Jazz trying to deal with Charlotte

Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president for basketball operations, revealed Saturday what many seemed to suspect: Utah is talking trade with Charlotte, trying to dissuade the expansion Bobcats from taking swingman Sasha Pavlovic in Tuesday's NBA Expansion draft.

"We've had conversations with them about that," O'Connor said. "We sure have."

O'Connor characterized the talks so far as being similar to trying to purchase a house: "We've kind of made first offers," he said, "and everyone's kind of dancin' around."

The Jazz did not want to expose Pavlovic to Charlotte but felt they had no other choice.

O'Connor did not want any of the Jazz's restricted free agents — Gordan Giricek, Jarron Collins, Carlos Arroyo and Mo Williams — to be left unprotected.

That is because he was certain Charlotte would have taken whomever was, and restricted free agents automatically becomes unrestricted free agents permitted to sign with any team — except the one that left them exposed.

The Jazz consider all four commodities — including Collins, whom many suspected might go unprotected.

"I think they would have taken Jarron, I think they would have given him a contract, and he would have either been their starting or backup center," O'Connor said. "They would have run after him."

Utah was permitted to protect no more than eight under-contract players.

That meant the Jazz had to choose which two from these six they would expose: All-Star Andrei Kirilenko, captain Matt Harpring, sixth man Raja Bell, backup point guard Raul Lopez, oft-injured center Curtis Borchardt and Pavlovic.

"We knew we could possibly lose a good young player," O'Connor said. "We were gonna have to expose somebody we wanted to keep."

Borchardt's health issues may have made his selection easier, since the Bobcats are not likely to take a chance on someone so risky.

Picking Pavlovic — who was selected No. 19 overall in last June's NBA draft, and has shown signs of promise — was tough. But after consultation by O'Connor with both Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, the call was made.

"We fought ourselves a long time," said O'Connor, who called the Jazz roster "a work in progress."