Redrafting the Jazz: 1987

I have been cursed by a witch to repeatedly travel back through time to relive every NBA draft. Fortunately, her spell sends me directly to the Utah Jazz war room on draft night and all the executives magically know I’m from the future and will do whatever I say. Unfortunately, the curse prevents me from seeing how my advice altered the future, as I am sent back to the previous year as soon as draft night ends.

June 22, 1987 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Previous season:

The 1986-87 Jazz were a young and upcoming team. Karl Malone wasn't quite an All-Star yet, but he did receive votes for both MVP and Most Improved Player. Mark Eaton led the league in blocks and finished third in voting for Defensive Player of the Year. But most frustratingly, head coach Frank Layden insisted on starting Rickey Green over John Stockton, even though Stockton put up superior numbers in limited minutes. Layden eventually learned the error of his ways during the first round of the playoffs, but he made the switch too late, and Utah fell to Golden State in five games.

The draft:

In the first round, Utah used the 15th pick on Oregon State power forward José Ortiz.

The Jazz didn't have a second-round pick this year, as it was included in the 1986 trade that send Adrian Dantley to Detroit for Kelly Tripucka. But the Jazz did have plenty of other picks in this seven-round draft.

In the third round, Utah used the 61st pick on Western Kentucky center Clarence Martin.

A 1986 trade that sent Fred Roberts to Boston gave the Jazz the 68th pick, which they used on Providence point guard Billy Donovan.

In the fourth round, Utah used the 84th pick on Alabama State center Reuben Holmes.

In the fifth round, the Jazz used the 107th pick on Nebraska-Kearney shooting guard Bart Kofoed.

In the sixth round, Utah used the the 130th pick on Bloomfield guard Art Sabb.

And finally, in the seventh round, the Jazz selected a guard from Harvard named Keith Webster with the 153rd pick. Whew!

Analysis:

José Ortiz was, and perhaps still is, considered the greatest basketball player to come from Puerto Rico. Even though he played at Oregon State, there was genuine concern that he had no interest in playing in the NBA, as that would prevent him from representing Puerto Rico in the playoffs. But apparently assured Jazz officials he would play in the NBA, and I'm sure Utah considered him quite the steal at No. 15. But the 1987 offseason was an odd one, where a league-wide moratorium prevented teams from hosting summer games or even contacting their draft picks for months. During this time, Oriz shocked the Jazz by signing a four-year deal with a team in Spain. So the Jazz played the 1987-88 season without their first-round pick.

In 1988, the Jazz got a strange idea stuck in their head that the best way forward was to create a three forward lineup of Karl Malone, Thurl Bailey and free agent Tom Chambers. But Phoenix offered Chambers a massive deal he couldn't refuse. Desperate to bring this three forward dream to life, Utah general manager Dave Checketts flew out to Spain once and Puerto Rico twice to personally negotiate with Ortiz. At first, Ortiz demanded to be traded to Miami, but the Jazz couldn't work out a deal. Ortiz eventually agreed to come to Utah, but getting out of his contract in Spain proved tricky. Utah's solution was an unconventional "trade." They released overweight Mel Turpin so he could take Ortiz's spot on his team in Spain.

Was Ortiz worth all that hassle? Absolutely not. The three forward lineup crashed and burned, as Ortiz was nowhere near the level of Malone and Bailey. He only managed 6 minutes per game in 64 games over two seasons before he demanded the Jazz waive him so he could return to Spain. And Ortiz went down in Jazz history as perhaps their worst draft pick of the decade.

Utah's other six picks of this draft didn't fare much better. Only two of them saw any NBA action. Billy Donovan played 44 games for the Knicks before becoming a legendary college coach, winning back-to-back NCAA championships with Florida. He's currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

Fifth-round draft pick Bart Kofoed was the only pick this year that played for the Jazz in the 1987-88 season. And he miraculously managed to make Utah's roster despite breaking his foot. He played so well in the 1988 playoffs, the Jazz gave him a two-year contract. But then he got into a fight with Bobby Hansen at a New Year's Eve party and he ended up breaking Hansen's cheekbone. The Jazz promptly waived him, and he spent the next few years bouncing back and forth between the NBA and CBA.

