Utah Jazz keep Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap for now

[insidehoops]

General Manager Dennis Lindsey met with a group of writers after Thursday's trade deadline passed without any movement on the part of the Jazz. We'll have a full story up at sltrib.com shortly, but wanted to share a few quick thoughts from Lindsey first.

The first-year GM was clear that the Jazz felt they were operating from a position of power, with eight expiring contracts set to come off the books this summer. The Jazz wanted to retain that flexibility, although Lindsey acknowledged the risk of losing both Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap without a guarantee of return.

While Lindsey joked that the Jazz said "no" to 30 different trades, he declined to put an actual number on it. He said the Jazz were "very" popular in trade talks, but that they didn't feel any of the offers met a high Jazz standard.

-- Reported by Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune

[Xiao Yao You]

Jazz Willing To Take Step Back Next Season For Better 2014 NBA
Draft Pick




Mar 12, 2013 12:47 PM EDT





The Utah Jazz remain in the playoff picture and were engaged in trade talks
involving Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, but multiple sources say that general
manager Dennis Lindsey expressed a willingness to take a step back next season
to get a better pick in the strong 2014 NBA Draft.

The Jazz casually discussed a Millsap for Eric Bledsoe trade, but are
comfortable letting both he and Jefferson depart via free agency without
compensation.

The Jazz could have dealt Millsap for a high first round pick in 2012, but
would have been required to take back a bad contract.

Everyone still think the Jazz should have dealt Millsap if they had to take back a bad contract to do so? Looks like they could be tanking which seems to be what everyone wants these days.

[Xiao Yao You]

Utah wants a point guard. If the Jazz are going to take a
poisonous salary attached to something they really want, that prize is going to
be a lead ball handler. Had they found one, perhaps they'd have done something.
But they didn't. The Millsap–for–Eric Bledsoe talks never
got serious, per three sources close to the (non-)talks, and the trade market
wasn't teeming with quality point guards beyond Bledsoe — especially since Utah
can wait to spend in the offseason. Grantland

Bledsoe was about the only rumor I heard about that sounded interesting at all(for Millsap anyway. Getting rid of Jefferson would be good no matter what.) and he's still unproven as a starter in the league. I knew he wasn't getting dealt til they sign Chris Paul though. He'll ba available after that though if they Jazz still like him they should have a few young pieces and cap space to get him still.

That desire to qualify for the postseason
is one reason Utah held on to both its starting big men, according to multiple
sources familiar with the team's thinking. The Jazz weren't
proactive at the deadline, but they did engage some teams with offers and
potential offers, including Toronto and Detroit,3 according to sources around
the league. They came away with nothing, not even a second-round pick or a
trade exception, in part because they just couldn't find a deal that brought
back a truly useful asset without an unfavorable long-term contract attached.
Grantland


The Jazz probably weren't aggressive enough
shopping Jefferson and (especially) Millsap ahead of last spring's draft, when
multiple league sources insist they could have easily snagged a high
first-round pick in that draft for Millsap. But it's unclear if that
pick would have brought an unwanted contract along with it, and given the
intriguing play of Andre Drummond and Terrence Ross, it's easy to forget that
most league executives weren't very excited about picks outside the top six or
seven guys. Grantland

Sounds like they tried to get Lilliard and other than him I don't see anybody else that would have made sense and it doesn't sound like Portland was looking to deal the pick even though they liked Millsap. Wouldn't make much sense with LA there.

Utah's willingness to slide back into the lottery, and its
patience with young players. Dennis Lindsey is Utah's new GM, fresh from San
Antonio (and Houston before that), which means things will start changing slowly
in Utah. Among those changes: Multiple league sources who dealt with Utah
ahead of the deadline insist the Jazz presented themselves as willing to take a
step back next season and snag a solid pick in a loaded 2014 draft. That is in
part Lindsey's influence, those sources say. And while that runs
counter to the Jazz's desire to make the playoffs this season, this roster was
already set when Lindsey arrived over the summer, and new front offices are
sometimes cautious in flexing their muscles. Grantland


Read more
at http://*********.com/rumors.htm#vYxtEXtYjFvLwP6d.99

We've seen some minor changes but OConner is still in charge so we'll see.