Reply With Quote
Deron will be a Laker when his contract runs out.
deron williams calls out jazz
the utah jazz saw their season come crashing down around them as the defending champion los angeles lakers swept them out of the playoffs over the weekend. Now there are questions to be answered, particularly regarding the futures of carlos boozer, kyle korver and wesley matthews, who will be free agents in july. All-star point guard deron williams made no bones about what's needed for the jazz to reach the championship level as he addressed the media for the last time yesterday.
"the lakers have two seven-footers that play at the same time and there's not many teams that have that luxury other than maybe dallas. we definitely need a shot-blocking big man; somebody who can hold down the paint for a whole game, not just for a quarter or two. We have a good team; it's not like we don't have a good team. It's just going to be hard for us to challenge the lakers with the team we have on the floor. They've really stacked that team up."
williams quickly clarified that he was including boozer in that equation, even though the jazz have often run with both boozer and millsap - two non-seven-footers - in the lineup at the same time. It's just that neither boozer nor millsap is exactly an intimidating force in the paint. Boozer blocked exactly seven shots in 10 playoff games, and millsap was only a little better with 14. For the lakers, andrew bynum, pau gasol and lamar odom are all well over a block per game, with gasol and bynum averaging basically two per contest. It's that kind of inside presence williams would like to see, and he expressed some frustration and essentially called out the jazz in saying they haven't been actively pursuing the players who could make them better.
"i think if we want to compete for a le we have to add pieces. You see teams making deals year after year and we stay the same and we get the same results. If we want to compete for a le we need to make some moves."
the big question this summer, of course, is the status of carlos boozer. Paul millsap signed a long-term contract with the jazz last summer and he has shown that with enough playing time he can be a force for utah. Williams admits that's problematic when you start to talk about keeping boozer, too.
"he's great. You know, i think paul struggled at times when he didn't get the playing time, and i think that's one of the problems. It's kind of hard to play him and booze at the same time, especially against teams like la that have a lot of length. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. ... they're different players, but i think paul is the kind of player who is capable of averaging around 20 and 10. I think he can start, and we saw what he could do when booze was hurt last year and he had 19 double-doubles."
williams stopped well short of saying the jazz couldn't survive without boozer, actually seeming to be leaning more in the other direction. He was clear, however, in saying that letting boozer walk away for nothing would be a huge mistake.
"i think it depends on what we do otherwise. If we let booze walk and we get nobody . . .it's going to be tough."
it wasn't a bad year for the jazz despite their second-round loss. They took out a very good denver team even as two of their primary rotation guys - andrei kirilenko and mehmet okur - sat on the sidelines with injuries, and beating the lakers is a tall order for any team in the nba. As often as not, it turns out to be an impossible task. Still, that's what the jazz are going to have to do to win a championship, and to do it they'll need front line help. It will be interesting to see if they can leverage boozer to get that help. Their entire summer rides on that possibility.
read more nba news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/story.asp?...#ixzz0nk6ptxuw
Deron will be a Laker when his contract runs out.
Jazz would be alot more successful if they stop falling into the Lakers' bracket.
What is that, 3 years in a row?
If they want a shotblocking presence? Brendan Haywood.
They want Brendan Haywood? sign and trade and throw in Miles and the Knicks pick
Which we turn around and throw into the "Bron package"
staaaacked
LeBron looks down on Texas so no way would he ever play here
Wouldn't hurt for Williams to get holt of a mirror and take a ganders. Jesus, everytime he faces Kobe he starts huffin' & puffin'---runnin' around with his hair on fire.
Makes me nervous.
tee, hee.
Jazz need cojones
Perhaps.....
But Williams does have a point. A big with cojones would kill two birds with one stone here.
OMG! DAMN...THAT ONE LINER WAS HILARIOUS!
deron is right on the money with what he said. One of the most educated players in the league just pointing out the truth.
The jazz with a good defensive/rebounding big would certainly be a very good CONTENDING team. All the talk with la sweeping them none says all the games were close and the lack of size absolutely murdered utah (look at the abysmal def reb stats for jazz). Jazz with a decent big makes them on par with la.
With all the options utah has this summer ( boozer, okur, ak, knicks pick) they can really make or break the following 5 years. If all plays out well they'll be a very strong team.
Funny yet true.
+1
Perkins for their lottery pick + Fesenko + filler.
Ok then. As long as he's doing the best he can.He's doing the best he can... nervous and all.
Jazz need Slone to 'go away' and Booz to go with him. Let Milsap take overas PF, and prey Okur can return healthy...
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
