The Jazz beat goes on ... with Matt and Andrei

John Stockton has retired. Karl Malone has moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers. Basketball in Utah as we have known it for most of the past two decades is no more.

Still, the Jazz's beat goes on.

The vitality of an era punctuated by good times in general and two great players in particular may be sapped, but signs of life — however faint — are buried deep within the heart of an NBA franchise now clearly in transition.

That in mind, and with training camp for the first season beyond Stockton-and-Malone starting in earnest Wednesday, let's address 10 questions facing a team that in one dark summer lost so much of its soul:

1 — Was the Jazz's offseason of woe really as bleak as it seemed?

As widely predicted, the Jazz made an all-out effort in the league's July free agency market to lure Los Angeles Clippers power forward Elton Brand into the shoes vacated by No. 2 all-time NBA scorer Malone.

Instead, Brand signed a lucrative offer sheet with Miami that the Clippers later matched.

Another rejection followed when highly regarded former University of Utah point guard Andre Miller spurned the Jazz's advances, instead opting to leave the Clippers for Denver rather than step into the empty sneakers of NBA all-time steals and assists leader Stockton.

Utah did get both Clippers shooting guard Corey Maggette and Atlanta combo guard Jason Terry to sign its offer sheets, but both restricted free agents had those offers matched by their respective teams.

The Jazz's biggest acquisition of the summer: big man Keon Clark, a reserve in Sacramento who came via a trade with the salary-dumping Kings.

Forward Michael Ruffin also was signed, point guard Carlos Arroyo was re-signed and shooting guard Raja Bell has agreed to terms, but none of those three is the sort of high-profile player Utah had hoped most to land.

Not exactly the summer owner Larry H. Miller seemed to have in mind — especially considering the Jazz had more than $20 million in available salary to spend.

2 — With Stockton and Malone both gone, who will step up as the Jazz's go-to guy?

Good question.

Returning starting small forward Matt Harpring has a shot, but first he must prove he is more than a mere beneficiary of having played with Stockton and Malone.