Yes, I am the first one to comment . . how honored i must feel? Very thanks for asking . . I am definitely a fan of the Jazz. They showed they can play with the best. Matt Carrol sound like a good fit, but a better one would be . . Kobe. I'll give Buss a call and see if we can work something out.

The key for the Jazz would have to be AK 47. Will the Jazz trade him away after a lackluster regular season or will they let him stay (out of pity?)? Surely, some team might be interested in Kirelenko. But then, what will the Jazz get for him?

I think the Jazz needs a Jeff Hornacek type of a shooter. Steady, reliable and able to penetrate when needed.

Do you really think that the west is "open"? The spurs will be one year older . . . Duncan is 31, Manu is 29 and Parker is 25. I would say they are at their peak age. If you mean open because there is no clear dominating team, that is correct, but the Suns, Mavs and Spurs are all over 55 wins. That is a very difficult "open" west.

Does Mehmet Okur need to be relocated? His postseason play was so erratic that this question definitely is left open...

...and the future would be brighter if Williams and Boozer hadn't publicly accused their teammates of having gone on vacation early.

Boozer and Williams' teamates DID go on vacation early...and the future IS bright for the Jazz. I say they leave the core of the team the way it is, and take your chances in the draft.

The Jazz will definitely be good, but it's hard to see them doing much more than they did this year, except maybe give an opponent like the Spurs more of a scare.

S.A. will be older, but that hardly matters. They'll have a huge regular season next year, but not win the title. After all, It will be an even number year.

If anyone is poised to make a run next year, I think it has to be Phoenix. They're just due, and on top of that, they're pissed after what happened against the Spurs. If they can make a bold move or 2 in the offseaseon (ie: trade marion or STAT + picks for a KG, Kobe, etc...), I think they go all the way.

As for the Mavs...who cares. They'll never win the big one as long as Dirk is their alpha-dog. Period.

The Jazz have a great chance next year. As proven this year, they play good defense, the can run when the game calls for it, and they can slow it down if needed. They did beat the Suns 3-1 this year. This was Okur's first true playoff run where he played minutes so give him time. The Jazz will be just fine with what they have because Brewer is up and coming, but the Carroll pick up would be a good addition.

Phoenix is the team whose post-season is the most critical. If they get a good trade in - for a bigger guy in the middle with good feet(best available is KG), then they go on and win the title period. But if they lose STAT or Marion and don't get a KG type player - they will be frustrated again either by the Mavs or the Spurs. I think if the Mavs keep the core of their group, they will make a deep run in the West - they had both the Spurs and Suns numbers before being drawn with the only team that could beat them!

It turned out to be an okay series after a lackluster start. I don't know if anyone noticed, but Spurs fans gave D-Fish a standing O at the start of the second half. Classy, not surprising, but classy. Also, am I the only one who's irked that every time Kobe farts it knocks the NBA playoffs off the front page. Give me a break.

Trade AK-47 and Gireck for VC and House...haha...

The Stackhouse suggestion is hilarious. I guess Burns doesn't know the history between the Jazz and Stack. Stack would only sign with the Jazz to sabotage the team - or get some good boxing rounds in daily practice.

Sadly, the Jazz had the very piece they're missing two years ago in Raja Bell. Raja was bent on leaving for the Suns, nothing the Jazz do, but if Raja had known the Jazz could be this successful now maybe he would have thought twice. No doubt he's still happy where he is now though.

If the Jazz have the same team next year, they aren't going anywhere. The best thing for them to do is get another big man capable of playing defense, because Okur is all about offense and can be inconsistent at times. The Carrol idea not so bad and continue developing Williams. Keep Kirilenko. Go Spurs.

Trade our first round pick with Giricek and go rescue J.J. Redick from Orlando. He would thrive in the Jazz system.

"Spurs will be a year older". That's what they said last year. Duncan and Manu both have a minimum of 2 more years in their prime, and Parker is just entering his. They have young talent waiting in other places (keep in mind they have neither of their top draft picks currently on their roster from the past 2 years). They have expiring contracts and could still be a player in free agency. The team still has a legitimate 3 year window after this year.

The Jazz may very well be sitting on the answer to their SG problems...CJ Miles. He was what, the 2nd youngest player in the league last year and has already shown brief signs of what he can do. He was one of the best players in the D-league when he played (which isn't exactly full of the NCAA's worst and least experienced players) and he shoots the lights out in practice. Even Larry Miller thinks in 3-4 years he has the potential to be a franchise player—and that’s a big endorsement. If CJ can get enough burn over the next 1-2 seasons and taps into his potential then the Jazz will have their sweet shooting athletic 2 guard that is long and fast enough to be a great perimeter defender.

Trading AK is not a good idea. His defense makes up for his erratic offense. I think his offense will be better next year anyways. I disagree that the Jazz cannot reach the next level with Fisher. His leadership is great, and he does have a good touch beyond the arc. He hit some big shots for the jazz this playoff run and was a key ingredient to their success this year. The Jazz don't make it this far without Fisher. Fisher can help them reach the next level.