So, we obviously have a lot of room for improvement. And we have seven draft picks to work with, which certainly makes things exciting! So let's run through this in rapid fire.

With their first-round pick, the Jazz should have taken Reggie Lewis. They didn't need a third forward to pair with Malone and Bailey — they needed a swingman who could do what Kelly Tripucka was supposed to do, but was unwilling/unable to. Lewis was an All-Star in Boston before shockingly dying at the age of 27. There seems to be a strong possibility his death was caused by cocaine use, so I'm going to take a chance on him. I know this sounds silly, but maybe — just maybe — he'll have a hard time finding cocaine in Salt Lake than Boston. And if not, then I'll still be happy with the handful of quality seasons he'd give the Jazz.

In the third round, I'd use the 61st pick on Kevin Gamble. He's also a swingman, but he actually had the best years of his career while playing alongside Lewis in Boston. So I'd like to see if the Jazz could capture some of that magic.

With the 68th pick, I'll take Chris Dudley, an unglamorous big man from Yale, who managed to have a 16-year NBA career due to his strong rebounding and shot-blocking.

In the fourth round, I wish I could recommend Sarunas Marciulionis. The Lithuanian Hall of Famer did have a decent NBA career, but he was technically ineligible to be drafted in 1987 because he was too old, according to the league's rules regarding European players at the time. So I'll instead take Scott Brooks, an undrafted point guard, who somehow ended up having a 10-year NBA career. Perhaps he could do better than Kofoed.

As for the last three remaining picks? I don't really care. There's no one else worth taking. Ironically, Kofoed was the best player from the fifth round, so I guess you might as well take him to compete with Brooks.

My advice:

1. Use the 15th pick on Reggie Lewis.

2. Use the 61st pick on Kevin Gamble.

3. Use the 68th pick on Chris Dudley.

4. Use the 84th pick on Scott Brooks.

5. Use the 107th pick on Bart Kofoed.

6. Use the 130th pick on Art Sabb.

7. Use the 153rd pick on Keith Webster.

Ironically, I'm actually most excited about adding Chris Dudley to the Jazz. I think his personality would have been a perfect fit in Utah, and he would have been an ideal backup to Mark Eaton. Maybe even his replacement later down the line. Reggie Lewis certainly is an intriguing pick, but Dudley promises the reliable dependability that every team needs from a role player.

Before Watchmen: Time for the drugs!

Wow. I haven't written on this blog since August! And I haven't done an issue of Silk Spectre since March! I guess this what happens when you grow up and lose all your free time. And when you're not really into the story you're trying to review. I'm sorry, I'm just not that into psychedelic drug trips. They bore me. Just like this cover by Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts. Oooo ... it's so strange and trippy! I get it! I just ... don't care.

The variant cover by Michael and Laura Allred is also something that doesn't really excite me. Yeah, it captures the feel of the hippie crowd Laurie has been hanging with. But including the entire Watchmen roster doesn't fit with this story. Almost none of these characters are here, so I consider covers like this to be misleading. As fun as it might be to have a story examining Laurie falling in love with Dr. Manhattan, this isn't that story.

This story is about how Laurie decided to truly become a superhero. We open with six pages of Laurie's drug-induced hallucination. The most interesting part is where Laurie admits that she had always hoped the Hooded Justice was secretly her father, but she realizes that any member of the Minutemen could be her dad. Laurie also notes how odd it is that she treats Hollis Mason as a father figure, even though she only sees him every few years (it's almost as if Darwyn Cooke could anticipate my complaint).

Hollis, meanwhile, got quite an earful from Sally, who demanded that he fly out to San Francisco at once to rescue her daughter. Hollis believes that such an intervention would only push Laurie further away, but Sally rejects this argument, and says she'll contact someone who will find Laurie. Realizing that Sally was referring to Eddie Blake, Hollis immediately schedules a flight to California.

Laurie was in too much of a daze at the party to warn her friends about Gurustein. She wakes up the next morning to find her boyfriend, Greg, has overdosed. As he recovers in the hospital, Laurie reveals to him that she's the Silk Spectre and she has to return to that life of vigilantism because she can't sit by when people are being hurt. The doctors then send Laurie away, promising her that he'll make a full recovery.

