Jazz have some questions to answer

Transition out of the era owned by John Stockton and Karl Malone is well on its way. A season of coach Jerry Sloan's kids doing so much so few expected is history. A summer highlighted by two rather notable free-agent signings, followed by a few weeks' worth of Olympic dreams and disappointment, has passed.

Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur are here. Carlos Arroyo and Andrei Kirilenko are back.

Now it's time to find out if the Jazz have what it takes to return, after a one-year hiccup, to their familiar position in the landscape of NBA postseason play — or if their seemingly successful replacement of Stockton-to-Malone with Arroyo to Kirilenko and Co. was a mere aberration.

It's time to begin wondering what surprises Sloan's club may have in store for the 2004-05 season.

It's time for some hoops.

Media day is Monday. Training camp opens Tuesday in St. George. Utah's first preseason game is Oct. 17 against Seattle, in retiree Stockton's hometown stomping ground of Spokane, Wash. And the start of the regular season is just a month away, as the Los Angeles Lakers — Malone's team a season ago — formally open festivities with a Nov. 3 visit to the Delta Center.

That in mind, here are 10 questions — and some conceivable answers, for whatever they're worth — facing the Jazz as the start of Camp Sloan looms near:

1. Question: Can first-time All-Star Kirilenko return to form from 2003-04, with a lucrative contract extension in hand?

Answer: There is no reason to suspect Kirilenko cannot make it two in a row on the All-Star stage. In fact, the presence of megamoney free-agent acquisitions Boozer (from Cleveland) and Okur (from NBA-champ Detroit) might only make things easier.

As for Kirilenko's own money matters, there is ample reason to suspect a long-term extension of the Russian forward's rookie deal can be reached before the late-October deadline for doing so.

Agreeing to continue the pact now would seem to make sense for both sides. Besides, Memphis just gave Pau Gasol a reported $86 million over six seasons; many around the league seem to believe Kirilenko is deserving of a similar extension.

2. Question: With Kirilenko seemingly slotted to play a lot at small forward, where does that leave Sloan-favorite Matt Harpring?

Answer: This answer will become clearer as camp progresses — and is one likely to be followed closely by many as November approaches.