just ask high school seniors who are USC fans in the 30 miles around your school and you can probably put together a top-30 class, and somehow they couldn’t do that.

Remember: It’s not just about the ranking. It’s about the context. USC is 10 spots higher than Arkansas, but Trojans fans should be the ones melting down right now.

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The Pacers showed how to beat LeBron, but Lakers fans shouldn’t be worrying

The Pacers showed how to stop LeBron James and the Lakers. Could they do it with Anthony Davis on the floor? That’s another question.

The Pacers hung on and beat the Anthony Davis-less Lakers on Tuesday night, winning 105-102. It’s the first time the Lakers have lost away from Staples Center this year, and it made me ask: Are the Pacers doing something that other teams can replicate when it comes to stopping L.A.?

The answer is yes and no. The big asterisk, as was mentioned in the first sentence of this here article, was that Anthony Davis wasn’t playing in the game. Without Davis, the Lakers go from borderline un-guardable to a solid, strong, yet beatable NBA team.

You saw this in the way the Pacers played James in the last few possessions of the game on Tuesday night. Malcolm Brogdon was tasked with on-ball guard duties for the most part, and did admirably, fighting over screens and sticking with James for the most part.

Brogdon had a security blanket in Myles Turner, however, and Turner was able to stay close to the basket.

Why? Without Davis in there to space the floor from the 5-position, the Lakers went with Dwight Howard down the stretch. Howard plays closer to the basket than Davis does, which allowed Turner to pull double duty — he could stick close enough to Howard to deny the entry pass into the post, but could also get out to contest if James went for a floater.

The rest of the Pacers defenders hung with the shooters, so when James came running off a pick, he was forced to either try and get a floater over the outstretched hands of Turner, or force the ball into Howard’s hands.

It worked for the Lakers, at times, especially getting the ball to Howard — Dwight finished with 20 points on 10-10 shooting, mostly easy dunks. For the Pacers, though, that was fine — they gummed up James’ game (he finished with 20 points on 8-20 shooting, and 4 for 8 from the line) and tried to deny him facilitating to shooters. Without Davis, the Pacers’ bigs were able to clog up the paint and force James to facilitate instead of getting to the rack and finishing.

It was good and smart, but I’m not sure how that’ll work with Davis on the court. With him on the floor during crunch time, he’ll take six steps back and force the opposing big to make a decision. If the big goes with Davis, James has an open path to the basket. If he leaves Davis open, well, Davis doesn’t miss much.

The Pacers showed how to beat LeBron James and the Lakers. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers? Not so much.

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Saints snap-count analysis vs. 49ers: In-game injuries forced quick fixes

The New Orleans Saints were hammered with injuries against the San Francisco 49ers, losing Jared Cook and cutting into their snap counts.

The New Orleans Saints rode a roller-coaster during their Week 14 game with the San Francisco 49ers, not helped by several injuries hitting the deepest position group on the team: the defensive line. Two defensive ends (Marcus Davenport and Trey Hendrickson) and starting defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins each missed time against San Francisco while dealing with various injuries, creating some atypical snap counts. Here’s our unit-by-unit breakdown.

Offensive backfield

QB Drew Brees, 68 (94%)
RB Alvin Kamara, 55 (76%)
QB Taysom Hill, 28 (39%)
RB Latavius Murray, 24 (33%)
DT Mario Edwards Jr., 1 (1%)

Short-handed at fullback (starter Zach Line was inactive with a knee injury) the Saints used Edwards in that capacity on one goal-to-go play. Hill got the most run of his NFL career, appearing on a personal-best 28 plays on offense and 31 on special teams. Kamara outsnapped Murray by a wide margin, which is concerning given how much better Murray has played than him in recent weeks.

Skills positions

WR Michael Thomas, 70 (97%)
TE Josh Hill, 62 (86%)
WR Tre’Quan Smith, 56 (78%)
WR Ted Ginn Jr., 42 (58%)
TE Jared Cook, 8 (11%)
WR Deonte Harris, 7 (10%)
WR Krishawn Hogan, 5 (7%)

Cook was a big part of the Saints’ game plan in this one (as seen by his two touchdown catches in the opening minutes) but a concussion forced him out of the picture, and that meant a huge snap count for his backup. The Saints got more production out of their receiving corps than has been normal for this season, so hopefully they can continue helping out. Harris deserves more touches on offense.