So Laurie decides to immediately pay a visit to Gurustein and the unnamed businessman simply referred to as the Chairman. But while she's off procuring her trademark thigh-high boots (by breaking into a closed shoe store, and paying the owner in loose change), the Comedian kidnaps Greg and takes him down to a morgue, where he threaten to kill the boy unless he agrees to immediately join the military and ship off to Vietnam. When Greg relents, the Comedian adds one more condition: He must copy down a letter in his own hand and sign it.

Now in full costume, the Silk Spectre easily fights her way into Gurustein's orgy, punches him out and sternly warns the Chairman to stop giving his drugs to her friends. And then she just ... walks away, goes home and goes to sleep. Eddie sneaks into his daughter's room, deposits Greg's letter, and takes one of Lauries smiley face buttons.

No, I never needed any added significance to the Comedian's iconic button. But I'm not too bothered by this, either. It's the same feeling I have for this story as a whole ... just a lot of indifference. Gorgeously illustrated. Slightly innovative with some of the drug pages. Fairly funny at parts. But not terribly interesting. In hindsight, I do kind of like how Cooke and Conner demonstrated the complete futility of a teenaged girl vigilante. Yeah, she can beat up a couple of people, but so what? Is that going to stop anyone or change anything? Doubtful. Her actions are just as pointless and impotent as Sally's and Hollis'. The only person who can accomplish anything in this story is Eddie, who has a gun, deep government connections and a lack of remorse for taking rather unsavory actions.

So in the end, I don't hate this issue (or the Silk Spectre series as a whole). I just can't get too excited about a story about futile, meaningless actions. Same for the backup, The Curse of the Crimson Corsair. Now that is an exercise in futility.

Redrafting the Jazz: 1988

I have been cursed by a witch to repeatedly travel back through time to relive every NBA draft. Fortunately, her spell sends me directly to the Utah Jazz war room on draft night and all the executives magically know I’m from the future and will do whatever I say. Unfortunately, the curse prevents me from seeing how my advice altered the future, as I am sent back to the previous year as soon as draft night ends.

June 28, 1988 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Previous season:

The Stockton-Malone era officially began in the 1987-88 season. After spending three seasons on the bench, John Stockton was finally named the starter and immediately led the league in assists, earning a spot on the All-NBA Second Team and finishing second in voting for Most Improved Player (losing to Portland's Kevin Duckworth). Coincidentally, a couple of other Jazz players also took second-place in the end-of-season awards. Thurl Bailey fell to Dallas big man Roy Tarpley in Sixth Man of the Year and Mark Eaton was runner-up to Michael Jordan's Defensive Player of the Year. And of course, there was Karl Malone, who not only joined John Stockton on the All-NBA Second Team and Mark Eaton on the All-Defensive Second Team, but he also made his first All-Star team (curiously, Stockton wasn't named an All-Star until the 1988-89 season).

Anyway, it seems the Jazz were cursed by the number 2 this year, as they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. This was an especially heart-breaking loss, as they had pushed the eventual champion Lakers to seven games. Beyond the big four of Stockton, Malone, Bailey and Eaton, this roster needed quite a bit of work. The Kelly Tripucka experiment had failed miserably. Darrell Griffith's decline was on full display. And Eaton's backup, Melvin Turpin, was living up to his unfortunate nickname of Dinner Bell Mel.

The draft:

In the first round, the Jazz used their No. 17 pick on a center from Wyoming named Eric Leckner.

In the second round, Utah grabbed Iowa shooting guard Jeff Moe at the 42nd pick.

And in the third round (this my first time with three rounds!), the Jazz used the 67th pick on Oklahoma point guard Ricky Grace.

Analysis:

Leckner was an understandable pick at the time, and he certainly wasn't a terrible player. He spent eight years in the NBA, but never made much of an impact anywhere. After playing two years for the Jazz, Leckner was packaged in the three-way trade that brought Jeff Malone to Utah. Obviously we can do better. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to steer clear of some of the most tantalizing available prospects here. Vernon Maxwell and Anthony Mason had stellar careers, but I don't think they would have fit in well with Utah's culture. Rod Strickland was one of the best point guards of the '90s, but what's the point in drafting an over-qualified backup for a young Stockton? So I'm going to have to play it safe and make a boring, non-sexy pick: Andrew Lang. Eaton DID need a reliable backup, and Lang is the best available shot-blocker. His 12-year career wasn't particularly eye-popping, but I think it would have been great for Frank Layden (and/or Jerry Sloan) to be able to sub out one shot-blocker for another.

