Nothing Lasts Forever
Following the 1956 baseball season, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded Jackie Robinson to the New York Giants. Rather than play for the rival Giants, Robinson hung up his spikes. Robinson cited leg problems as the reason for his retirement. At some level, however, Robinson’s loyalty to the Dodgers and his distaste for the Giants must have fueled the decision. Robinson’s story provides a stark contrast to the climate of free agency and trades in today’s sports world. In order to enjoy long term success, a team needs star players to commit themselves to the franchise and the community.
Deron Williams made a step in that direction, but not a full leap of faith. He signed a three year contract extension with the option for a fourth year. This means the Jazz will have one of the league’s top two point guards for at least another four to five seasons (Williams still has a year remaining on his original contract). D-Will can also reevaluate his situation in Utah at the end of the deal, deciding whether to re-sign or leave. Seeing Williams commit for at least the next few years allows Jazz fans to breathe easier. Since Williams’ rookie year, something seemed slightly unsettled beneath the surface. Everyone knows now about the point guard’s initial disdain for Jerry Sloan. Then there was the realization that Williams hails from Dallas, ignited by rumors that he was spending the summer working out with Maverick players back in Texas.
Williams carries the hope of the Utah franchise on his back, and that hope is alive for the near future. Still, Jazz fans must realize that things will never be as they were in the Malone-Stockton days. Those two warriors spoiled us with their loyalty, their endurance, and their commitment to excellence. Sure, Malone chose to spend his final year in Los Angeles. But for 18 seasons, the Mailman donned the Jazz colors every night, missing only ten games in two decades (six due to suspensions for knocking out such softies as David Robinson). Aside from the portion of the 1997-98 season he missed due to arthroscopic knee surgery, Stockton sat out only four games in 19 years. Look at the back of either man’s basketball card and read the absurd succession of 82s under Games Played.
The Malone and Stockton Jazz first burst onto the scene as contenders in the spring of 1988 when they pushed greasy-haired Pat Riley’s hated Hollywood Lakers to the brink. Yet it took another decade for the Jazz to reach the NBA Finals. Utah was able to endlessly tinker with its various supporting parts (Hansen and Leckner for J. Malone, Bailey for Corbin, J. Malone for Hornacek, Russel over Benoit, etc.), knowing that the engine would fire up every year in the form of John and Karl. Given Salt Lake’s small market identity, and Jazz’s status as the only show in town, Stockton and Malone became larger than life figures who embodied the community’s faith in itself.
Now we have Deron Williams, at least for the next half decade. But what of the other key players? Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer are already playing for their second teams. Andrei Kirilenko flirted with brilliance but has proven to be no more than a flashy role player. With all of these men requiring huge contracts, the Jazz won’t be able to keep this crew together for long. Could Okur emerge as Williams’ long term partner in crime? Or will Boozer surprise us and stay the course in Utah? Basketball is life along the foot of the Wasatch, but it’s a business in every other sense. The spirit of Jackie Robinson left Salt Lake forever when John Stockton hung it up and Karl Malone left for
California.
5 Comments to “Nothing Lasts Forever”
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It seems to me that Booz and D-will have a good friendship and working relationship. So I would be suprised to see him leave if the Jazz will match the $ from other teams. We have D-will for 4 years with his option for a fifth. Once again, its a business decision not a lack of faith. In 4 years when he is considered one of the top 5 players in the league. He can jump from 17 mil a year to 20 mil a year or more by then. I dont blame him one bit for signing a 3 year contract. Thats just good business! Dont tell me its greedy if you had that opportunity you wouldn’t turn it down. Be honest with yourself.
Nothing lasts forever but when something stops, it is filled in with something new. All of us Jazz fans need to put the past back in the memory part of our brains and start being behind the “new”. A lot of decisions will have to be made. The biggest one has been done. With all the others there will undoubtably be some mistakes and I am sure some great ones made. We need now to put our support behind the Jazz, no matter what, and show DWill that we are glad he chose to stay with the Jazz. I truly believe that he could have gone elsewhere for more money so we owe it to him to be behind the choices made and be true fans. The games can’t come too soon for me!!!!!
Isn’t it surprising how our hopes, our mood, depend on the decisions of others. There is now joy that D-Will signed. But apprehension still lingers in the face of Boozer’s ultimate decision. My guess is that Boozer enjoys the small town feel of Salt Lake having grown up in Juneau, Alaska. As long as we continue to win and Boozer feels allied with his team-mates, he’ll stay.
On another matter, is Kosta Koufos a revisit of Scott Padgett? Okay, he’s a couple of inches taller but their games resemble each other.
Between Koufos and Fesenko, I like the burly, banging style of Fes over the finesse of Kosta. We can use an enforcer at the five. When bodies need to fly and space needs to be opened in the middle, Fes is the man.
I agree with John and Kathy about Fes. Though his game still needs a lot of work, we need a big, strong center like him on the team. Koufos could do similar things, but he just isn’t quite as large. Besides, do we really need another scoring center to be successful right now? We already have Okur (who could play power forward anyway), and the team has plenty of firepower for offense. Mark Eaton was not a scorer, but he is the all-time leader for blocks per game average (3.5 per game) and was a huge help to the Jazz.
Either way, hopefully at least one of the two young centers will turn out to be a future starter for the Jazz.
I completely agree with ‘justalars’–DWill did the right thing by signing the 3 year extension with a player option for the 4th. I don’t think that it shows any lack of loyalty to the Jazz. If anything, it shows that he always wants to make sure that he is playing for a winner. If quality basketball for a competitive team wasn’t at the top of DWill’s list of career priorities, then he would have just taken the maximum for 5 years. So, that’s a good sign for Jazz fans who have embraced him as the point guard for the next generation of Jazz basketball.
The great thing about this contract is that he knows that the Jazz are committed to him–they are paying him max money, which is the best way for a team to show commitment to a player. He also knows that the Jazz want to keep him around (because they did offer the 5 year deal). So, as long as the Jazz stay competitive (which, with O’Connor around, should be the case), DWill will want to stay. That type of loyalty is enough for me. These elite players are intensely driven and focused–more so than 99.9% of America–and respond to success and opportunity. As long as DWill gets that from the Jazz, he will want to stay. As a fan, that’s the best loyalty that I can ask for.
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