The days of Okur being an All-Star are long gone, and his days as a starting center may have also disappeared. Last year was spent overcoming several serious injuries as he played in just 13 games. He might not see enough time on the court this season to justify a spot on a fantasy roster.
Okur offers three-point shooting ability from the center position and is strong in both shooting percentage categories, but he offers little elsewhere and is entering the decline phase of his career. Okur may not be ready for the start of the season after tearing his Achilles' tendon late last year, and even when he returns to the court, the serious nature of the injury might mean it will be a while until he's back to his old self. Carlos Boozer is gone, but Utah will no doubt want to get Paul Millsap more involved in 2010-11. The Jazz also traded for Al Jefferson in the offseason, so Okur's role is uncertain in a suddenly crowded frontcourt.
After falling to 14.5 ppg in 2007-08, Okur raised his scoring average to a solid 17.0 ppg last season. The bump in scoring can be attributed to his career-high 48.5-percent shooting from the floor and an extended absence from Carlos Boozer, who missed 45 games. The Jazz are expected to ship Boozer out of town, which would allow Okur to battle with Paul Millsap for the role of No. 2 scoring option behind Deron Williams. But it’s Okur’s rare ability to knock down three pointers from the center position that makes him so valuable to fantasy owners. For the fourth straight year Okur nailed over one trey per game, finishing last season with 90 or 1.3 per contest. Another of Okur’s strong suits is his free throw shooting. The 6-11 center sinks freebies at a 79.5-percent clip for his career, well above average for his position. On the negative side, Okur struggles to post helpful stats on the defensive end. His career marks of 7.2 rpg and 0.7 bpg are below average for a player of his size. Keep an eye on Boozer’s status with the Jazz leading up to your draft, as it will significantly affect Okur’s role in the offense. The long-range assassin from Turkey will provide plenty of scoring – just make sure to surround him with players who post solid rebounding and blocking numbers.
Okur continued his alarming decline in scoring last season with a three-year low 14.5 ppg on a five-year low 44.5 percent shooting from the field. With Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer as the primary offensive weapons, and even players like Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko stepping up, Okur too often becomes an afterthought/spot-up shooter in the Jazz attack. There is one large benefit to Okur remaining on the perimeter, though, as his 1.6 3pg are huge from the center spot. Okur’s lack of athleticism prevents him from contributing much to the defensive categories (0.4 bpg), and even his 7.7 rpg are only average for a post player. Okur needs to raise his scoring average back into the upper teens to re-establish himself as an impact center, but even if he does that, you’ll need to surround him with good shot blockers and rebounders to make up for his sub par contributions in those areas from the center spot.
Okur took a step back in most of the counting categories last season, as Carlos Boozer took over his spot as the big-man focal point in the Jazz offense on a full-time basis. Okur was still solid, though, with averages of 17.6 points on good shooting percentages and 7.2 boards per contest. Moving his game to the perimeter to make space for Boozer created a new fantasy strength in Okur’s game: a much improved 3-point shot (1.6 treys per on 38.4% shooting). That kind of long distance production from the center position, in addition to his other solid numbers, makes Okur one of the better roto big men in the league.
Okur became a full-time starter for the first time in his career last season and responded by leading the Jazz in both points (18.0 ppg) and rebounds (9.1 rpg). Okur is a 6-11, 250-pounder that can play both power forward and center. He can score in the middle, but also has shooting range out beyond the three-point line (1.0 threes per game). He shoots a solid percentage from both the field (46%) and the line (78%), and he also is a decent passer (2.4 apg). Okur is not very athletic on defense, so he doesn’t contribute a lot to blocked shots or steals, but his offensive numbers could even get better next season if Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko are both healthy and keeping defenses from keying on him.
Once the big options at center are gone, Okur is a guy who can help you in the late rounds of your draft. The 26-year-old finished 2004-05 strong, averaging 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds over his last five games, including a huge 25-point, 16-rebound effort against the Spurs. Okur is a jump shooter who can draw big men outside to open things up for Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer underneath, and he's an improving rebounder as well, putting up 23 double-doubles from December 1 on after having none in the first month of the season. Okur drew Sloan's ire early in the season with some mental mistakes on defense, but given his strong play late in the year, expect Okur's numbers to take a slight uptick from the 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game he put up in 2004-05.
Okur cashed in at the Bank of Utah in the offseason and becomes the Jazz’ starting center. With Detroit, he started 31 games, but shared the role with others and was limited to 22.3 minutes per game. He will be a nightly starter with the Jazz and will play more if he doesn’t lapse into the inconsistency and individualism that landed him in coach Larry Brown’s doghouse at various times last year. Utah coach Jerry Sloan will certainly not tolerate behavior like that. It will be his first season as a full-time starter, so there’s some uncertainty in selecting him.
Okur showed flashes near the end of his rookie season and got some significant minutes for the Pistons during their playoff run. On a daily basis, though, the man his teammates call "Memo" will be largely inconsistent. He is likely to see 15-20 minutes a game as a backup center and power forward this year, but we don't see Okur averaging more than 10 points and six rebounds a game.