Jeff Moe never made Utah's roster — or any NBA roster, for that matter. He went to the CBA, but got cut after just 14 games. So he became a real estate agent. Fortunately, I have just the man who can be everything the Jazz thought Moe could give them and more: Steve Kerr. Although he was a perpetual backup, Kerr was one of the most accurate shooters in the game during his 15-year career. And he was an important piece of Chicago's and San Antonio's championship teams. As an added bonus, Kerr will go down in history as one of the greatest head coaches in basketball. And perhaps, even more important than his shooting, is his attitude and temperament. I believe he would have fit in perfectly with Utah.

Ricky Grace also never made the Jazz roster. But he actually enjoyed a lengthy and productive career in Australia — winning four championships and two MVP awards. He eventually did make it to the NBA, but only for a three-game stint with the Hawks. Luckily, I once again have the perfect upgrade: John Starks. This undrafted athletic guard became a fixture for the Knicks in the '90s, earning a spot in one All-Star Game, the All-Defensive Second Team once and the Sixth Man of the Year. Starks actually did play his final two seasons for the Jazz, but he was merely a shadow of his former self by that point.

My advice:

1. Use the 17th pick on Andrew Lang.

2. Use the 42nd pick on Steve Kerr.

3. Use the 67th pick on John Starks.

This was a crucial year for the Jazz, as they were setting the groundwork for a dynasty that would carry them through a decade of occasional dominance, but also quite a bit of disappointment. I think Lang's style would have made him the ideal backup for Eaton, Kerr would have been a perfect sixth man and Starks could have formed a rather exciting backcourt with Stockton.

Before Watchmen: Getting back to the good stuff

The more I read of Darwyn Cooke's Minutemen series, the more I'm convinced that DC should have only made this series (and perhaps expanded it) rather than throwing together a bunch of separate miniseries with mixed results. Minuteman is consistently great, and a big part of that is due to the focus on Silhouette — a character who had almost no characterization in the original series beyond "was killed for being a lesbian." Cooke's cover puts the spotlight on Silhouette, revealing a scene from this issue's climax with her bleeding out in a church. There's no threat of her dying here — as we all know she was ultimately murdered in bed with her lover — but there still is a fair bit of emotion and drama. What strikes me is how completely alone she is. This is supposed to be a team book, but she seems to be the only member of the Minutemen actually putting her life on the line.

The variant cover by Cliff Chiang is nothing terribly special, but it is well done. I liked how even in the setting of a parade, Chiang was able to capture each character's personality perfectly. Silk Spectre and Captain Metropolis are triumphantly posing. Nite Owl and the Dollar Bill are soaking up all the adoration. Silhouette and Hooded Justice are trying to avoid the spotlight, while the Comedian is itching for a fight. And poor Mothman is nervously trying to stay afloat.

Our story picks up in 1962, with Hollis Mason encountering yet another obstacle ahead of the printing of his book. This time it's a rather large man named Norbert Veldon, who introduces himself as a friend of Nelson Gardner. He says that Hollis' manuscript has driven Nelson to the brink of suicide, and he forbids Hollis from publishing his book. But Hollis stands by his work, saying there's nothing in the book that isn't true. Enraged, Norbert rips the manuscript in half and storms away, promising legal action. Although I haven't been able to find any confirmation online, I think there's a high likelihood that Norbert is the Hooded Justice in disguise. He's so big and strong and acting rather elusive about his true relationship to Nelson. But even if he's not Hooded Justice, at the very least he seems to be Nelson's current lover.

Hollis' memories take us back to 1940, where Hooded Justice, Captain Metropolis, Mothman, Dollar Bill, Larry Schexnayder and Nite Owl are discussing what to do with the Comedian after he sexually assaulted the Silk Spectre. Hollis chooses to spend this time reading a comic book about the Minutemen instead, simply saying that he wants the Comedian out. So they all approach the Comedian and inform him that they unanimously decided to expel him from the Minutemen. Eddie quickly admits he made a mistake and begs for a chance to apologize to Sally. The Dollar Bill begins to question his decision, pointing out that Eddie is still just a kid and Sally does dress rather provocatively — a sentiment that is quickly shot down by Larry.

