Still ticking

Jazz continue search for Stockton and Malone heirs

By Mark Bechtel, Sports Illustrated

SALT LAKE CITY -- At Jazz training camp, all media interviews are done before practice, which is odd. But the team has a good reason: Camp is held at a Franklin Covey Wellness Center, and at noon (which is when practice ends) the employees get to use the gym for pickup games, so the NBAers have to be off the floor. Tired of the timeshare, the Jazz are building a practice facility of their own in Salt Lake City. The building used to be a furniture store, and with a little luck the club might find a few leftover rocking chairs for its two best players.

The Jazz have been riding the same two horses -- John Stockton and Karl Malone -- for 15 years now, and sooner or later (quite likely sooner) they are going to face the prospect of life without one or both of the vital cogs in the two-man game synonymous with Utah basketball. What will happen then? Well, judging by the faces at training camp, the team will be pretty bad. The Jazz haven't been able to develop a quality player in years, and their track record in acquiring talent isn't so hot either. Things were so bad last year that the team actually took a beating on talk radio from fans who were disappointed that they let Donyell Marshall leave as a free agent. That's like throwing a fit when Guns 'N' Roses kicked Duff McKagan out of the band. I mean, you still had Axl, you still had Slash. Who even notices the bass player, let alone gets mad if he leaves? (The exception to the don't-pay-attention-to-the-bassist rule is Tommy Stinson of my all-time favorite band, the Replacements; incidentally, he's now working with Axl. Man, can he play.)

It's rapidly approaching do-or-die time for Utah; the Jazz must come up with a new face who can assume some of the burden when Stockton and Malone depart. One of the more intriguing projects is DeShawn Stevenson, a jumping jack of a shooting guard who has played sparingly in two seasons in the league. He didn't play college ball, so he has very little experience in a structured system, and he's not the best shooter in the world; he has only made three 3-pointers in his NBA career. (On the other hand, that's three more than his competition for the starting off-guard spot, Calbert Cheaney, has made in his last two seasons.) It's going to be interesting to watch Stevenson try to fit in. He loves playing above the rim, but that just ain't done in Utah. "I still want to slash and get on top of the rim, but mostly I'm going to get open shots and knock them down," he said. "I'm trying to fit myself in that [traditional] role, but put some of my style into it."

Style in Utah? That'll be something to keep an eye on.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Mark Bechtel is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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