Happy Boozer, Okur, Korver Back

Posted by James Seaman on July 06, 2009

I didn’t think I’d say this, but I’m excited for the Jazz’s current roster to take one more shot at the rest of the NBA. As the 2009 season drew to a close and the free agency period approached, Utahns waited with equal parts anticipation and anxiety. Most of us expected a major shake up with Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur having the opportunity to become free agents. Discussions revolved around who the Jazz should keep and which combination of players would give us the best chance at success. Now, as we look at each other with blank “um, what now?” stares, I can’t help feeling like Bill Murray’s character Venkman in Ghostbusters when Egon decides they’re going to cross the streams to destroy the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. With the guys looking at each other, dumbfounded and nervous, Venkman says, “I love this plan! I’m excited to be a part of it! Let’s do it!” I’ll go on record now and say that I’m excited for 2009-10 to see what the Jazz can do.

I find my self surprised to be writing this. For some time now, I’ve pitched my tent in the “we can’t win with this team” camp. Unless you’ve spent the past several seasons in a cave, you know the Jazz lack defense. In fact, each of their three best offensive players—Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur—is a defensive liability. The defensive lapses of Boozer and Okur have been well publicized. But Williams is also guilty of allowing quicker point guards (Tony Parker, for example) to consistently penetrate into the lane and wreak havoc. So perhaps my optimism about the coming season seems rather Pollyannaish, especially in light of the Lakers acquiring Ron Artest and the Spurs getting Richard Jefferson. Still, I have reasons to feel hopeful.

There is value in a team that’s already been together for three years. Assuming the Jazz bring Paul Millsap back—and that’s still a big assumption at this point—we’ll be watching a group that has won two Northwest Divisions titles and 16 playoff games in three seasons. Remember, this club reached the Western Conference Finals in 2007 and gave the Lakers a stiff test a year later (putting the eventual champs on the ropes in Game 5). Millsap, Williams, and Ronnie Brewer have improved every year of their still young careers, and who’s to say they won’t keep getting better? While teams like Cleveland, San Antonio, and the Lakers have made moves to upgrade their rosters (with Orlando also being proactive to offset the loss of Hedo Turkoglu), such alterations also have the potential to disrupt team chemistry. If Utah stays healthy, continuity could prove advantageous.

For all the griping (mine included) about Utah’s poor performance down the stretch last spring, this remains a highly talented bunch. The Jazz essentially have four All-Stars—or All-Star caliber players—on their team. Boozer, Okur, and Andrei Kirilenko have been All-Stars in the past, and Deron Williams is certainly good enough to be one. Granted, Kirilenko hasn’t played at that level for several years, but he still has a world of talent. Millsap showed he could be a consistent double-double guy if given the playing time, Brewer sits among the league leaders in steals, while Williams, Okur, and Kyle Korver can all shoot the 3. Defense, of course, remains a concern. Maybe Kosta Koufos can work his way into the rotation and add a little D to an offensive-minded team.

The Jazz might also benefit from having several players in the final year of their contracts. Boozer, Okur, and Korver all know they’re playing for long term deals, thus lighting the fire a little hotter under their respective keisters. Of course, the Jazz could end up making a trade, rendering my entire argument pointless. But for the moment, it looks like Jazz fans will be watching the same team they’ve seen for the last few years. Maybe it’s defiant optimism, maybe it’s foolish naïveté, but I’m looking forward to seeing what this team does with one more season together.

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justalars on July 06, 2009 said:

They will not compete for a championship as currently constructed, even if they resign Millsap. It is going to take making another move to fill one of the gaping holes (center to guard the rim and a wing who demands respect, not just a 3 point specialist) the top 5 teams from last year all improved tremendously, I’m excited for this year of basketball and hope the Jazz can keep up with the Joneses.

BRigham on July 06, 2009 said:

YOUR HAPPY!?!?!?!?! I would be happy if jazz traded Lozzer to tronto for bosh. And ak for tmac. WE would be so stacked and next summer 4 picks in the draft and also a ton of money to sign LBJ or D wade

Jazzfanforever on July 06, 2009 said:

i like your positive attitude, you never know, hopefully boozer will be healthy all year and will have a terrific season, if we can stay healthy i think will make it to the playoffs again, also we might get a really good trade before the season starts and that could help us too. My favorite player is Kyle Korver and i was really excited when he got traded to Utah from Philadelphia. I love the way he plays basketball

Chris Estey on July 06, 2009 said:

I agree with most of what you said there James. The one thing I have to point out though is that they didn’t cross the streams to take out the Marshmellow man, they crossed the streams to take out Gozer, the psycho chick with the crazy white outfit and red/black eyes. But I am anxious to see what they can do and I like the TMac trade. Dropping AK’s contract is huge and gives us a lot to work with next year. I said in a previous post that I would like to see KOC take some chances and this is exactly the type of opportunity I am talking about. Worst case scenario, TMac comes in, gets injured, doesn’t play all season long and we drop him or he retires after the season and we have extra space to work toward getting a defensive All-star caliber center or small forward for the 10-11 season.

