Don't let Bogut get away

The Jazz should treat the remainder of this season as a long preseason to next year. We should not focus on winning games as much as on teaching the game to young players. Play young guys in tough situations. Start Raul Lopez and give him the bulk of minutes at the position. Allow him to develop faster. When McLeod returns, give him the back-up minutes. Try new things. And, most importantly, put us in a position to draft Andrew Bogut! If we can take 40 games and let people start to understand their roles, get some practical game experience, then add Bogut, we will have to start talking about the emergence of a new dynasty. Boozer, Bogut and Kirilenko on the front line would be an unstoppable machine.

Please don't allow Bogut to get away. He would be worth all six upcoming first round picks, if that's what it would take. He would be worth some proven NBA performers, such as Matt Harpring or Raja Bell. But we might not have to get rid of anybody if we just accept that our season is over and don't play to win. The Jazz are in such a lucky rebuilding position with the talent we have. I say hooray to Larry Miller, Kevin O'Connor and Jerry Sloan. This rebuild will be fast and relatively painless if we do it right. Our play this season does not speak at all to our potential. This team has a chance for real greatness.

I'm behind you, Jerry Sloan. You're a proven winner. I would like to suggest, however, that with this many young guys that can score, we take some of Phoenix's example and start adjusting the offense to a more up-tempo style. We need to embrace the three-point basket more. As players start to age and understand the goals of the offense, we can slow down and get set more.

Go, Jazz, you can't expect to continue the longest streak of winning seasons in NBA history ad infinitum. But we can sure start a new one next year.

Mike Match

Draper

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Jazz lack defense against 3-pointers

What is the problem with the Jazz? I can point to one of many.