Jason Terry is one of five individuals last season to score over 17
points a game with dishing out over 7 assists. Did the Jazz really
think that the Atlanta Hawks were not going to match a 3-year deal - with
Terrell Brandon's contract comes off the books in February? Even with
the ownership question, the Hawks would be foolish to let JT go, just
like the LA Clippers would have been foolish to not match Corey
Maggette's 6-year, $42 million deal.
This leaves the Jazz tied with the Hawks and Bucks for the most shallow
teams in the NBA. While Carlos Arroyo has been impressive playing for
Puerto Rico and Andrei Kirilenko has been dominant playing for Russia
this summer, how does this translate to an NBA season? Arroyo
languished as the third option behind John Stockton and Mark Jackson
last year, and Andrei's sophomore season saw flashes of brilliance
mixed with amnesia regarding the team playbook.
The Jazz are obviously not done, as they need about $5 million more in
salary just to meet the league minimum. They have 12 players signed to
guaranteed contracts (one being the thief John Amaechi who has an
average of 2 points a game to show for the first two years of his
4-year, $10 million contract.) What else can Kevin O'Connor do to
improve the roster?
They're still looking to get something for nothing. Keon Clark fell
into their lap so Sacramento could avoid cap space. If they could
convince someone to take Amaechi for another underachiever, they'd do
it. It depend how desperate other teams are. Would New York want to
get rid of Clarence Witherspoon and his contract bad enough, they'd
take on another underachieving center? Or for short-term, does Dallas
want the cap relief of a swap for Chris Mills?
The Jazz have one advantage over the Hawks and Bucks. While those two
teams are cracking in rookie coaches, Jerry Sloan will be starting his
16th year as head coach of the Jazz, in the midst of a 20-year
playoff-appearance streak. This will be the year the streak ends
(barring a miracle trade), but they shouldn't be the worst team in the NBA.
