NBA Draft: Burke trade draws cheers from Utah Jazz fans

Jazz fans in attendance at EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday watching the draft had a common emotion after the team traded for Michigan point guard Trey Burke: excitement.

"I'm really excited," Josh Watts said.

"I was thinking we'd get CJ McCollum or Michael Carter-Williams, but not Burke," Bryan Jones said. "I'm way excited now."

"I thought we'd get a big guy, or the German point guard Dennis Schroeder," Brad Woodhouse said. "I'm much more excited for Burke than I would have been for someone else."

Fans also expressed pleasure with the aggressive way Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey used the picks the team had.

"I think Dennis Lindsey is a genius for turning two first-round picks into the best college player in the nation from last year," Jones said. "We gave up nothing and got the best player."

"I think for what they would have gotten at picks 14 and 21, it wouldn't have added up to what they got in Trey Burke," Jordan Blackham said.

Cindy Forti said she would have been happy with Shabazz Muhammad, the player who the Jazz drafted and traded to Minnesota in the deal for Burke, but she's happier to have the young point guard who led his team to the NCAA Championship game last season.

While no fans who spoke to The Salt Lake Tribune were upset with landing Burke, some were more tempered with their expectations than others.

"Burke would have been my first pick because of what he did in the NCAA Tournament and his competitiveness," Adam Mason said. "But it will be interesting because he's kind of a scorer more than he is a passer. It will be interesting to see how we utilize him and what other players we have on the team."

Others had no such reservations.

"I think Burke's going to be an All-Star here," Jones said. "I think the Jazz have built a starting five that will be championship-caliber in two or three years if they keep adding young pieces and if everything pans out."

Fans were also pleased with the team's second pick, Rudy Gobert, though they knew less about the 7-foot-2 French center than they did about Burke.

"I know he's a shot-blocker," Jones said. "I know he's really raw, but he should be a good third or fourth big guy coming off the bench to block shots."