The Jazz do not beat the Rockets without Okur guarding Ming. His numbers weren't great but he as important as anyone outside Boozer and Williams.

I think they need a 2-guard defender more than an outside shooter. Williams is decent from outside and Giricek and Fisher can spot up. If Brewer has developped a little faster and been able to defend Ginobli they would have been in good shape.

"Utah desperately needs a consistent perimeter shooter who can provide a third scoring option behind Boozer and Williams."- WOW the exact same thing that was written and said 5,000 times during the Stockton/Malone era- Hornacek seemed to answer the bill best at that time but not many of those around- I would say a happy and produictive AK-47 is still the best answer with role players around them- the Jazz have alwasy been masterful at role players- look around the league and it is full of old Jazz role players and once hopeful starters- hard to keep people happy in Utah and so they move on- gotta keep the core together- that much is true

First of all, they need to keep Kirilenko. He is a shut-down defender who showed flashes of his previous form in the playoffs.

Second of all, Okur is usually a solid outside shooter.

Third of all, the Jazz are a lot like the Pistons: every starter is very solid, they have a defensive specialist, no single player overshadows the rest. The team needs to play together as a team.

I agree that adding another solid starter would be good, but not at the expense of any of the top 4, or even Fisher for his experience.

Let's face it, all teams try to build themselves to the model to beat their conference power. Most of the teams in the west either play the uptempo style or have a big body in the middle (to combat the Lakers while O'Neal was there, & now with Duncan & the Spurs); while the teams in the east are more defensive oriented (like the Pistons and the Knicks & Bulls before them) What the Jazz need then, since they don't play a breakneck pace, is a good rebounding center. All through the series all I kept hearing was how Utah had a great rebounding edge through the season, but against the Spurs, not so much. San Antonio's front court is bigger than Utah's. Look at the tape, the Jazz need a center. Trade Kirelenko, the 10th man on the bench & the 1st round pick next year to the Hawks for one of their young bench guys plus # 3 & take Horford, Jeff Green or Yi from China. Boozer Should have never left Cleveland! Go Cavs in Game 5!

I love Deron Williams and Boozer is a treat - but this year was an anomaly, they got lucky with Dallas's mismatch and Houston's JVG trying to impose a system on his team instead of playing to their strength.

Dallas will be better in the playoffs next year, Houston will be much better next year with Adelman, the Spurs will still be an execution machine and Portland will come breathing down their neck with a monster front line and another year for Roy in the backcourt (whoi by the way destroyed Utah this year).

i am not a normal blogger but I just wanted to say the comments left here were very good and actually had to do with the article. It si noce to read some very thought out comments on a blog for a change. Good work people.

Utah does need an off guard who is not a liability on either offense or defense, and needs to find a way to move Collins now that Millsap has made him irrelevant, but Burns is right when he says that Utah is a "system" team, and they always have been under Sloan. Accordingly, all the credit for overachieving should go to Sloan, and the criticism should too. Sloan plays the averages. He relies on consistency. Although he has never won a championship, he gets to the playoffs ALOT with that approach. Unfortunately, great teams get to the conference finals and go out and "take" the title, which Sloan ....who is a great coach... has never done well. If Utah is to take the next step, it will be because Sloan takes his next step in coaching. He could have learned something from Poppovich and Nelson in this postseason - but he did not show the flexibility to take advantage of San Antonio's weaknesses. Example? Okur's shot was off.... and Duncan was guarding Boozer, so why did'nt Sloan go to Memo in the low post against Elson? Okur has that in his game. Another? In Houston, Kirilenko realized that the second guy through the lane had opportunities off the pick and roll, and so he slashed, and was rewarded with alot of layups. Sloan never tried that play for Andrei in games 4 and 5 from my observation. Sometimes, he is so stubborn to make the offense flow through the "4" in the post that he fails to take advantage of mismatch opportunities or "holes" in the opposing team's defense. Does Utah need a new coach....no, but Sloan needs to abandon his "my-way-or-the-highway" approach in the playoffs of he ever wants a ring.

As much as it kills me to say this, they should trade Memo Okur. His dramatic clutch 3's this season have kind of masked the problem with him: he shoots too often, he shoots 3's too often, he shoots jump shot too much, and he doesn't pass very often (unless he's throwing it back to Williams).

Trade Okur for a decent center (my dream would be Bogut) and watch Kirilenko's production increase. He'll get enough shots to make him happy (all he needs is about 8-10 a game), and a happy Kirilenko will get the 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals per game again that made him so wonderful.

I really like Okur, but his tendency to shoot too much and pass too little has hurt Kirilenko most of all, and I'd take a good Kirilenko over a good Okur any day.

replace Mehmet with who? i don't know either. what we do know is that Mehmet is the best center Utah has had since... well, let's just say since long before Greg Ostertag.

