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I'm down w/ this.
Monson: Three major Jazz questions answered
By Gordon Monson
Tribune Columnist
The three biggest Jazz questions everybody's wondering about and their definitive, absolute, 100 percent sure answers, sort of ...
1. (a) Will Jerry Sloan return as coach?
Yes. What else would he do with his time? Piddle around? No. Sloan has always looked young for his age -- now 67 -- until the end of this season, when he aged 10 years in the span of seven months, making him now 77 in Sloan hang-dog years. Check the lines gridded out alongside his perennially busted-up nose on that face, which looks like a Rand-McNally cartogram of downtown Salt Lake City. The wrinkles signify either great wisdom or great frustration, maybe with some rugged living mixed in. When he was asked the other day whether he would return, his typically undecipherable answer came quickly, which is an indication that Sloan will be back.
1. (b) Should Sloan return as coach?
There are two ways of looking at that question. On the one hand, Jerry is inflexible and old-school, a coach who wants his offensive plays run just so, with screens set with conviction, with passes piled on passes to get shots ever closer to the basket, and his defense overly protective of the low-post area. That's why the Jazz give up so many threes -- they bring help in the paint and expose themselves to the kinds of perimeter shots from opponents that Sloan would generally disapprove of in his own offense.
He has softened a bit with his players, but he remains stubborn and rigid about certain decisions, such as giving Brevin Knight the minutes at backup point guard when your 5-year-old nephew could plainly see that Ronnie Price was the better choice. To his credit, after inserting Price at the back end of the second half in Game 5 -- a little late, eh? -- against the Lakers and seeing the energy he brought his team, Sloan confessed that he had made a mistake. That's honorable and all, but the question remains: Why couldn't Sloan see what was so clear to see?
He continues to say his players have to motivate themselves, it is not his job to motivate them, which, of course, is a load of bull manure, and a bit disingenuous, too, because when Sloan makes that claim, he is, in fact, trying to motivate the same players he says it is not his job to motivate. Point is, one of the key responsibilities of a coach is to get the best out of his players. That is his job. And sometimes Sloan leaves a bit to be desired in the communication department. With younger players, that's pretty important, and whether he'll ever get that corrected at this late juncture in his career is doubtful. Too bad.
On the other hand, Sloan's biggest contribution is the overall effect he has on his team, expecting his players to work hard, to play hard, to play team basketball, to be professionals, to be grown men, all of which is ironic, considering the way the Jazz crumbled down the stretch in 2009, after all their players were healed up and available. Sloan once said that when players stop listening to him, he's a dead man coaching. At times, that happened this past season, leaving fans to wonder whether Sloan's presence on the bench floats the team to certain heights or weighs it down to certain limits. And the answer is ... both.
Should he stay on as coach? There's an hour or two of daylight left, but eventide is closing in quickly.
2. Will Carlos Boozer remain with the Jazz?
No. Even if Boozer opts in with the team, the Jazz will find a way to get rid of him, regardless of what's being said publicly now. They cannot afford Boozer, and having him stay on the roster, all while there are other players they want to sign, all while the payroll rockets into the luxury tax realm, does more damage than good.
The late Larry Miller said he did not want his club to cross that threshold, but he also once said he would be willing to go there -- if it meant a championship was imminent. Having Boozer in the lineup doesn't guarantee that kind of result. In fact, it could hinder it, considering the way Boozer's teammates respond to him. Look at the way they played once he returned from his knee injury this past season. They got worse, not better. There is no proof for it, but there is a su ion that Boozer jacks up the Jazz's team chemistry and that his presence hurts their cohesiveness. No argument here.
Paul Millsap is not the offensive player Boozer is, but he'll cost them less than half as much, allowing the Jazz, if they want to spend that kind of money, to allocate their resources toward other weaknesses. The Jazz are real good on offense and bad on defense. They could take a hit at the offensive end if they bolstered the defense in the process. It's like a penny saved is a penny earned. Boozer doesn't play defense and that's precisely what the Jazz need. Playing Boozer alongside Mehmet Okur is all about scoring points, but also surrendering them, so, keeping them both doesn't work.
Boozer, who has missed one-third of the Jazz's games during his time here, won't -- shouldn't -- be with the Jazz by the midway point of next season. If he doesn't opt out, he'll be traded and become a 20-and-10 enigma for some other team.