Shannon in Sacramento on July 06, 2009 said:

Love the enthusiasm, but if the Jazz’s current roster doesn’t really change, then that means they will still not get past the first or second round of the playoffs. That shouldn’t be good for this team. We need to get back into the finals. I hope Boozer starts acting like he really wants to play, works on his defense, and doesn’t get hurt. Sad, I was hoping for a real shakeup this year in hopes we would have a chance. WIlliams needs some players that are tough. Here’s hoping for the best.

J R Stewart on July 06, 2009 said:

Give this team, adding Millsap, some health, the right match-ups, a little luck and a little bad luck for opponents…they could compete for a championship.

Every year something happens to or for the team who wins the championship and those who lose. KG and Yao go down, Kobe stays healthy, Dwight misses some free throws, the King misses his corrination. **** happens! The Jazz match up with NOH instead of the Hated Lakers. The Fish is tampered with by Kobe, pushing him to ask for a release, a nice spin job and wallah he’s a Hated Laker. The gift of a “Pau” goes to the Jazz for Harpring’s expiring contract.

A lot can happen this season. How could you possibly have more go wrong, than last year?

Give them 15-20 games…we could be very excited or depressed, looking forward to the playoffs or rebuilding.

I’m excited to see where the Jazz end up going!

Jazzaholic

Jared on July 06, 2009 said:

Lets just look at what happens to the Jazz if we stay the same, and field the same team again:

The Lakers – Better than us last year and getting better by adding Artest
The Spurs – Better than us last year and getting better by adding Jefferson
The Nuggets – Better than us last year and pretty much staying better than us
The Blazers – Better than us last year and getting better because their young players are improving
The Mavericks – Slightly better than us last year, but I think Kidd and Dirk will show rust next year. We should be better than them.
The Rockets – Better than us last year, (although we would have beat them in 7) and especially if Yao doesn’t come back from injury, Artest leaves to Lakers, T-Mac leaves via trade, they will be a lottery team and we should continue to stomp them.
The Hornets – Slightly better than us last year (although we kick their heads in) and appear in fire sale mode “Everything but Chris Paul must GO!” We will be better than them next year.
The Suns – We were better than them last year and will be for a long time.

So where does that put us? As the 5 seed going into the playoffs to loose in the first round to either the Blazers, Nuggets or Spurs. Alright, now lets all get really excited about it! I would rather take a chance that has a 10% chance of getting us the championship than keep everything the same and have a 0% chance. Lets face it, it wasn’t injuries that killed our season last year. We wouldn’t have been the best team even if we were healthy all season. If the Jazz stay the same, we will all be just as disappointed next off season as we were this off season.

Samuel Pike on July 06, 2009 said:

ya and like the Jazz would ever have the money to ever get a LeBron type player,Jazz would have to get rid of half the time. And while id agree that Boozer isnt the best defender,I believe that Memo is at least for a big man his size,look at how many big shots,playoffs or not,hes hit since hes been with this team. So i dont wanna hear this c rap about how he cant play defense. Andrei defensively ranks right among the top on the team,Millsap is a legitimate defender,as if Ronnie Brewer and Ronnie Price,Kyle Korver i thought this past season stepped it it a little on defense too. Lets wait and see what h appens. If Millsap was to get a really good deal from another team like OKC he may possibly take it. And yes the Jazz by signing him would be over the luxury tax,but next year may be better to look for a few players to make the team better. I mean ya the Jazz didnt win as many games this season as we thought,but,that aside,considering how many injuries they had,48-34 is respectable,since most teams when they get hit with injuries win less than half of their games. I think a healthy Jazz team to start off 2009-2010 season can most likely get at least 50 to 55 wins. Stick by your team fellow Jazz fans,win or lose,thats a real Jazz fan,not one that gets excited when they win and then are all over the team when they dont win a few games.

wompus on July 06, 2009 said:

Look, we all know Boozer plays selfish and we all want to dump him, but I’ve got to admit that I have second thoughts now.

Now I agree that this team right now won’t be able to win a championship because not everyone is committed to winning a championship (AK and Boozer) and some just aren’t talented enough (Korver and CJ).

If we keep Boozer, we need a defensive big man (trade Korver and Harpring for one – ie Tyson Chandler, etc…) also I love the AK for T-Mac trade, not because I love T-Mac, but if he does play, he’s a great 3, if he doesn’t play, put him on injured reserve and then you get money back for him.

So I would keep Boozer, sign Millsap, but the first instant Boozer’s playing selfish or gets injured, he’s now backup to Millsap and he’s on the chopping block to get traded by the deadline.

