Before I talk about Deron Williams’ contract for a minute, let me get in my two cents about the Jazz’s big move on draft night. On paper, the Jazz seemed to do well for themselves by taking a big man with potential in the late first round. Unfortunately, Kosta Koufos probably needs several years to develop, given that the 19-year-old center has only a single year of college experience. The Jazz desperately need interior defensive help. Koufos might provide that—in a few years. He offers very little going into the 2008-09 season. The Jazz find themselves confronted with the dilemma that confounds all contenders: how do you secure the pieces necessary to win a title now while still building for the future? Instead of trying to find a player who can contribute immediately, the Jazz made a long term investment in Koufos.Kansas’ Darrell Arthur, though not a center, might have given the Jazz more in the immediate future. He probably has the skills to make an impact much sooner than someone like Koufos. Of course, Koufos has size and drafting someone of his physical stature might pay off more significantly down the road. Whether the Jazz made the right move can only be answered with the passage of time.One draft side note: did anyone catch Mark Jackson’s answer to the question about New Jersey’s draft strategy? When asked, “What is New Jersey trying to do?” Jackson responded, “They’re trying to get better.” No kidding? Thanks for the brilliant insight, Mark.

What I really want to talk about is the short piece in the Salt Lake Tribune the other day about Deron Williams working out in Salt Lake during the off season and wanting to get a contract extension done. Every sensible Jazz fan knows that Williams is the one player without whom the Jazz cannot do. Williams represents the future of the franchise. Since Williams’ rookie year, some fans (myself included) have lived with the terror of knowing our young point guard could one day leave as a free agent. His sense of accountability and ownership in the team—working out in Salt Lake during the summer, talking with Kevin O’Conner about who the Jazz might draft—point to Williams as the team’s leader in more ways than just floor general. Among the Jazz’s talented crop of current players, only Williams seems to posses the killer instinct and ganas, as Jaime Escalante would have said, needed to literally will the Jazz to victory. Within the next couple of years (or sooner), the Jazz will have to make critical decisions about the futures of Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, and Williams.

While the Jazz currently claim one of the most talented collections of young players in the league, the window to win a championship with all of these current players is probably extremely narrow. Can the Jazz keep paying Williams, Boozer, Okur, and Kirilenko beyond their current contracts? If so, how could they also afford to resign Millsap and Brewer when their initial deals run out? Given their defensive problems, it’s hard to imagine the Jazz winning a title without tweaking the current roster. Regardless of what moves management decides to make, Williams stands alone as the one untouchable player on the Jazz’s current roster. The apparent likelihood that he will sign an extension should give the Jazz the opportunity to make the personnel changes they need while retaining the man who can eventually lead them to the promised land.