"I don't know how you judge interviews," Sloan told media members. "I'm not very good. You all have to do that every day, I guess."

GOOD GRADE: ESPNInsider's Chad Ford gave Utah a B-plus on his post-draft report card, writing that the Jazz "wanted a shooter to stretch the defense, and they got one in Almond."

HE WROTE IT: Ford, on Atlanta No. 3 overall pick Al Horford: "He could be a poor man's Karl Malone."

OW: Evaluating the Jazz's needs during ESPN's draft coverage, commentator Stephen A. Smith blasted Utah's All-Star center and his postseason struggles.

"First of all," Smith screamed, "they don't need a piece to complement Mehmet Okur — they need a piece to replace Mehmet Okur, the way he looked."

MISC.: O'Connor suggested the Jazz didn't try to trade up to get sliding Jason Smith Thursday, because he sensed Utah had no chance of getting high enough to land the 7-foot Colorado State center. Smith, who auditioned Tuesday in Utah, went No. 20 to Miami and was immediately traded to Philadelphia ... O'Connor suggested he didn't miss any critical calls when a phone on the Jazz's draft table malfunctioned shortly before their turn to pick. "Because I had my cell," he said ... The Jazz on Friday still didn't know if second-round acquisition Kyrylo Fesenko, a 7-foot center for Cherkaski Mavpi of the Ukrainian Super League, will be contractually permitted to play for Utah in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, which runs July 13-20 ... The Jazz called a Monday news conference to introduce Fesenko, who couldn't catch a Friday flight to Utah from Florida.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com