Four Buffs Get NBA Seasons Underway
November 02, 2015 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER -- While the Colorado men's basketball team is now less than two weeks from its first game of the 2015-16 season (vs. Iowa State in South Dakota on Nov. 13), four Buffs alumni got their season started over the weekend in the NBA, and they've experienced varying degrees of success through the first week of the season.
Alec Burks is in his fifth year with the Utah Jazz. He's working back into shape after a shoulder injury cost him much of last season, but he'll be a key part of Utah's wing rotation this season. Thus far, Burks is scoring 14.3 points and grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game on 46 percent shooting.
Burks ceded his starting spot to second-year swingman Rodney Hood this year, though they play roughly the same amount of minutes. Hood, Burks and star forward Gordon Hayward are all ball-dominant, so the Jazz probably won't play the three of them together very much — unless their point guard play drops so and Utah tries something unconventional.
The Jazz lost starting point guard Dante Exum to a torn ACL in the offseason, and their current rotation consists of the unproven Raul Neto and Trey Burke. Utah may decide that, at some point, it just wants the best players on the court, regardless of position. In that case, Burks would be the nominal point guard with Hood at the two and Hayward at the three.
But, again, their skills overlap to the point where it could be redundant to leave them on the court together, and that would leave the Jazz without a scorer and ball-handler off the bench. Burks is comporting himself well as Utah's sixth man, and the Jazz are so good defensively that questions about their rotation may prove moot.
Andre Roberson, the third-year shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, is a starter to start of this season. Two-guard was the one real question mark in the Thunder's starting lineup going into this season, and Roberson got the nod because he's one of Oklahoma City's best wing defenders, and he doesn't need the ball on offense.
This year, he's scoring four points per game and shooting 25 percent from deep — which is actually the best mark of his career to this point and could turn into the reason he's on the floor more. All he needs to do is hit enough from deep so defenders don't leave him wide open to help when superstars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
The Thunder's other options at shooting guard are Anthony Morrow and Dion Waiters. Morrow is one of the league's best shooters but has some issues on the other end of the floor.
Roberson is probably Oklahoma City's best option at two-guard right now, but the Thunder are desperate to win a title before Westbrook and Durant become free agents over the next two years, so the Thunder could be testing out trade waters in the near future.
Chris Copeland is a fourth-year forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, and he's carved out a niche for himself in the NBA as a good shooting big off the bench. Copeland has shot 38 percent from deep in his career, and he's hitting a ridiculous 55 percent of his threes so far this year.
Copeland's shooting allows him to fit in with either of the Bucks' traditional centers — the post behemoth Greg Monroe and long-armed rim protector John Henson.
Copeland's time may be impacted when second-year forward Jabari Parker comes back from injury, as he'll play a lot of small-ball four and take some of Copeland's minutes. Still, Copeland should have an NBA career well into his 30s, because bigs who can shoot threes will only become more valuable as the league becomes more predicated on spacing and shooting.
The last Buff in the NBA is second-year point guard Spencer Diwiddie with the Detroit Pistons. Dinwiddie hasn't played yet this season, but last year he averaged four points and three assists per game.
As can happen, Dinwiddie seems to be the odd man out in Detroit's guard rotation right now with as starter Reggie Jackson signed a massive extension in the offseason and Brandon Jennings will have a large part in the rotation when he comes back from injury.
He does, however, have the ideal skillset for coach Stan Van Gundy's spread pick-and-roll offense, and there's no reason for him not to work into the rotation if he's heathy and continues to work hard.
Finally, another Colorado alum got one step closer to the league last weekend. Guard Askia Booker was the 11th overall pick in the NBA D-League draft. He was taken by the Maine Red Claws and traded immediately to the Bakersfield Jam, who are affiliated with the Phoenix Suns.
Booker worked tirelessly this offseason to give himself a chance like this. His best bet at professional basketball is still probably overseas, and he would make a lot more money there than in the D-League. But right now, all he needs is one roster spot to open up for him to achieve his dream.
