Sloan's focus on family

Assuming he coaches against Memphis tonight, it may not be seeking win No. 800 with the Jazz that is foremost on Jerry Sloan's mind.

Rather, the health of wife, Bobbye, will take precedence.

Sloan missed Monday's win over Dallas to be with Bobbye, a cancer survivor who has been ill with flu-like symptoms for the past several weeks.

"She has to have a biopsy done . . . to be more definitive with what is going on with her, so it's hard to tell you," said Sloan, who struggled with his brief comments before returning to practice Tuesday morning.

Bobbye, who was treated for breast cancer roughly 6 1/2 years ago, and 61-year-old Jerry Sloan were high school sweethearts growing up together in McLeansboro, Ill.

Longtime assistant Phil Johnson subbed for Sloan on Monday, but Sloan — who said he watched only "the last minute" of the win over the Mavericks on television — on Tuesday said he planned to be back on the sideline tonight.

One report later Tuesday suggested some test results had already been received, but Jazz officials said no update regarding those results would be made public until the Sloans are prepared to do so.

TRADE TALK: Among the plentiful trade talk making its way around the league as the NBA's Feb. 19 trade deadline approaches is this from ESPNInsider.com, coming on the heels of Monday's blockbuster trade between New York and Phoenix:

"Just hours before the Knicks, Suns trade went down, more rumors were flying that the Jazz and Suns were talking about a deal that would send Tom Gugliotta and draft picks to (Utah). In return, the Suns would net more cap space. Now . . . you have to believe that the Suns will be even more motivated to make this deal happen.

"The Jazz are roughly $8.7 million under the salary cap right now, meaning they can absorb a lot more salary than they have to send out in return. Since Gugliotta is in the last year of his contract, there are no long-term financial ramifications for the Jazz making the trade. They are essentially paying for draft picks.