Hollis puts his foot down, calling Eddie a crook and a woman-beater, and he says the Minutemen have to hold themselves to a higher moral standard. Eddie starts picking apart the group's hypocrisy, reminding them all that they destroyed a warehouse of firecrackers and falsely told the world it belonged to terrorists. He reveals that he knows Hollis is a cop, and he (rather homophobically) attacks the "secret" relationship between the Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis. Tensions rise high enough that Eddie ends up grabbing the Hooded Justice's noose around his neck and using it to flip him around onto a table. While holding Hooded Justice in a stranglehold, Eddie pulls out a gun and threatens to kill anyone who lays a hand on him. And with that dramatic flourish, the Comedian walks away from the Minutemen.

In 1941, the Silk Spectre and Silhouette were supposed to do a "bombshells" photo shoot to support the troops, but Ursula wasn't told of this ahead of time and considers the whole thing ridiculous. Sally insults Ursula, and the two have a bitter back-and-forth until Ursula finally storms off the set after being called a lesbian. Sally angrily tells Larry that Ursula has to go.

In 1942, the Comedian, now wearing a black costume and sporting a thin mustache, is recruited by the FBI. 

Silhouette continues her crusade against the child traffickers. And the only Minuteman who offers her any assistance (from time to time) is Nite Owl. While sharing a cup of coffee, Hollis bemoans how both he and Byron were denied from enlisting in the Army because of their flat feet. This is especially perplexing to Hollis, seeing as how he spends most of his evenings running across rooftops without any issue. Ursula says this may be for the best, since they need good men fighting the "big fight" back in America. She asks for Hollis' help tonight, but he had previously agreed to a publicity stunt with the Dollar Bill. He does, however, give Ursula the number of a police box he checks every hour during his nighttime patrol.

Nite Owl spends some time putting on a show for a group of kids, then has a beer with Dollar Bill in the backseat of a limo. Bill confesses that he's troubled by Captain Metropolis' relationship with Hooded Justice, saying the Bible teaches homosexuality is a mortal sin. Not only does he believe those two men will burn in hell, but he worries about what would happen to the Minutemen's reputation if their secret were ever exposed. Hollis mildly disagrees with this, and Bill ultimately agrees that they shouldn't judge their teammates — out loud, at least.

Meanwhile, Silhouette's mission to just scare and expose some of the traffickers suddenly turned into a rescue mission when she spotted a young girl with a hauntingly blank face. Silhouette opened fire on the traffickers, but she was unprepared to take on so many men at once, and she is shot several times during her mad dash with the girl in her arms. Once she's free of the traffickers, Silhouette is horrified to discover that a stray bullet has pierced the girl's heart. Even worse was how Silhouette noticed the girl's expression was unchanged by death, indicating that she had figuratively been murdered long ago.

Silhouette manages to take refuge in an empty church and get out a phone call to Hollis. He briefly considered involving the rest of the police, but ultimately decided he wanted to save her by himself as Nite Owl. By the time he reaches Silhouette, she had lost a lot of blood and was beginning to fade. So he quickly steals and hot-wires a car to drive her to the hospital. But Ursula tells him to go to her personal doctor instead, who was already expecting them at her home. Hollis briefly reflects on how he deserted his beat to steal a car, but he's blinded by his growing love for Ursula. And that love has blinded him to the true relationship between Ursula and her "doctor."

Cooke continues to blow me away. This is exactly what I want from a Watchmen prequel. Well, almost. I still fervently believe that Allan Moore deliberately intended for every character in his story to not only be deeply flawed in some way, but also unlikable to a certain extent. Cooke made it quite hard on himself to live up to that ideal by focusing on Nite Owl and Silhouette — two of the least flawed and most likable characters from Watchmen. 