Offensive line

C Erik McCoy, 72 (100%)
T Ryan Ramczyk, 72 (100%)
G Larry Warford, 72 (100%)
G Nick Easton, 72 (100%)
T Terron Armstead, 72 (100%)
G Patrick Omameh, 6 (8%)

Armstead deserves a ton of credit for playing this game (and playing well) despite dealing with a very painful high-ankle sprain. He held up against a talented 49ers pass rush after missing the last two games. Easton has continued to do his part as a fill-in at left guard and could be playing his way into lead position for the starting job next year. Ramczyk was seriously challenged for the first time this season by Nick Bosa; the rookie defensive end gave the Saints’ All-Pro candidate more than he could handle at times, which is more than can be said by a group that includes Khalil Mack, J.J. Watt, Shaquil Barrett, and Jadeveon Clowney.

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Saints snap counts analysis: Vonn Bell logged 104 plays vs. Falcons

By playing both defense and special teams, New Orleans Saints safety Vonn Bell saw his snap count climb to 104 against the Atlanta Falcons.

This year’s NFC South division championship belongs to the New Orleans Saints, just as it did last year, and the year before that. The Saints still haven’t played a complete game with penalty-free, clean execution in all three phases, but they’re still 10-2 and have clinched a playoff berth in November. They have time to improve before the postseason kicks off.

Snap counts got weird in this game, particularly on defense. They ran a season-high 93 plays when Atlanta had the ball, which is a huge disparity against the 50 plays the Saints ran on offense. When the Saints go 2-for-10 on third down while the Falcons go 6-for-16 (and get helped out by a number of dubious penalties against the Saints defense), that’s going to happen. Here’s our snap count analysis:

Offensive backfield

QB Drew Brees, 48 (96%)
RB Alvin Kamara, 41 (82%)
QB Taysom Hill, 13 (26%)
RB Latavius Murray, 13 (26%)
FS Marcus Williams, 1 (2%)

Hill didn’t see a huge jump in playing-time on offense (he’s averaged 11.4 snaps per game this year) but this game was easily his biggest day of the year so far. He scored both of the Saints’ two touchdowns (one through the air, another on the ground) and consistently gave the team a spark when they needed it on critical downs.

Skills positions

WR Michael Thomas, 40 (80%)
WR Tre’Quan Smith, 37 (74%)
TE Josh Hill, 29 (58%)
TE Jared Cook, 29 (58%)
WR Ted Ginn Jr., 27 (54%)
WR Krishawn Hogan, 11 (22%)
TE Jason Vander Laan, 5 (10%)

Smith ran a lot of routes but didn’t get open often against Atlanta, catching two targets for 14 yards. Cook was frustratingly inconsistent. The veteran tight end has clear playmaking ability — just look at his latest 40-yard catch-and-run — but he’s dropped three would-be touchdown passes in the last two weeks, and went 3-for-6 as a receiver on Thursday. At least Brees is still giving him chances to make an impact.

Offensive line

C Erik McCoy, 50 (100%)
T/G Patrick Omameh, 50 (100%)
G Larry Warford, 50 (100%)
T Ryan Ramczyk, 50 (100%)
G Nick Easton, 50 (100%)
G/C Will Clapp, 6 (12%)

New Orleans had to start two new faces at left tackle (Omameh) and left guard (Easton), and they both responded well when called up. The Saints gave up six sacks in their last game with the Falcons but rebounded to keep Brees clean and upright in this meeting. Their success in a pinch was a huge reason for the Saints’ success.

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A lot were dead wrong about Lamar Jackson, but some analysts saw this coming

A lot of people were dead wrong about Lamar Jackson. Let’s celebrate the people who were right.

Lamar Jackson went off again on Monday night, leading the Ravens to a 45-6 win over the Rams that was as lethal as it was efficient. He’s the clear frontrunner for MVP this season, and is doing stuff at the quarterback position we haven’t seen, like, ever really.

He’s phenomenal. He’s fun. He’s fantastic for the league.

He’s also someone a lot of NFL experts were wrong about. There was the ridiculous argument that he should have played wide receiver when transitioning to the NFL. Some doofuses have argued that he’s too mobile, whatever that means, and that only NFL passers who stay in the pocket have succeeded in the league.

Some of these arguments come from a football space, maybe. Some are, let’s be honest here, because Jackson is black. And people still are holding on to them! These arguments are infuriating. In the cases of plenty of trolls, they’re most likely disingenuous.

