<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The Jazz's interest in acquiring veteran help at shooting guard has cooled for now. Several teams around the league released players late last week and earlier this week, in time for them to be eligible for the playoff rosters of whatever new team picks them up. The Jazz contemplated acquiring one, and might have been interested in vet Voshon Lenard had he been waived by Portland. But he was not. Besides perhaps Tony Delk, who wound up signing with Detroit after being waived by Atlanta, none of those who did become available piqued the Jazz's interest enough for them to aggressively pursue signing one once they cleared waivers. "I just feel that, with everything out there, there wasn't anybody who played enough this season (to consider)," Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, said after returning Friday from a two-game college scouting trip in which he watched both Florida State upset Duke and Alabama-Birmingham upset Memphis. Among the others recently waived: Charles Smith, Rick Brunson (he subsequently signed with Houston), Penny Hardaway, Jon Barry, Jim Jackson and ex-Jazz swingman Bryon Russell. It's possible that much later this season Utah will consider a call-up from the NBA Development League, but that's not in its current plans. For now, then, the Jazz will get by with whom they have veteran Devin Brown, rookie C.J. Miles, small forward Matt Harpring and point guards Milt Palacio, Keith McLeod and Deron Williams all have been pitching in at the 2 spot ? while usual starting shooting guard Gordan Giricek continues to recover from Achilles tendinitis. Giricek, out since Feb. 1, is scheduled to shed his protective boot early next week ? but it remains to be seen when he'll actually return. Palacio started at shooting guard for Friday's late-starting game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He returned to the opening lineup in place of Devin Brown, who went back to the bench after making three straight starts. Also back in the Jazz's starting lineup Friday: small forward Andrei Kirilenko, who returned after missing Wednesday's loss to Charlotte and the second half of last Monday's overtime win at Golden State due to back spasms.</div> Source