Most readers are willing to forgive Hollis for profiting off the scandals of his former teammates, largely because he managed to avoid similar scandals himself and maintain a relatively pure image. I applaud Cooke for deftly compounding this flaw in ways that I hope readers will pick up on. Hollis is completely unfazed by Nelson becoming suicidal. And I don't think it's because he wants Nelson to suffer — he just doesn't care. He may hide this stance behind the noble ideal of revealing the truth, but ultimately, he wants to sell the book for money. That's just one example of Hollis' conflicting, hypocritical nature that Cooke explores with wonderful subtlety. If Hollis truly was concerned with the Minutemen upholding a high moral standard, then he would have resigned after they lied about the fireworks factory. But he did put his foot down against the Comedian. And he did reveal a rather progressive (for 1940) viewpoint to Dollar Bill, but if he truly cared about Silhouette, then he wouldn't have been goofing off with Bill while he knew Ursula was on a potentially dangerous mission. And if he truly cared about being a police officer and upholding the law, then he should have involved the rest of the department in rescuing Silhouette and bringing the child traffickers to justice. Hollis has enough endearing qualities that we're willing and happy to go along with him as our narrator. But Cooke makes sure to include just enough flaws to stay true to Moore's vision.

Silhouette is trickier. Moore didn't put any effort into creating her beyond an illustration that the superhero life would mainly attract sexual deviants and the tragedy of homophobia claiming so many lives. Unlike all the main characters of Watchmen, Moore didn't give Silhouette any flaws or provide any reasons for the readers to dislike her (unless you hate the fact that she's homosexual, then that's your problem). Cooke decided to explore the possibility that Silhouette may, in fact, be the most pure, most earnest member of the Minutemen. My knee-jerk reaction was to revolt against this. But after reading this issue, I've gained a deeper appreciation for Cooke's approach. Stories are more enjoyable with likable characters without any major flaws. And Cooke has deepened the tragedy of Silhouette by showing that only one of her teammates actually cares about her life's work, and even he is easily distracted by the lure of fame. It's probably not the story Moore would have told, but I'm really enjoying it.

As always, the artwork by Cooke and colorist Phil Noto is stunningly superb. Cooke interspersed this issue with panels of the Minutemen comic (which paid homage to the classic All-Star Comics #3). Cooke's attention to detail is impressive as he not only perfectly imitated the writing style of those 1940s comics, but also the crude artwork. This whole series has been so great, it really makes me wish DC had given Cooke the time and space to flesh this story out to 12 issues.

Redrafting the Jazz: 1989

I have been cursed by a witch to repeatedly travel back through time to relive every NBA draft. Fortunately, her spell sends me directly to the Utah Jazz war room on draft night and all the executives magically know I’m from the future and will do whatever I say. Unfortunately, the curse prevents me from seeing how my advice altered the future, as I am sent back to the previous year as soon as draft night ends.

June 27, 1989 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Previous season:

The 1988-89 season was a bizarre one for the Utah Jazz. Head coach Frank Layden abruptly retired after just 17 games, kickstarting Jerry Sloan's incredibly long run with the franchise. Joining John Stockton and Karl Malone in the All-Star Game (for the first and only time of his career) was Mark Eaton, who also won his second and final Defensive Player of the Year trophy. And Thurl Bailey finished second in voting for Sixth Man of the Year (losing to Phoenix's Eddie Johnson). The Jazz went 51-31 and won the Midwest Division for the second time in franchise history. But then disaster struck in the playoffs. Utah wasn't just upset by Golden State — it was a downright embarrassing sweep. No one on the Jazz could slow down Chris Mullin or Mitch Richmond.

The draft:

Seeking to fill Utah's immediate need at shooting guard/small forward, Scott Layden used the 21st pick on East Carolina swingman Blue Edwards.

With the 48th pick, the Jazz drafted a point guard from South Alabama named Junie Lewis.

Analysis:

Edwards was a smart pick for the Jazz. Although he wasn't a good enough shooter to be a true shooting guard, his defense and athleticism made him a competent (yet undersized) small forward. He made the All-Rookie Second Team and gave Utah three solid years ... before being inexplicably traded for Jay Humphries. The Jazz later realized the mistake they made and traded Humphries back for Edwards a couple of years later. But by then, Utah already had David Benoit, Bryon Russell and Jamie Watson, so Edwards saw very little playing time during his second stint with the Jazz. He was then promptly scooped up by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 expansion draft.