And I’m not going to waste time on them. It’d be easy to dunk on all these people and feel good about myself, and call them out one by one for how wrong they were and are. I’m not going to do that. Rather, let’s highlight a few people who got Lamar Jackson’s offensive explosion exactly right.

First, there were loyal Ravens fans. Well done, believers. Good on you. Plenty saw the way the team played after they gave the team over to Jackson, and predicted big things for this year.

There were also experts who saw this coming. Shoutout Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, who looked at Jackson film this offseason and wrote, back in July, that Jackson would be “making the leap” this year.

From the article:

Conventional wisdom says the approach can’t last, as if Baltimore won’t evolve. Jackson indeed took too many hits throughout the season, as the Ravens weren’t afraid to run him inside on key downs. But the conventional wisdom also fails to account for how much better a runner Jackson is compared to the competition.

His burst with the ball is superior to that of most running backs. He has the patience and vision of a player who sees the field holistically. While he may not be able to run this much his whole career, the Ravens aren’t crazy to believe he could thrive rushing over 200 times with 400 throws in the first few seasons of his career as he grows his passing skills.

Rosenthal was all over it, and proved dead right. Well done.

How about Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, who on August 20 wrote the article “You Are Wrong About Lamar Jackson“?

Sharp was right about Lamar Jackson.

From the article:

With a full offseason of camp with the first-team offense, playing in an offense that is being built to emphasize his strengths, guess what?

If you doubt him, you’ll probably be wrong about Lamar Jackson in 2019, too.

He’ll be just as dynamic a runner as you remembered him being last year.

But he’s going to be a far better passer than what you were tricked into thinking he was last year.

Precisely what happened.

Or how about Charles McDonald, who looked at Jackson’s NFL potential back in 2018, before he was even in the league, for Football Outsiders.

McDonald wrote then:

The team that drafts Jackson needs to be aware that there will be some growing pains as he adjusts to the NFL. Still, he’s a supremely talented passer with advanced understanding of what college defenses were throwing at him. His electric ability as a runner will provide an immediate avenue for success, and he’ll play his entire rookie season at age 21.

Trying to peg where he’ll go in the draft process will be difficult, but he should make the team that pulls the trigger on him very happy.

I’d say the Ravens are very happy.

Per some good internet feedback, I should also shout out Benjamin Solak of The Draft Network, who wrote in June that “Consistency is the name of the game for Lamar right now, and with it acquired, he has the physical tools to take a big leap in Year 2.”

And look at Luke Easterling, back in 2017 (!), making the case for Lamar Jackson as the best quarterback in the draft class.

And while we’re at it, I’ll shout out our own Steven Ruiz, who called out the coded language about Lamar Jackson when he was being evaluated for the NFL Draft.

So yes, dunk on all the doofuses who didn’t see Jackson’s greatness, or can’t even see it now. But also, a round of applause for the analysts and fans who saw this coming.

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4 big takeaways from Saints’ 26-9 loss to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints put up a disappointing performance in their Week 10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, showing a concerning lack of depth.

There wasn’t much to feel good about for New Orleans Saints fans, after their team got bulldozed by the Atlanta Falcons in a surprising upset on Sunday. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked six times (tying his career-worst total for a single game), and coach Sean Payton frowned in disappointment on the sideline as his team slipped and fell all over themselves throughout the afternoon.

Still, there’s plenty to learn from it. Here’s what we picked up on when reviewing the game, hopefully giving an idea of what the Saints can correct moving forward. Their rematch with Atlanta (in prime time, on Thanksgiving) is just a few weeks away. They don’t exactly have much time to let this one linger, even if it was an embarrassing loss to a division rival.

The plan to use Alvin Kamara wasn’t up to snuff

The good news: Kamara went 8-for-10 as a receiver, picking up 50 yards. The bad news: his worst rep of the day came on the opening drive, in which Kamara slipped and fell on the Superdome turf. It was a designed pass to him on a route out of the backfield and the right call against Atlanta’s defense — the closest defender was in poor position to stop him before Kamara would have reached the end zone. Instead, Brees had to take a sack on third down and force New Orleans to settle for three points instead of seven.

There’s no way the Saints were going to ask Kamara to handle fifteen or more rushing attempts in his first game back from injury, but four carries (and 11 as a team) was pitiful. The Saints have run too well lately to call 51 dropbacks for Brees against just 11 runs. This was an example of Payton at his worst, allowing himself to get one-dimensional and over-reliant on his passing attack in a game that was close for three quarters. There’s no excuse for him to have abandoned the run so early.

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