3. Will Mehmet Okur stay with the Jazz?
Yes. Okur will not opt out. He'll go on being the Jazz's second-leading scorer, happily giving them a unique perimeter presence, all while the Jazz seek help for him and others at the defensive end. The center who drives a Ferrari but has the look of a middle-aged man who should be hauling a family of five around in a minivan -- perfect for Utah -- is not the whole package at the 5, but a solid contributor and a valued asset.
I'm down w/ this.
If Boozer doesn't opt out, who would be willing to trade for him? No one likes that bag.
Boozer completely destroyed Gasol in that first round this year so that's got to be worth something. He's a solid 20 and 10 guy when healthy so I'm sure somebody will go and get him.
The Celtics, they took Garnett after all. If there isn't a bigger than him I don't know who is.
Paul Pierce is by far a bigger .
Well, just about anyone who wants cap space for the summer of 2010. He's an expiring contract. The issue isn't whether or not somebody will trade for him. The issue is how much ty salary (in terms of length of deals) would the Jazz be willing to take in exchange.
I think we can work something up to trade boozer for tmac
I wouldn't mind having Boozer, if he wasn't such an asshole at times.I think we can work something up to trade boozer for tmac
I'd be on board with a Boozer for TMac trade. Slide Brewer to the 3, start TMac at the 2, resign Millsap and go get a backup PF. Have a 2-3 bench rotation of AK, CJ, and Korver. Dump Knight and let Price be the backup PG. Play Koufos as the backup C, and keep Fesenko to match up with bigger players like Yao. See how it goes for a year and if it doesn't work, use the New York pick to get bigger.
Problem solved.
I thought Detroit are after Boozer?
Detroit has the most spending money this offseason and, up until recently, Boozer had said he was going to opt out and become a free agent. I don't know if Detroit ever said anything about wanting him, I think it's more of a 'put two and two together' sort of thing.
What are the odds that this guy is a white Mormon (redundant, I know)? Nobody likes the Jazz, except s from Utah. You can stay in your "Energy Solutions Arena."
Jazz roster likely to get a makeover
By Ross Siler
The Salt Lake Tribune
The only thing safe to assume is that the Jazz will not be bringing back 13 players from their current roster for next season, much as they did for the 2008-09 season, an almost unprecedented number in today's NBA.
With as many as nine players who could be free agents, the Jazz will head into an offseason of uncertainty at a time of economic uncertainty, with salary-cap numbers projected to drop and NBA teams expected to be hard hit by the recession.
For the Jazz, the offseason will be defined by the opt-out decisions Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver have to make by June 30. Each can opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent.
The advisability, however, of doing so in this free-agent market is unsure. The NBA's summer very well could resemble Major League Baseball's winter. Sixteen of 30 MLB teams slashed payroll, with Opening Day payrolls down a collective $47 million.
Boozer is set to make $12.7 million, Okur $9 million and Korver $5.2 million for 2009-10. Should none of those three opt out, the Jazz would have more than $71 million in salary committed to nine players, not counting restricted free agent Paul Millsap.
That would position the small-market Jazz to be luxury-tax payers, something ownership is determined to avoid. The Jazz's payroll this season was $65.3 million, the big difference coming with Deron Williams' contract extension kicking in for 2009-10.
The biggest questions all pertain to Boozer, who voiced his desire to return to Utah as the Jazz cleaned out their lockers Tuesday after their five-game elimination at the hands of the Lakers in their first-round playoff series.
It is far from simple for Boozer. The best advice might be to play out the last season of his contract -- in Utah or elsewhere -- and hit the free-agent market in 2010, when teams are clearing salary-cap space for a class that could be headlined by LeBron James.
The Jazz, meanwhile, could sign Boozer to a contract extension before June 30, but doing so would be a huge leap for a player -- even a two-time All-Star -- who has played in only 276 of a possible 410 games (67.3 percent) in five injury-plagued seasons in Utah.
Given his desire to sign a long-term contact, Boozer is expected to opt out, though that decision would not come without risk. The only teams with the cap space to sign Boozer outright as a free agent are likely Detroit, Oklahoma City and Memphis.
If Boozer opts out, the Jazz could either re-sign him -- as Washington did with Gilbert Arenas last summer -- work out a sign-and-trade to acquire players and/or draft picks in return, or watch Boozer sign elsewhere while receiving payroll relief.