Despite the positives Edwards gave the Jazz, there were just enough deficiencies to his game that prevented him from having a longer, more impactful career in Utah. The tough thing is he was the best player available at his position. So I'm going to have to sadly tell Layden to try to fill that need through free agency and trades because the best remaining players are all big men. I went back and forth between Vlade Divac and Clifford Robinson, ultimately deciding that Robinson would provide the most versatility for Utah. A one-time All-Star, Sixth Man of the Year and two-time All-Defensive Second Team member, Robinson would have filled that Thurl Bailey role quite nicely with the added bonus of better defense and some 3-point shooting. 

Picking a backup for Stockton in the second round was a good idea, but Utah drafted the wrong point guard. Lewis never played in the NBA. But Boise State's Chris Childs did. After a lengthy stint in the minor leagues (and a trip to a rehab facility to combat his alcoholism), Childs eventually worked his way into the NBA and had a nice nine-year career punctuated by his tough defense and 3-point shooting. I have no idea how his career would have turned out had he been drafted by the Jazz, but I want to take that risk anyway.

My advice:

1. Use the 21st pick on Clifford Robinson.

2. Use the 48th pick on Chris Childs.

It felt a little strange looking at replacements for Eaton and Bailey right after they had such strong seasons. But I know both of them began to sharply decline once the '90s hit. And I think the versatile Robinson could help relieve both of those aging big men ... assuming he's able to find cannabis as readily available in Salt Lake City as he was in Portland. Hmmm ... on second thought, maybe I should have gone with Divac ...

Before Watchmen: What to do with Dr. Manhattan?

Well, I've finally come to the last miniseries about the main Watchmen characters. Dr. Manhattan may be the hardest character to write, but he does offer the most possibilities for some truly bizarre, fascinating stories. Unfortunately, J. Michael Straczynski was chosen to handle this miniseries. Fortunately, he was paired with Adam Hughes, who provided some very nice interior art. His cover is fine, but nothing special.

The Paul Pope variant cover isn't particularly pleasant. I like the concept, but not the execution. Dr. Manhattan just looks too squiggly and off model for me.

Jim Lee decided to take Dr. Manhattan off model in the completely opposite way. He's now a humorously huge body builder, reminding me of how Arnold Schwarzenegger was almost cast as Dr. Manhattan. It astounds me how ridiculously bad Lee's variants were for this project.

The problem with trying to write a prequel about Dr. Manhattan is that Alan Moore had already covered every aspect of his life — quite thoroughly, in fact. And you can feel Straczynski struggling with that fact for 90% of this issue. But he tries to insert his own bits of originality here and there. We'll see how

He opens with a random funeral — perhaps the funeral of Dr. Manhattan's father, but this isn't confirmed yet — then begins flipping around back and forth through Dr. Manhattan's past. The first flashback is in 1938, where a 9-year-old Jon Osterman is still living in Germany (I had always assumed he had been born in America, but whatever). It's Jon's birthday, and his father has gifted him an ornate clock, which just so happens to look exactly like the clock palace Dr. Manhattan would later build on Mars. I personally find it strange that Dr. Manhattan would recreate an enormous version of his father's gift when the original series made it quite clear that Jon deeply hated his father, but what do I know?

After spending a few pages rehashing things we already know, Straczynski takes us to 1949, where college student Jon Osterman is bizarrely choosing to stay inside and work on a clock instead of going down to the lake with a beautiful girl, who is practically shoving her massive breasts in his face. I find it strange that A) Jon is still working on clocks even after his father forced him to give up that hobby in favor of studying physics and B) notoriously horny Jon would be completely unfazed by this gorgeous woman throwing herself at him. But again, what do I know?

In 1959, Jon begins his new job at the Gila Flats test base. As he tours the facility, he feels a strange sense of déjà vu, somehow remembering when he visited it years later when it was abandoned and he was Dr. Manhattan. This disturbs Dr. Manhattan while he's on Mars, as he can't explain how his past, human self could have sensed his future, super-powered self. 

He thinks about how his choices may have changed the future, which brings us to the infamous Crimebusters meeting of 1966. Once again, Straczynski plays out the incredibly stupid moment of Captain Metropolis trying to split the heroes into pairs and Dr. Manhattan changing Rorschach's paper to Silk Spectre's. Dr. Manhattan even briefly considers two different possibilities where (assuming the Crimbebusters meeting went well) he gets to fight crime alongside either Rorschach or Silk Spectre. Of course, in the case of Laurie, he spends more time kissing her and less time blowing up criminals.

