Dear Kevin O'Connor....

Discussion in 'Utah Jazz' started by J_Ray, Nov 2, 2009.

  1. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Please make a move soon, its obvious you are a horrible GM but PPLLLLEEEEEAASSEE move Boozer any day now. This team has been together for a few years now and have yet to show they are "Elite", yet you insist on waiting for them to get healthy again. Even your local columnists are bashing the team and all fan support is going down the drain at this rate. Utah is in the luxury tax for what....to have an opportunity to end up with 2 lotto picks?

    -Signed Frustrated Fan Base
     
  2. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    The Jazz almost certainly wont be winning a championship any time soon unless one of two things happens,

    1) KOC steps down and they get a new GM
    2) KOC changes his ways and starts making moves

    This franchise has remained quite stagnant for a while now, since it decided it would revolve around this idea of a Boozer, Okur, Kirilenko (not lately) and Williams core in 2004ish (or whenever it was exactly). Of course there's been changes in the roster since then, but a lot of those changes are fairly minor in the big scheme of things. Sticking with the same team isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the fact is that the key players mentioned above still remain and Utah have never really looked like a championship threat for an extended period of time. Not to mention there's been obvious holes in the roster, such as a reliable defensive orientated big man (Fes may yet turn out to be that person, but as of now I haven't seen enough to say he addresses that issue entirely) or a scoring wing. That's not good enough to justify being second in payroll in the league. Seriously, how many other GMs would pay 84 million in salary for a team where 50 wins is a reasonably optimistic target? Since Deron joined the Jazz they've had 41, 51, 54 and 48 win seasons. That demonstrates this team is good, but not good enough. Time to move on and make a move KOC, instead of watching your rivals get better. I'd rather a GM that isn't afraid to take a calculated gamble that may not pay off, but if it does it makes you a legitimate contender than a conservative GM who rarely makes a move, and appears content to be just another solid playoff team (see: Kevin O'Connor). At times I almost wonder if Utah management are more committed to making the playoffs than winning a championship, as silly as that might sound.

    Just to demonstrate this lack of moves, the last trade O'Connor made was Jason Hart for Brevin Knight in July 2008. Which for the record is kinda like trading crabs for diarrhoea. Before that, you have to go back to 2007, Giricek + pick for Korver. That trade did make the Jazz play better straight after, but you need more and it took a very unhappy Giricek to happen. Before then there was a series of minor trades, the biggest being the Fisher one. In fact, the last trade KOC made that has had any major impact was trading up to the number three pick back in 2005 (!), which turned out to be Deron. Of course trading isn't the only way to improve your team, but given Utah's cap situation they wont be signing any major talent soon, and when you pick later in the first round each year it's quite hard to draft a franchise changing player (haven't forgotten about the NY pick, possibly KOC's greatest ever move). Then there's all the trades KOC hasn't made, such as the reported offers of Kirilenko for Marion or Vince Carter. That same Kirilenko who is on 16 mill, and contributed a whopping 11 PPG last season (I know he's defensive orientated, but still). Boozer is still here as well, whose relationship with Utah can be described as troubled and controversial at best. He doesn't play all that often, and it certainly seems he's not all that happy to be in Utah. His expiring contract would be attractive to someone, and this Jazz team should be looking to rebuild to some extent. Ship him out already. I'm not saying trade for the sake of trading, but if there's a chance to make the team better, do it. Look at the other Western teams reasonably lately, LA got Gasol and Artest through trade, San Antonio got Jefferson, Denver got Billups, Portland got rights to about half the league with their draft day trades, NO got Okafor, Phoenix got Shaq and Dallas got Kidd and so on. I'm not saying all these moves are good ones, but it shows other teams are making big moves, while Utah isn't making changes to a team that's clearly not good enough to get that elusive championship.

    /rant over.
     
  3. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Source: Desert News

    Hollinger's take - "Much of Utah's projection depends on how the Boozer situation resolves itself, and that's still the biggest unknown heading into the season. Boozer seemed less than enthusiastic about staying in Utah and the feeling appears to be mutual, but his contract and impending free agency makes him extremely difficult to move -- especially if the Jazz are looking mainly to unload his salary obligation."
     
