This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Enes Kanter will be an important man this season.

For the new Quin Snyder offense to work for the Utah Jazz, the Jazz need Kanter to develop his jumpshot, and more importantly to develop the range on that jumpshot. The Jazz need floor spacing to open driving lanes to the basket and to allow Derrick Favors room to maneuver in the paint. A power forward that can shoot is essential to this operation.

That's where Mehmet Okur comes in.

What better way to help Kanter with this task than bringing in one of the best shooting big men in Utah history?

Okur doesn't yet have an official capacity — and it's not known whether a title will be coming. But similar to Karl Malone working with Favors last season, Okur will hang around during training camp and the start of the season, offering shooting tips to a young team.

Kanter will be a focal point. He's already proven to be proficient in the low post. And heading into his fourth season, he's brought out a nice 15- to 18-footer with some consistency. If he can, say, knock down a corner 3-pointer at a 35 percent clip, he could make the offense that much more effective.

Doing so will also make Kanter and Favors more palatable together as a pair. A common criticism last season is that the two are redundant, that they are too similar in style, and that playing together in the long term probably can't happen.

Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey strongly rebuked that thought in his exit interview back in April, and he's held true to that train of thought during the summer. The Jazz have a stretch power forward specialist in Steve Novak — who will immediately be the best shooter on the team — but he is just that, a specialist. Kanter is the most offensively gifted big man Utah has, and he's the one with the most outside/inside potential. If he can come close to giving what Okur did in his prime from the perimeter, it will help immensely. Kanter is already more gifted than Okur ever was in the paint.

— Tony Jones