Then next year, he was 3 expiring contracts, Boozer $12.7 M, Okur’s $9M and T-Mac’s $23M for a total of $49.2M, with possibly 3 first round draft picks, wow! We’ll still get out 50 wins this season and get into the playoffs, I think Boozer and T-Mac (if T-Mac were to play) would be motivated to go as deep as possbile in the playoff’s, then next year we can blow it up and start off with a great new team with new talent. We’ll have Millsap, D-Will, Brewer, and tons of new talent to add – WOW!

Linda Kay on July 06, 2009 said:

How do wwe know how last years team played? The same team never all played together at the same time!! Give them a chance. Let’s see what they can do.

JayD on July 06, 2009 said:

I have been saying all along that this team has not reached its true potential yet . I beleive that they have just as much of a chance to win a title as the rest of the teams that you mentioned . I also agree that they were not the same unit every game , so how do we know that they cannot win ??????
I have to agree with JR . How could we possibly have another year like last year . There were to many injuries and mixed line-ups for even a team like LA couldnt have done any better . I think that this team has yet to play at its true potentail .
As far as us having no defense we can look at Fes and Kosta for that this season , because they will get more minutes this season . I think that with alittle motivation this team can play better defense . Remember they made it to the Western Conference Finals a couple of seasons ago and they defenatley can do it again . They have the talent ,and they can improve from last year .
I think that we need t have faith in the team we have oh ye of little faith .
I cant wait for the season to begin , Lets go Jazz !!!!!
Jay

BenC on July 07, 2009 said:

I still like the TMac trade idea, only because I’m thinking about down the road. JR does have a good point though. With a team that seemingly limped and (at the end of the season) sleepwalked their way into the playoffs, they still made it into the playoffs. Give this team another chance. The AK-TMac trade will (most likely) still be available come Feb. So until then, let’s see what this crew can do.

Connor on July 07, 2009 said:

i dont like the t mac trade. i think we should’ve signed someone like stoudemire or go for odom and leave Boozer out. Millsap is going to grow to be better then Boozer, Millsap has so much potential. And we need to get rid of A.K. i like him but he cant make anything. Great defender though. i think the lineup should go like this. PG- D-Will. SG- Ronnie Brewer. SF-Kyle Korver. PF-Boozer or Millsap. C- Okur. im happy to have Korver and Okur back though. GO JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pelon on July 07, 2009 said:

-Jared
I agree with all of your observations except these two:
1. Denver caught lightning in a bottle last season. There’s no way that they’re that good this season.
2. Portland isn’t going to get that much better. Greg Oden is a bust. Aldridge is a homeless man’s Booze (no D). And Brandon Roy already plays like a veteran.

Jared on July 07, 2009 said:

Pelon, I would love to agree with you on Denver, because I have no respect for them as a franchise, and dislike their thugs, I mean players, but the Denver vs Dallas series showed me that they were much better than I was giving them credit for. Also, I think that Aldridge on Portland is a stud. I would take him over Millsap any day of the week.

Moving on to the main point of my post. There is a lot of posts, here and elsewhere on Jazzbots, that say something like “We never got to see our team play, don’t you remember getting to the Western Conference Finals” and I think that they conveniently forget what got us to the Western Conference Finals. 1st – we beat the Rockets in the first round. For whatever reason, we own the Rockets in the playoffs, and would have beat them again this year (even though they were much more competitive with the Lakers). 2nd due to the pathetic effort out of Dallas we played the Warriors in the 2nd round. We had basically pimp slapped the Warriors for years, so this series wasn’t ever in jeopardy. Then when we went up against a legit team and we got stomped. If we had the same scenario two years ago or this last year, we would have done the same thing, but that doesn’t make us an elite team. We are a very good team, but not an elite one. That is what is frustrating me as a fan. We are so close that I can taste it but we just need one or two more pieces to fall into place and we would be the undisputed champs. This is why I can’t be OK with just sitting back and fielding the same team. If we do, we are guaranteed to not win a championship, and that is something that I am not excited about.

Sheri on July 07, 2009 said:

I’m glad to have Okur & Korver back in a Jazz uniform.

GO JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1.

John and Kathy on July 09, 2009 said:

Nice analysis James but we lack your faith after the collapse of last season. Remember how Golden State demolished us with eight players? We need defense. As presently constituted, we’ll score bundles of points next season. But the competition will score even more in many games. We remain skeptics.

mr.jazz on July 09, 2009 said:

ive heard that alot of blazer fans want boozer?!?!!

any suggestions?

Linda Kay on July 18, 2009 said:

Lots of talk about TMac but do you remember he is injured with a pretty serious injury to the knee. The last article I read is that it will be at least Feb. and maybe longer before they will dare let him try to play. (sound like any senerio you know about from the past?) I also have a question that I need answered: Wompus said something about putting someone on the injured list and getting money back for him. Money from where? Do I not understand something about a player being on the injured list? Seems like after last year, we fans, should know a lot about the injured list but that comment confused me. Thanks and no matter who will be part of the team, GO JAZZ

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