If Boozer doesn't opt out, the Jazz still could look to trade him, with Boozer having added value as an expiring contract . With the NBA salary cap projected to drop by as much as $2 million, the trade market is expected to be hot and the free-agent market frozen.
The Jazz are likely to face a decision of keeping Millsap or Boozer. Millsap has been far more durable, missing only six games the last three seasons, and had a streak of 19 consecutive double-doubles starting while Boozer was out with a knee injury.
With Millsap a restricted free agent, the Jazz can match any offer he receives from another team. They have every intention of doing so, but the question is whether they will push to sign him immediately July 1 or wait for Millsap to bring them an offer to match.
Williams seemingly offered his endorsement of Millsap this week, saying: "That's what you want on your team. You want those type of players, guys who are going to come out and do their job and work hard."
Both Okur and Korver would be happy to stay with the Jazz and sign extensions this summer, but the likelihood of the Jazz making such long-term commitments given the economy seems slim unless they feel they are getting a below-market deal.
It appears unlikely the Jazz can avoid being luxury-tax payers and bring back both Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko is owed $34.3 million through 2010-11, an especially unappealing contract for teams trying to clear cap space for the summer of 2010.
Kirilenko is projected to be tied with Pau Gasol as the NBA's 11th-highest paid player next season. There could be a taker for Kirilenko's contract in Golden State, where coach Don Nelson long has been among the Russian forward's biggest fans.
Nelson has threatened to trade Jamal Crawford unless the guard opts out of the final two years and $19.4 million on his contract. The Warriors also owe Corey Maggette $39.7 million for the final four years on the contract Maggette signed just last summer.
Maggette signed a six-year, $42 million offer sheet with the Jazz as a restricted free agent in 2003, which the L.A. Clippers opted to match. The Jazz reportedly expressed interest in Maggette as a free agent again last summer.
Speaking generally, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said he would not be opposed to taking on a long-term salary commitment in a potential trade if it was the best basketball decision.
The Jazz also have to decide this summer about trading the unprotected first-round draft pick they are owed from New York in 2010 or holding on to it for themselves. It likely would be one of the most attractive trade chips on the market.
If they keep it, the Jazz could have a lottery pick coming from the Knicks. If this season was any indication, New York finished with the league's eighth-worst record and will have a 2.8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick and a 10 percent chance of a top-three pick.
Such a pick could provide a sweetener should the Jazz try to pursue a center with a bloated contract such as Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert (owed $24.9 million), the Clippers' Chris Kaman ($33.9 million) or Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut ($60 million).
As for the rest of the roster, Ronnie Price, Jarron Collins, Brevin Knight and Morris Almond are unrestricted free agents, with Almond the only certainty not to return. The Jazz also have until June 15 to exercise an $870,000 option to bring back Kyrylo Fesenko for 2009-10.
By matching the four-year, $14.8 million offer sheet C.J. Miles signed with Oklahoma City, the Jazz cannot trade Miles without his consent until July 25, the one-year anniversary of that move.
Super salary
Andrei Kirilenko is set to be the NBA's 11th-highest paid player next season, assuming nobody eclipses his $16.5 million salary in free agency.
Player Team 2009-10 salary
1. Tracy McGrady Houston $23.2 million
2. Kobe Bryant L.A. Lakers $23.0 million*
3. Jermaine O'Neal Miami $23.0 million
4. Tim Duncan San Antonio $22.2 million
5. Shaquille O'Neal Phoenix $20 million
6. Dirk Nowitzki Dallas $19.8 million
6. Paul Pierce Boston $19.8 million
8. Rashard Lewis Orlando $18.9 million
9. Ray Allen Boston $18.8 million
10. Michael Redd Milwaukee $17.0 million
11. Andrei Kirilenko Jazz $16.5 million
11. Pau Gasol L.A. Lakers $16.5 million
* Bryant can opt out of his contract this summer. Also, Bryant and O'Neal are not tied, even though their salaries round to be the same.
Wow, I see about 11 overpaid persons there.
Yeah, I read this before 228 posted it and ran into the other thread to talk about Duncan. Don't know if anyone mentioned Shaq in that thread either.
He won't go anywhere. No D-Will to make him look good...bad economy? He is too smart for that.
Jermaine O'Neal should not make more than Tim Duncan, without question.
There's way to many overpaid players.
I'm pretty sure they want him considering they need to replace Sheed and have enough on the roster in order to lure Wade in 2010.
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