What to do with Alec Burks

Feb 22, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks (10) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Jazz 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

With a 6-6 record the Jazz look to be sorting out some of the early season problems they had.  The offense at times still looks out of sync but the team seems to work a lot better together.  Randy Foye and Marvin Williams feel like Jazz men now and it’s good to see the players finding each other in good situations.  The line up for the Jazz took a shake up for the better I believe.  Millsap seems to have the quickness that he can stay with small forwards defensively and now that he has proven he can shoot the 3 point shot the Jazz have the monster line up out there to start the game.  There’s one player who is only getting “garbage minutes” for the Jazz and is definitely not a part of the rotation, Alec Burks.

I personally loved what I saw from Alec Burks and was super high on the kid coming into this season but I would be lying if I told you I’m not extremely disappointed in what I’ve seen from him so far.  No Burks has not been given minutes during the games so far but the way he’s reacting to this situation is terrible.  When Alec gets his “garbage minutes” on the floor he takes bad shots and plays lackluster defense which is in no way going to earn him minutes on the floor.  Look at DeMarre Carroll, the guy had  5 DNP’s in 6 games and the other game of those 6 he had 3 minutes against Denver when the Jazz were getting blown out.  DeMarre gets his number called in Philadelphia and works his butt off and forces Coach Corbin to play him.  Now no Alec hasn’t had this opportunity yet but he will get it and when he does I don’t know if he has the type of attitude to go out and just wow the coaches and make them play him.

Lately there have been rumors in the media about Alec being on the trading block which honestly makes me laugh.  If you’ve been a Jazz fan for a while then you know as well as I do that the Jazz are probably the last team to have something get out in the media about a player they are shopping.  The fact that it’s in the media just proves to me that it’s a rumor and fans shouldn’t be worried about Burks being on the block.  I think it would be a terrible idea to dump Burks now with all the potential he has and without him getting a real chance to prove himself.  With that being said I’m not throwing out the idea that he could be included in a big deal with another team.  If the Jazz do decide to unload Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson then I think it might be plausible they include Alec Burks to the deal if it means bringing in a high caliber player right now.  My point is that I do not believe the Alec Burks trade rumors going around are true but in this unique situation where they look to unload a big man that he could possibly be a part of it.

I want to make it clear that I believe the Jazz should hold on to Alec Burks, he will get his shot sometime this season and I want to see if he lives up to it.  I loved it when the Jazz drafted him 12th overall, I loved his play at the end of last season and I loved his summer league play in Orlando.  He has a real shot of being a great player in this league but he has to realize that he was drafted by a team that is not okay with losing and if he isn’t the best player the Jazz can put on the floor right now then he won’t play.  When Alec gets his chance I sure hope he shows the Jazz how stupid they are for not giving him significant minutes all season.  Let’s hope he does do this when #10 finally get’s his number called.