Jazz youngsters could see plenty of playing time

In the old days, rookies had as much chance of winning — and keeping — high-profile roles on Jerry Sloan-coached Jazz teams as the ball boys.

How times have changed.

Sloan seems so impressed with this season's crop of draft choices that Sunday he suggested plenty of playing time could be in store for both first-round swingman Ronnie Brewer and second-round forward Paul Millsap. The same goes for 2005 second-round swingman C.J. Miles, who while not actually a rookie — he played 23 games last season as a 19-year-old out of Dallas Skyline High School — may as well be classified as one.

"I don't want to close my eyes to these young guys," Sloan said. "If they're able to come and play, I'll give them every opportunity, probably, to play that I might not have given them in the past."

Apparently, the trio's ability to grasp what's going on impresses Sloan much more than since-departed rookies Sasha Pavlovic, Kris Humphries and Kirk Snyder did.

And while the talk may partly be designed to motivate veterans who didn't look particularly impressive in training camp last week — "If they show they're gonna do the work and really bust their butt, and we have guys who aren't going to work hard and just try to be here and show up," Sloan said, "I'll probably go with some of the younger guys" — the threat may be more than idle threats.

"We've talked a great deal about some of these young guys," Sloan said. "They're gonna give us a little bit of an option.

"If we're struggling, I can throw some of them out there — and feel like I'm helping them, and they're helping us — if some of these (other) guys aren't going to try to defend and they're just gonna try to get numbers."

ALUMNI UPDATE: According to the Racine (Wis.) Journal Times, Milwaukee coach Terry Stotts has "acknowledged (ex-Jazz guard Mo) Williams is the front-runner for the Bucks' starting point guard spot over Steve Blake."

Said Stotts to the Journal Times: "Nothing is handed to anyone on this team or in this league. But Mo has been with this team for three years now and he has put himself in position to be the starter."

ALUMIN UPDATE II: The Miami Heat's plans to re-sign Shandon Anderson are "on hold" while the ex-Jazz swingman "recovers from a wrist injury that recently surfaced," the Miami Herald reported Sunday.

According to the Herald, "Heat coach Pat Riley suggested he's still interested in re-signing Anderson when he's healthy, which the coach estimated could take 4 to 6 weeks."