Utah Jazz: The Offseason

A few weeks ago, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson wrote an article that if the Jazz really do want to contend for the title, they must make a move now. With the recent playoff success of the Jazz making the Western Conference Finals in 2007 and the Western Conference Semifinals in 2008, many would believe that the young Jazz team can stay in contention for an NBA championship for many years to come. Monson, however, still believes that the team is one major piece away from the title, and I must concur.

Unless the Jazz want to torture their fan base for the next decade like they did with the Stockton and Malone era and build teams that can almost get you there, but never actually climb over the mountain, then yes, they should keep Deron and Boozer together for as long as possible. Sure, there will be an ever-revolving door at shooting guard, and we have likeable players like Mehmet Okur, Matt Harpring, Paul Milsap and Kyle Korver, but this Jazz team is not built to conquer the Western Conference. We still need a defensive-minded wing player and a defensive minded shot blocker to keep the opposing team out of the middle. If we want that to happen, we must spend the full-mid-level exception on a player like a James Posey, Corey Maggette or Desagana Diop.

Right now, the free agency period has just started and the Jazz have a few major questions regarding their roster and what they can do. Here are a few options:

a) The Jazz keep the current team in place. As of right now, we have all 15 roster spots filled up after drafting Kosta Koufus in the first round of the NBA draft and assuming CJ Miles accepts his offer the Jazz received. The team, as constructed, remains as intact as it did from last year, for better or for worse: PG - Deron Williams, Ronnie Price, Jason Hart, SG - Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Morris Almond, SF - Andrei Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, CJ Miles, PF - Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Useless Collins, C - Mehmet Okur, Kyrlo Fesenko, Kosta Koufos. That's 15.

This is a 50-win team that gets you into the 2nd round of the playoffs and maybe even the Western Conference Finals because the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of holes and age issues, and the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks have a new coach.

Problem: The main problem with this roster is that we could lose to the Lakers once again, but maybe it happens in the Western Conference Finals. The other major problem is that once that happens, major changes will have to take place like the retirement of Jerry Sloan or the Jazz going over the cap in the summer of 2009 once Deron Williams' extension kicks in. If that were the case if Boozer were to opt out, we may lose him anyway because we can't afford to keep him without trading Okur or AK47.

Resolve: It's not a bad idea to stick with it one more year because we'll have Kyle Korver from the start, and Koufus may be a long term solution as a replacement for Mehmet Okur. The major factor is Carlos Boozer. He has no reason to stay with the team. He's been with the Jazz for four seasons now. The first two were highly-criticized because of his injury woes, and the last two were 20-10 seasons, but again much criticism after his disappearance in the playoffs. He owes Jazz fans no loyalty. We've been quick to criticize, so he may bolt next summer and go to a place where he can be more appreciated, paid more and in a bigger market.

b) Trade Boozer now. We could trade Boozer now because of his opt-out clause after next season. He could easily pull a Baron Davis on us, and given the circumstance in the previous paragraph, it could be possible. It's hard to leave a PG as good as Deron Williams, but anything's possible.

I suggest a sign-and-trade with the L.A. Clippers for Elton Brand. Maybe we could get Brand a little cheaper because he's coming off an injury where he missed all of last season. Brand doesn't score as well as Boozer, but he liked the paint more, is better on the offensive glass and would like the winning environment the Jazz offer as opposed to the Clippers. Sure, Baron Davis in L.A. is nice, but still not nearly as deep as the Jazz.

The only major concern here is that, once again, if Brand were locked into a long-term deal, we would have to trade Mehmet Okur or AK47 next summer. Both of these players are somewhat hard to trade, but Okur is easier as his contract is shorter, plus if Koufos is our next Okur, then we'll have a year to see.

c) Actually, with our roster currently locked at 14-15 spots, that's all we can do. The major issue right now is Deron Williams and signing his extension before October. I think he's 95% sure he signs; but for how long? Three years, four years or five years? The power is all in his hands. Lebron, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade set a new precendent a few summers ago when they signed for the three-year minimum instead of the maximun five-year deal.

Plus, I think I'm the only person in the state that thinks of the 5% chance that Deron doesn't sign here in Utah at all. He can just not sign this summer, hold the entire state hostage for a year (man that would be awkward!), then become a free agent next summer and sign in any major market available (New York, etc.).

Look, Deron has a major ego. He doesn't owe the Jazz anything. Why stay here and do tiny mom-and-pop commercials his whole career and get lost in the smallest NBA market with a cheap owner? He's still admits to being pissed that Sloan was dumb enough to not start him in his rookie year. Because of that, he's had to play second fiddle to Chris Paul for the past few years. Chris Paul is happy to stay in New Orleans because he already generates the national buzz. That national love is not getting proportionately given to Deron, but IF he went to a bad situation in a huge market (like the Knicks) and turn that thing around on his own (which he could easily do) he would get all the credit in the world. Sure it would take an extra year or two off his career, but it's better than repeating the careers of Stockton and Malone where the Jazz were always one piece away.

You see, Larry Miller and the Jazz have always been and always will be too cheap to pay that extra contract/luxury tax to give us a title! It's not like it's going to change now. Yes, Larry will give Deron the max contract, but with him taking the max contract, will he be willing to pay other quality players to surround Deron with the right pieces to win the title? No! It's not going to change anything.

If the Heat and Celtics taught us one thing these past three years, it's that it's totally worth mortgaging the future for one title. It just is! I'd rather have an NBA title as a Heat fan, knowing that they were going to have the worst record in the NBA two years later. I'd take that any day than being a 50-win team for the next 15 seasons with no title. I've already been there done that, and I don't feel like getting tortured for the next ten years due to shrewdness. I'd rather be a Laker, Heat or Celtics fan (wow, it hurts type that).

The perfect example of this is Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks. When Shaquille O'Neal was traded from Los Angeles to the Miami Heat, Cuban could have traded Dirk and L.A. would have accepted his offer. But Cuban knew that Dirk was younger and a future regular-season MVP who would deliver 50-win seasons. Then he gave Steve Nash's money to Erick Dampier (a 7-footer) instead. Don't you think that a Dallas nucleus of Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Shaq would have won a title just as easily as the Heat did? Yes! All those players were aging, so Cuban went long-term instead of short-term. His mistake was so huge that Shaq beat HIS team for the title, and it nagged at him so bad that he pulled the gun on the horrible Jason Kidd trade this year. Too little, too late...

Arghhhhhhh, it sucks being a Jazz fan, but I am what I am.