A look at the Jazz Offseason pt. 2

At locker room cleanout yesterday, everyone made it clear that they wanted to stay with the Jazz next year.  That might just be talk but it does make me wonder if this team will change a huge amount or not.  Sloan said that they are just one good player away from the Finals.  I really like this team and I'd rather see them try to make just a couple improvements instead of blowing up the whole team.  Chemistry is important, and it's hard to just throw a bunch of new guys together and expect them to win.  

What the Jazz really could use is someone just dumping a good player on them without having to give up anything of much value (like Pau Gasol going to the Lakers).  That isn't likely but the Jazz have shown to be adept at trading unwanted pieces for valuable players (see Derek Fisher and Kyle Korver).  

Luckily the Jazz do have some players that could be traded.  Matt Harpring jumps to mind, as he has a $6.5 million expiring contract, and those will be all the rage this season as everyone will want to have money for the crazy 2010 free agent class.  Andrei Kirilenko has a salary that nobody covets, but a few teams would like to have him(Golden State Warriors.)  CJ Miles best years are ahead of him, you'll have him for 3 years at a rate that won't kill you, so some team might want to take a chance on him (Oklahoma City Thunder).  And the Jazz have an interesting little draft pick that could end up being extremely valuable (New York Knicks 2010 1st round draft pick.)

Who might be the missing piece(s) of the Jazz puzzle?  You'll have to wait for the answer.

Finally some luck for the Jazz

Here are a few things that have happened over the past couple of days that have been good for the Jazz:

1. The Hornets trade away Tyson Chandler to the Thunder. They might make the playoffs but surely the Jazz will finish ahead of them in the seeding and if by chance they meet in the playoffs, the Jazz would dominate them.

2. By taking on Chandler's contract, the Thunder now don't have a ridiculous amount of money to throw at Paul Millsap this summer.

3. The Heat trade for Jermaine O'Neal and are definitely not able to sign Carlos Boozer this offseason (or Millsap for that matter.)

4. Tracy McGrady is out for the season because he needs surgery. Well, maybe this one isn't as big, he hasn't been that effective and it's not like he ever led Houston out of the 1st round anyways.

5. Andrei Kirilenko returned to the Jazz last night and played very well in limited action. He returned much sooner than I expected, for a while I feared he'd be gone until the playoffs rolled around.

6. Carlos Boozer had a shoot-around practice before last night's game and looked fine. He didn't favor a leg and did most of his patented moves at 70% speed. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns for the next game vs Boston on national television.

Things are looking up for the Jazz!

Former Sonics vs Jazz

-Jerry Sloan becomes the first NBA coach to have 1,000 wins with one team. That, my friends, is impressive.

-I had to laugh when Sloan was asked in the postgame interview if any wins over the 1,000 stood out to him. He said no, the games that I remember are the ones we lose. Classic Sloan.

-Easy victory for the Jazz tonight. They fell behind 8-0 early but they cruised most the game.

-The Jazz are ridiculously talented and athletic. They seemed to be toying with the Thunder most the game.

-The Thunder probably have the worst team in the NBA, the worst nickname, and the worst logo. Their unis are okay.

-Towards the end of the game you could hear the crowd chant Jerry Sloan. No big celebration though.

-It is off for a 5 game road trip that will be the first real test this season for the Jazz. Unfortunately it sounds like they might have to do it without Deron Williams.

-Knight had 11 assists in 26 minutes. I think he should be starting soon.

-After a Korver dunk, Williams teased him by clapping with a sarcastic oh wow face. D-Will likes to have fun.

-Looking around the league the Suns and Hornets lost, putting them at 4-2 and 3-2. The Spurs also lost while losing Parker to injury, their record is 1-4. Good to see the Jazz getting early ground on everyone while remaining tied with the Lakers while D-Will is out.

Jazz still perfect

-The Jazz moved to 3-0 at home and 4-0 overall.

-Only the Jazz and Lakers remain undefeated in the West.

-Sloan should get victory 1,000 on Friday vs OKC. Big moment.

-AK, Deron, and Boozer were honored before the game for their participation in the 2008 Olympics.

-Williams was supposed to return tonight, but did not play.

-Good win for the Jazz because only the Blazers and Lakers had winning records vs the Jazz last season, and the Blazers handed us one of our 4 losses at home last year.

-Okur ended up with 22, and Boozer had 20.

-Kirilenko: 17 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. He always has the most interesting box score line.

-Brewer had the play of the game with an awesome reverse dunk. He is so ridiculously athletic. He had a nice game with 16 points and is starting to steal a little of Korver's playing time.

-Knight ended up playing more than Price. Knight had 6 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Price's shot just isn't falling this season and Knight looks like a much more pure point guard and can calm the team down.

-Next up: Oklahoma City Thunder (ex-Seattle Sonics) 7PM EnergySolutions Arena



-And Tim's Sports Blog would like to congratulate President-Elect Obama.