![\"Gorgui](\"https:\/\/turnernbahangtime.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/10\/dieng.jpg?w=225&h=324\")
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Gorgui Dieng (David Sherman\/NBAE)<\/p>\n
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Give me Gorgui Dieng<\/strong>. The lively, defensive-minded center from Senegal by way of Louisville was a second-half revelation last season after spending the first four months of 2013-14 buried on Minnesota\u2019s bench. He started 15 games late in the season, averaging 12.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, while turning his plus\/minus from minus-14.0 to plus-4.5. Chicago already admits privately that passing on Dieng to take\u00a0Tony Snell<\/strong>\u00a0one spot earlier in the 2013 draft was a mistake \u2014 he would be a perfect complement toJoakim Noah<\/strong>\u00a0and replacement for\u00a0Omer Asik<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Tom Thibodeau<\/strong>\u2018s defense. Timberwolves coach\u00a0Flip Saunders<\/strong>knows what he has in Dieng, who mitigates the disappointing work so far by same-first-rounder\u00a0Shabazz Muhammad<\/strong>. So Dieng will get a big minutes boost whether\u00a0Nikola Pekovic<\/strong>\u00a0stays healthy or, more likely, not.<\/p>\n Fran Blinebury, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Trey Burke is in a good position to make the leap, but I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s good the right passing instincts for a point guard yet. Gorgui Deng will get minutes as Nikola Pekovic\u2019s backup, but the Wolves are a team starting over. So\u00a0I\u2019ll go with Tim Hardaway Jr., who can do one thing \u2014 shoot \u2014 very well<\/strong>. \u00a0If he gets better on defense, he could push for a spot in the starting lineup. Or he lights it up for\u00a0Derek Fisher<\/strong>and\u00a0Phil Jackson<\/strong>\u00a0as a sixth man.<\/p>\n Jeff Caplan, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0I really like Gorgui Dieng and how strong he came on last season, but since he\u2019s playing behind Nikola Pekovic, I\u2019m just not sure he\u2019s necessarily going to get the impact minutes of the other two guys. Tim Hardaway Jr. should be an exciting player in New York, but\u00a0my money\u2019s on Trey Burke<\/strong>. First off all, he\u2019s got the ball in his hands so he has an opportunity every time down the floor to make something happen. I think the Jazz will have a fun team under\u00a0Quin Snyder<\/strong>. Also, he\u2019ll be pushed by rookie\u00a0Dante Exum<\/strong>, and that kind of competition will drive to Burke to really hone his game.<\/p>\n Trey Burke (Melissa Majchrzak\/NBAE)<\/p>\n Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>: All good candidates for forward progress.\u00a0I\u2019ll go with Dieng because I have been on the bandwagon since he as drafted and, and plus, he followed that up with a very good second half to the rookie season<\/strong>. That momentum could carry over, giving him a chance to play a big role in Minnesota. Burke will definitely have a big role in Utah, but also the most challenging situation of the three because he will be adjusting to the arrival of\u00a0Dante Exum<\/strong>, who will have the ball in his hands a lot. Burke was smart, mature and made good decisions his first season, so he can contribute in a lot of ways, but \u00a0his path is subject to change.<\/p>\n John Schuhmann, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Burke has the biggest opportunity of the three to build on his rookie year<\/strong>. He was handed the keys to the Utah offense as soon as he made his late-November debut last season, and Dante Exum probably won\u2019t take too many point-guard minutes from him this year. Hardaway can be an explosive scorer, but is still in a mix with\u00a0Iman Shumpert<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0J.R. Smith<\/strong>\u00a0on the wing in New York, where it will be especially crowded if\u00a0Carmelo Anthony<\/strong>\u00a0plays most of his minutes at the three. Dieng isn\u2019t talked about enough when discussing the young Wolves, but is still playing behind\u00a0Thaddeus Young<\/strong>\u00a0and Nikola Pekovic.<\/p>\n Tim Hardaway Jr. (Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE)<\/p>\n Sekou Smith, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0This is a trick question, right? You stick two Michigan guys in here and think I\u2019m going to ignore my guys.\u00a0I think Tim Hardaway Jr. has the highest ceiling of the three and the great opportunity in front of him\u00a0<\/strong>in terms of what role he could potentially play this season. The new system and coach in New York will be an ideal fit for young Hardaway, whose ability to score in bunches and from deep, gives him the edge over two other guys who have a chance to have huge seasons of their own. But Hardaway Jr. is my pick to take flight this year.<\/p>\n Lang Whitaker, NBA.com\u2019s All Ball blog<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0I really like Dieng, and he looked great at Summer League in Vegas. But to me\u00a0the easier transition path belongs to Burke<\/strong>. After a season of going up against NBA competition at an unfamiliar position, he can build on that experience and move forward. Equally important, the other young Jazz players can take from last year\u2019s rough experience and move forward. And don\u2019t forget Utah has new coach\u00a0Quin Snyder<\/strong>\u00a0in place, presumably running some version of the offense used in his previous stops, San Antonio and Atlanta, where point guards\u00a0Tony Parker<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jeff Teague<\/strong>had plenty of opportunities to flourish.<\/p>\n Aldo Avinante, NBA Philippines<\/strong><\/a>: Logically,\u00a0I think Trey Burke will have the biggest leap<\/strong>\u00a0because the point guard position has been generally successful the past few years. Burke has all the tools to succeed in his position, although they have the highly touted\u00a0Dante Exum<\/strong>\u00a0on their squad, he\u2019s still a raw project compared to Burke. With already one year under his belt, Burke has nowhere to go but up.<\/p>\n![\"Trey](\"https:\/\/turnernbahangtime.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/10\/burke.jpg?w=225&h=258\")
<\/p>\n![\"Tim](\"https:\/\/turnernbahangtime.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/10\/hardaway.jpg?w=225&h=434\")
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