Straczynski then spends several pages blatantly contradicting the original series. Dr. Manhattan tells Janey Slater he loves her and instead of admitting to himself that was a lie, he now tells himself that statement was true, but "utterly beside the point." Later, we see Jon's father having a breakdown upon learning of his son's death. And even though Moore made it quite clear that Dr. Manhattan hated his father and never made any attempts to let him know he'd survived, Straczynski decided to have Dr. Manhattan visit his dad on his death bed. Jon's dad was too delirious to acknowledge his son, so I guess nothing technically changed, but it still really bugs me.

Anyway, Straczynski finally gets around to doing something interesting. Dr. Manhattan realizes that he can slide up and down his timeline from the moment of his creation to the future, but he's never tried to take himself to any point of time before he became Dr. Manhattan. Until now. He arrives unseen at Gila Flats, just moments before the fateful accident. But this time, Jon safely retrieves his coat and calmly exits the testing chamber long before the door is sealed shut. And an astonished Dr. Manhattan is completely stumped by this development.

Well, it was rough getting there, but I genuinely enjoyed the ending. It's just a shame that everything that preceded it was either a pointless rehash or a direct contradiction of what Moore had done. I get it, writing a prequel about Dr. Manhattan is hard, and probably never should have been attempted in the first place. But if you're going to insist on publishing a miniseries about him, then please find a writer more suited to the job.

Redrafting the Jazz: 1990

I have been cursed by a witch to repeatedly travel back through time to relive every NBA draft. Fortunately, her spell sends me directly to the Utah Jazz war room on draft night and all the executives magically know I’m from the future and will do whatever I say. Unfortunately, the curse prevents me from seeing how my advice altered the future, as I am sent back to the previous year as soon as draft night ends.

June 27, 1990 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Previous season:

Thanks to the phenomenal play of Karl Malone and John Stockton, the 1989-90 Jazz won 55 games in the regular season. Unfortunately, they were stunned in the first round of the playoffs, losing to Phoenix in Game 5 off a last-second shot by Kevin Johnson. Utah's biggest weakness was quite obvious to general manager Scott Layden: shooting guard. Darrell Griffith was on his last legs and Bobby Hansen ... just wasn't that good. So instead of trying to solve this problem through the draft, Layden sought an immediate upgrade by trading for two-time All-Star Jeff Malone. 

The three-team trade was completed two days before the draft, and saw Utah sending Hansen, Eric Leckner, and both their 1990 draft picks to Sacramento in exchange for the Kings' second-round pick and Jeff Malone from Washington. It wasn't a bad trade, but it didn't help as much as the Jazz wanted. Regardless, the witch's curse prevents me from undoing that trade, so I'm left to work with Utah's single second-round pick in this draft.

The draft:

Sacramento's second-round pick ended up being No. 33 overall, which Utah used on Dartmouth big man Walter Palmer.

Analysis:

Palmer only played 28 games for Utah before heading over to Germany for a year. He returned to the NBA, but only lasted 20 more games with Dallas. So it's not going to be too hard to find an upgrade here — in fact, I luckily have two All-Stars to choose from.

One tempting candidate is Cedric Ceballos, who may have been a nice upgrade over Blue Edwards — at least on the offensive end. But I'm much more intrigued by Antonio Davis. Every team could use another strong rebounder/defender on their roster, especially the Jazz, who were dealing with an aging Mark Eaton and Thurl Bailey. Davis did spend a couple of seasons playing overseas before joining the Pacers, and I think that'd be just fine for Utah. Let him develop for a bit, then bring him over when you really need him.

My advice:

1. Use the 33rd pick on Antonio Davis.

Davis may have been a bit undersized, but he and Dale Davis formed one of the most toughest frontcourts in the late '90s. And by the early 2000s (when Antonio became an All-Star) a few key rule changes would greatly benefit the under-seven-foot big men of the league. I do feel slightly bad for making the Jazz wait longer with this pick, but I'd tell Scott Layden he had the right mindset by trying to win now with Stockton and Malone in their primes. I'm giving him the best player available in this draft — he should focus on making some more trades to bolster the roster with veterans.