Jazz still looking to get betterTrade is an option: Jazz are not against making a move to improve playoff chancesBy Phil MillerThe Salt Lake TribuneMatt Harpring rolled his eyes even before hearing the end of the question. "Here we go again," the Jazz forward sighed. "Must be that time of year." Yep. Soon after Valentine's Day, a little before St. Patrick's Day, comes an occasion that is far less festive but potentially much more notable for players like Harpring and teams like the Jazz: the NBA trade deadline. The cutoff arrives Thursday at 1 p.m. MST, and amid a cacophony of trade rumors involving All-Star veterans and championship contenders, the Jazz are quietly operating at the margins, taking calls and floating names. "It's an uphill battle to get something done these days, but we're working on it," Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, said before departing for the All-Star Weekend in Houston. "A lot of teams are looking for a lot of the same things, so it's not easy. . . . You talk, you try to match things up, you suggest a lot of things that go nowhere." Yet the fact that the Jazz are trying to go somewhere this season - specifically, to the playoffs, a destination they have missed the past two seasons - makes O'Connor's job a little more urgent, but a little easier, too. In a shift of the team's roster-building strategy, O'Connor said, the Jazz are now willing to make a move specifically designed for reaching the postseason. "It would still have to make sense longterm. We wouldn't do something that would hurt us down the road, or [trade for] someone who's only going to be here two months," O'Connor said. "But if we can get somebody who can help us right now, we would look at that." For three years, since the retirement of John Stockton and Karl Malone, almost every roster decision O'Connor has made had the goal of putting in place a foundation that could play together for five or more seasons, a strategy that has made the Jazz one of the league's youngest teams. Now O'Connor said he is willing to accept a player in his prime or just beyond it, with the knowledge that such a player could provide immediate help, but probably won't be around when Andrei Kirilenko or Mehmet Okur reach their prime. Here's a look at the bargaining chips O'Connor has to put in a deal: l HARPRING: The 29-year-old forward is an NBA veteran at more than just scoring points and grabbing rebounds. "I've been about to be traded since I got here four years ago," Harpring scoffed at the notion that his name is being circulated. "After awhile, you learn not to listen. I don't even know when [the deadline] is. That sort of stuff is just talk, and you can't let it bother you." Still, Harpring's situation is a little different this season, and not because of his bad right knee; that, he's had before. No, Harpring may be marginally more marketable this season because his four-year, $18 million contract expires in June. That allows a team to acquire Harpring and his current $5 million salary with little risk. He is a decent scorer off the bench, averaging nearly 12 points per game, and could provide depth for a contender - then come off its salary cap at season's end. "If he hadn't missed so many games [because of his knee], he would be really attractive," said a Western Conference personnel director. "As it is, a team might be willing to take a chance on him." l EXPIRING CONTRACTS: Greg Ostertag earns $4.4 million, JarronCollins makes $1.8 million, and Devin Brown is paid $1.5 million. Ostertag and Collins' contracts are up in June, making them free agents. Brown has another season, but it's a team option that can be terminated for $500,000. Those contracts could make them attractive to teams seeking to shed future payroll by unloading contracts that have another year or more to run. "If they're looking for mid-range [priced] players, they've got some contracts that match up really well," said the personnel director. l GORDAN GIRICEK: His nagging Achilles' injury, not to mention his inability to carry the offense occasionally, probably makes him too big a risk for most suitors. Still, a healthy Giricek is reasonably priced at $4 million in each of the next two seasons. l DRAFT PICKS: O'Connor hasn't had much luck turning the Jazz's first-round draft picks into difference-makers yet, but he has been careful not to give them away, either. In addition to his own picks, O'Connor also collected a New York Knicks first-rounder in the Tom Gugliotta-Keon Clark trade two years ago. Because of protection stipulations on the pick, it's unlikely to be conveyed until 2010, when it might become, depending on New York's record, very valuable. The longterm nature of the pick presents an interesting dynamic, should a team want the Knicks' choice included in a trade: Would O'Connor keep it for the longterm benefit of the Jazz, or would he move it, figuring that the current coach and front office might not be in place by then? l BOOZER: If the Jazz pull a blockbuster, this is the guy who will go, and last season's trade rumors have been revived by the 24-year-old's return to action just in time to showcase his recovery from a four-month-long hamstring injury. The rumors are based on the assumption that the Jazz have grown furious with the most-celebrated free-agent in team history, have tired of paying him more than $11 million a season while he sits out with injuries, and have concluded that his $68 million contract was a mistake. O'Connor denies that any of that is true. Yet he doesn't completely rule out dealing his highest-paid player, either. "He [was] hurt. We know he was hurt, but there's not much you can do if people don't believe you," O'Connor protested. "Would we listen to offers? We'll listen to anything. It would be irresponsible not to. But these [reports] that we're trying to dump Carlos, they are coming from people who don't know Carlos and who don't know us. It's ridiculous, but it's part of the business." Four days to go. Will a Jazz player go with them? pmiller@sltrib.com http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_3525327