  4. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Nice to see you posting Stockton. Watch out for the US Rugby teams coming up!
     
  5. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    I'm absolutely done with this team right now. They look like the same shit team that ended last year. They just blew a 15pt lead down the stretch to Dallas. How the hell do you hold them to under 20 points through the first 3 qtrs then give up 42 in the 4th? This team needs to grow a pair and learn how to fucking win on the road. I'm sorry, but I can't stand this team at all anymore. Utah might possibly end up with 2 top 5 picks at the rate they're playing to go with the way the Knicks are playing.
     
  6. durvasa

    durvasa JBB Rockets Fan

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    What's wrong with Boozer? Against Houston, he was totally ineffective. His defense was particularly awful.
     
  7. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    His head has been up his arse since last year, then he took that extended vacation with an "injury" and has been shit since coming back. No one wants him in Utah anymore, and he's been segregated IMO, while causing chemistry problems.

    Jerry Sloan proved to me tonight to be somewhat senile. Dirk dropped 29 on Utah in the 4th today against Memo, while Sloan didn't make a single fucking adjustment. Seriously, what is Sloan doing on the sideline?! He finally called a timeout after the Mavs tied the game with a 19-3 run.....HOW DO YOU LET THAT KIND OF RUN HAPPEN ON THE ROAD?!!? I give up on this team, and I boycott watching any of their games until they do something to attempt to improve.
     
  8. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    Utah has financial trouble after their owner passed away. They had to take out a loan just to re-sign Paul Millsap. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a fire sale later on in the season and they enter a period of rebuilding with young cheap draft picks. They get the Knicks pick which should be lottery talent and they have two young cornerstones in Deron & Millsap. I'm sure they'd love to unload Kirilenko and Boozer at some point.
     
  9. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Boozer is expiring and AK has 2 years left on his deal. I think Utah is on a 2 year plan where they are going to try to sign guys in 2011. They signed Memo to a 2 year extension which will end same year as AK, so it might just be me, but I think they believe many good players will one year deals for cheap this season and then they'll have cap to nab a few guys or contend to try to team up a Deron Williams with a Melo or Durant....with fingers cross Sloan will be admiring his tractor collection on his farm.
     
  10. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    I'm sure they see the writing on the wall. Most of the teams in their division are going to pass them up. Portland & Denver already have and Oklahoma is a few seasons away from being a consistent playoff team.

    Why do you want to get rid of Sloan? Who would you prefer?
     
  11. J_Ray

    J_Ray JBB JustBBall Member

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    Sloan has yet to adapt to the fact that players can shoot 3's at a good rate now compared to the old days. He denies playing any shotblockers, Fes & Koufos are more than capable of playing, but he concentrates on the offense. He believes a consistent offense if the #1 priority from what I've seen over the past few years, which is why Utah has a horrible defense. Not only does he not adapt, but he never uses timeouts. A team could be dominating them, like Dallas the other day, and he refuses to use a timeout. Its been going on for years, and he has yet to realize Stockton and Malone are long gone.

    Really a new coach would be determined by the direction they want to head in. Obviously their team is built for an uptempo game right now, but I don't know what it could be like in 2-3 years from now. I would really love to see a defensive minded guy like Avery Johnson, that would keep the same style Utah has right now, but I don't know if he'd come to Utah. Avery would bring that Spurs heritage to Utah, which would do wonders for a team like this IMO.
     
  12. Stockton

    Stockton JBB

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    Sloan is past it, but there's no way he's getting fired anytime soon. He's given wayyyyyyy too many years of service to Utah for that. So it really would help Utah in future to get an experienced player with leadership qualities that they lack now, to help guide this mentally weak team and stop these second half meltdowns (timeouts can help there, but Jerry isn't exactly a fan of those). It might even help with the struggles on the road too, as a lot of that is mental. Interestingly enough, when Utah made the WCF they had an on court veteran leader type in Derek Fisher.
     

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