A Time To Fight

Posted by Jordan Lyndaker on September 11, 2009

There comes a time in every person’s life, a time to pout, to stomp one’s feet and spit back in the face of authority. For a teenage girl, that comes when her parents won’t let her stay out past nine. For said parents, it happens after their daughter smashes the family minivan. For Mel Gibson’s character in “The Patriot”, Benjamin Martin, it occurred when the British invaded his home and killed his son. And for our Utah Jazz, that time is NOW.

The evil redcoats (in our case, the Lakers, Spurs, Blazers and others) have made their moves. We lost our beloved owner Larry H. Miller (Rest In Peace), before we could deliver him a title. Like Benjamin Martin after his sons were killed, the Jazz is still grieving and down emotionally. But physically, it’s a different story; Utah is still in tiptop shape. And after all Jerry Sloan has done for this organization, it’d be only fitting to reward him with that long-awaited title.

Now is the time to fight and rebel against the national media’s perception of the Western Conference hierarchy. With nine of 17 players (including the two new draftees – Maynor and Suton) on the current roster 25 years or younger, Utah sits in an enviable position. While the Jazz has to deal with free agency and the salary cap, it doesn’t have to worry about an old roster. Deron Williams is entering his prime, while Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant are starting to lose a step or two.

Couple our versatile, deep roster with rival teams getting older and you’ve got a recipe for success. Lest everyone forget last season, the Jazz had to deal with injuries to many key players – D-Will, Booze and AK-47 to name a few. Yes, there are always freak accidents on the court, but you won’t see Deron getting such extensive playing time in preseason games this year, especially with Ronnie Price and Eric Maynor available.

That brings me to the enigma himself: Carlos Boozer. He is the dividing force amongst Jazz fans. Households are being torn asunder by the simple question: should we keep him or should we trade him? Well, this much we know:  this year will definitely be Boozer’s last in Salt Lake City under his current contract. If Carlos starts the season in a Jazz uni, he will be in the MVP conversation, with his usual 20-10 average. Granted, his defense and work ethic is questionable. But this season, the language of benjamins will be speaking loudly and clearly to Carlos. So yes, I’m on the “we should keep Boozer around” side, at least until the trading deadline (because I wouldn’t want to pay the luxury tax on his account either).

As for Andrei Kirilenko, that’s a whole other story. The Russian’s name has been floated in trade rumors, along with Jazz stalwart Matt Harpring, in a potential deal that could net the Jazz Tracy McGrady. These three were building blocks of their teams in 2003; now they’re expendable, especially AK who is struggling to find his niche in Utah.

Kirilenko and Harpring have expiring contracts, the equivalent of gold in the NBA. Why not move them for a proven scoring threat in T-Mac who is still regarded as a superstar? Because, let’s face it folks, unless there’s a disaster, the Jazz will be in the playoffs come April 2010, slotting in anywhere between a 4 and 8 seed. And while some would harp on McGrady’s inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs, I’d rather emphasize McGrady’s superstar status. Come playoff time that’ll get him to the charity stripe over and over. While you’re mulling that, chew on this gaudy stat line: 28.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.3 spg. Those would be T-Mac’s career playoff stats. He is a dynamic scorer that would flourish playing with Deron Williams.

Because I’m not the GM, my dream scenario of T-Mac in Utah likely won’t happen. But there are plenty of others out there that could be had. While an Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh acquisition is a pipe dream, a Shane Battier or Stephen Jackson could easily be had and could wind up being just the shot of adrenaline we need.

If Kevin O’Connor plays his cards right this offseason, Jazz fans might close next season singing wrestler John Cena’s entry music, “My Time Is Now.”

Your time is up. My time is now.

You can’t see me. My time is now.

It’s the franchise. Boy, I’m shining now.

You can’t see me. My time is now.

Now, raise your hand if you want to sing those words with me after getting that elusive NBA title this season.

1 Comment

Fan on September 11, 2009 said:

Nice post. Boozer has the force to be almost anything he wants to be in this league, lets see if he uses it.

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