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Last year the Utah Jazz had a ton of cap space and all they really got out of it was Raja Bell. This led to dire predictions that the Jazz would be the worst team in the NBA next year. Had anyone bet on them having a winning season, they would have made a lot of money in Vegas. And this was a team where Keon Clark only played two games, Matt Harpring went down halfway through the season, and the starting power forward was non-scorer Michael Ruffin or the gimpy Tom Gugliotta.

Now here's a very promising team. Carlos Arroyo has agreed to come back, and he and rookie point guard Raul Lopez are a year better. Gordan Giricek flourished in the offense when he was traded to the Jazz, and now he'll get to enjoy a full season here. Raja Bell became a dark horse for Sixth Man of the Year the way he blew up, going from 3.1 ppg to 11.2 ppg in his fourth year as a pro. Matt Harpring's knee surgery has been successful and he's said he feels in the best shape of his life. Power-forward Kris Humphries and shooting-guard Kirk Snyder look like solid picks in the draft. Most importantly, head coach Jerry Sloan said he'll be back next year.

But what would put the Jazz over the hump? What will get them back into the playoffs and in line to be a contender down the road?

They're taking a gamble on Mehmet Okur, a 6-11 offensive-minded center, overpaying him so Detroit won't match. But the real crown jewel, the real steal in free agency is the acquisition of Carlos Boozer.

It's still unclear who said what to whom and when who winked at who to promise this or that. Right now, it's apparent that Carlos Boozer and his agent had a wink-wink deal in June with GM Jim Paxson and owner Gordon Gund that if they let him become a restricted free agent, he'd re-sign for the mid-level exception.

Why they weren't on his doorstep at 12:01am July 1st with a copy of the contract, I don't know, but after a few days, in a free-agency period that is seeing Adonal Foyle get a six-year $41 million deal, it was clear Carlos Boozer was worth much more than what they'd agreed upon.

Now who can blame the Jazz and the other teams for throwing money at him? Boozer is one of the most promising young power-forwards in the NBA. Now Cleveland would have to destroy their team just to get him back, and unless they're willing to trade Zydrunas Ilgauskas away for a second-round pick, I don't see them being able to clear the cap space.

Would Utah be upset if this had happened to them? Absolutely.

Kevin O'Connor, VP of basketball operations, took a beating when he exposed Aleksandar Pavlovic in the expansion draft. Supposedly he had some sort of deal he was trying to work out with Charlotte, but they backed out, took Pavlovic and traded him to Cleveland for a future first-round pick. The NBA draft couldn't come fast enough for O'Connor so he could turn from goat to hero again. Now that the Jazz have Giricek, Bell, Snyder, Harpring and Kirilenko to cover the 2/3 positions, no one around here cares Pavlovic is gone. Especially if it means we're about to get Boozer from Cleveland.

Pavlovic for Boozer. Fair trade, right? Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!!

Okay, if Kirilenko promised O'Connor he'd re-sign and then he skipped town for an unmatchable contract, I guarantee Jazz fans would be angry at him for doing so, and they'd boo loudly every time he touched the ball in the Delta Center for the next three years. But the majority of their vitriol would be aimed at O'Connor for letting him out of his deal to re-sign him for under market value.

Do I think Paxson should lose his job over this debacle? No. He thought he had a promise and he got burned. I don't blame him. But I don't live in Cleveland.

So assuming restricted free agents aren't matched, the Jazz would look like this:

PG - Carlos Arroyo, Raul Lopez
SG - Gordan Giricek, Raja Bell, Kirk Snyder
SF - Andrei Kirlenko, Matt Harpring
PF - Carlos Boozer, Kris Humphries
C - Mehmet Okur, Curtis Borchardt


That's eleven guys under contract. The Jazz still have about $5 million under the cap, and it's believed they'll bring back PG Maurice Williams for his speed and outside shooting, and C Greg Ostertag for his 7-2 frame and his shot-blocking abilities.

With this roster, with Sacramento getting a year older, with the Lakers coming apart at the seams, with Dallas losing Steve Nash, with Denver unable to land a big free-agent, I'd be shocked if the Jazz weren't in the playoffs next year.