I don't think he would be able to accept a "role-player" status in Utah. I think he will probably play somewhere and Utah could of been a choice, if they hadn't got Carlos Boozer. Also am I the only person who think it would look wrong for #32 without #12?
If Karl Malone wants to play another season, he will go to a contender. Right now, Utah are very unlikely to be a serious contender. If he was to come back here, and knew he wasn't going to be gettting a ring, he'd want to be scoring points, in an effort to hold the all time scoring record. He wont be scoring as much as he has previously scored here, the team has moved on and can play without him. I doubt he would come back to Utah, if he ends up playing another season at all for any team.