Utah gave Okur a six-year, $50 million offer sheet, and followed that up with a $68 million offer to Boozer. The Jazz probably overpaid for each but got their men — the right men.

"Utah just stood out to me as far as the tradition they had," Boozer said between Games 3 and 4. "Financially, it was all the same. But this organization is a proven winner."

The following year, Utah should have drafted fourth overall in the first round, but Milwaukee and Portland leapfrogged the Jazz in the lottery, leaving Utah with the sixth pick. But instead of whining about how unfair the rules were, O'Connor traded up to the third spot on draft night. There, Utah knew it would get the point guard it needed, either Chris Paul or Deron Williams. The Jazz ended up with Williams.

Bad luck plus hard work still equals desired result.

Now, Boozer is finally healthy and has become an all-star. Williams has blossomed into an elite-level point guard. Okur is a solid center. Andrei Kirilenko — the first piece drafted in 2001 — does a little of everything.

O'Connor added rebounding machine Paul Millsap (taken 47th in the second round) and veteran guard Derek Fisher this season. And the city is physically improved after hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics. There's a lot more for everyone — not just black players — to do around here.

"Times have changed so much," Fisher said. "Things are accessible in every city and every market. There's really nothing that you can't have or can't do in every place in the world. I don't think guys feel the same way they might have felt 10 years ago ... 'I can't go there, there's no electricity, there's no paved roads.'"

None of this required a degree in astrophysics or a billionaire owner. It only required smarts, guts and a plan executed by men who would rather roll up their sleeves than add any more salt to that big lake they have around here by shedding crocodile tears.