Hi, everyone,

First I want to concur with another poster : The quality of the comments made here is indeed remarquable, adding perspective to the article.
Not a single comment off topic and no chest-thumping/obnoxious fans.
Only knowledgeable basketball lovers.
A pleasure to read.

Now my two cents : My guess is that the real tough decsion is about AK.

I understand why some people would bet on him to get back to his level. The Jazz would be formidable indeed.

But really, as good as he was (is still?), his downward trend in stats looks less and less like a slump and more and like a sign he can't really adjust to the new conditions in this Jazz team. (Whether this is his or anyone else's fault being irrelevant at this point).

To me, the fact he couldn't raise the level of his game significantly during this last series, with so much to gain, is a telltale sign.

Moreover the Jazz have good grounds to make a trade for high value (player/picks) to another team by saying : "In your team, guys, AK is going to be the real AK again."

I don't see an Okhur trade bringing to the Jazz a marquee player. For AK, you may find an organisation willing to trade one.

Signed : Philippe, a french guy. (Whose favorite Spurs player is..Tim Duncan :) )

Kudos to SI for focusing on the basketball currently being played, and not being hijacked by that fevered ego in LA, like some other sports websites and media.

I agree that the current Jazz weakness is likely the lack of a consistant 3rd scoring option. Yes, this does hearken back to the pre-Hornacek Stockton and Malone teams. I know the Jazz have chased Cory Magette before, and late last season I remember seeing him looking less than pleased while sitting on the bench during crunch times of Clips games. I also heard he'd fallen out of favor with many within the Clips organization .I'm guessing Boozer would welcome a fellow Duke alumni with open arms, if the cap could be worked out. Plus the addition of Magette would allow Fischer to slide back into his bench role where he flourished as back up point guard.( This is the rotation that got the Jazz off to their 12-1 start). Add Brewer to the mix and the 2 guard becomes a strength instead of a liability.

Even if the Mavs got past the Warriors, Utah would still beat Dirk in a 7-game series. And that's because the Jazz play with TRUE GRIT. They're a blue-collar team and they thrive on their mental toughness.

The team should not touch its core (Boozer, Williams, Okur, AK-47, Fisher, Giricek and Milsap). Maybe try trading Collins plus their draft pick for someone like Morris Peterson.

Williams was always a difference maker in college (watch the replay of the 2005 NCAA game with Arizona for a vintage performance) who never was respected by the tv powers that be. He makes good players great at times and very good most of the time. Give him some other weapons besides Boozer and the Jazz can move to the top of the West. It's up to the Jazz management to find a way to get some players with heart that don't bail at the first sign of adversity. The system in Utah is successful but the need for a third scoring option, especially if it could come from one of the wings or truly in the post, can't be understated.

To harp on a couple other bloggers' posts...incredibly insightful responses on the topic.
Anyways, the obvious is that the Jazz need a perimeter scorer outside of Williams, badly. While I like C.J. Miles, he is still a good 3 or 4 years away from making a hearty contribution. The Jazz need someone NOW. Just to toss a name out there for a potential trade....Kevin Martin from Sacramento. A perfect fit for the Jazz. Athletic, unselfish, and can score from anywhere on the court.
Also, to those who doubt Jerry Sloan....are you kidding me? The back-to-back Finals' between the Jazz and the MJ's were more than thrilling, largely in part to the incredible head-to-head coaching match-up between Sloan and Phil Jackson. Both outdid the other in those series', unfortunatly for Jerry, Micheal Jordan outdid everyone in the building (sorry, Byron).
The Jazz should be in the hunt for the next few years. Don't be surprised if we one day soon allot them as NBA Champs.

It is good to see Boozer and Williams lead. However, I think Williams trying to force "his" leadership was part of the problem in game 4 and 5. Why stockton was so successful is that when he was off, he started feeding those who were on. If williams can learn that style of leadership he will build the rest of the teams confidence in him and the "system team" runs better.

let's not go overboard on the Jazz! they beat the Rockets--who only have two good players--and the youthful W's (with the refs helping them play '8 on 5' for most of that series). When they played an actual powerhouse they were revealed as a pretender. With Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio already far superior to them, and Golden State, Portland and Seattle on the rise, Utah will be lucky to get past the first round again in coming years...

I have so much respect for Jerry Sloan and think that he has done a phenomnal job with the Jazz this year and I am already excited to see them take the next big step next year.

I think they need to get someone like a Kyle Korver. Package a trade to get a consistent three point shooter that can help cut down on the double teams Boozer will most likely see next year.

Wow! It's obvious why some of you are not coaching in the NBA. HaHa! Just wait, I think the Jazz will be a great team, after the Spurs really do get "old". A couple of years from now, if they hang on to Williams and Boozer, they'll be the team to beat in the West. (Kobe will never get the Lakers there)

What would the future have brought for Cleveland if Boozer's wife didn't tell him to take the money and run? Utah can have him, you'll see he'll get jealous when DW Steals the spotlight from him.