Almond's hot hand won't speed a return to Jazz

Morris Almond has been tearing up the NBA Development League, but Jazz coach Jerry Sloan seems neither overwhelmed nor surprised by the rookie's minor-league scoring binge.

"It's amazing," Sloan said, "how guys who shoot the ball get shots. Guys find 'em, they pass it to 'em."

After Almond dropped 51 points in an overtime win Friday night, Sloan suggested the performance would not in and of itself prompt a promotion back to the NBA.

"No, not necessarily," Sloan said. "There's a lot more than just scoring."

Yet the Jazz do seem high on Almond, a shooting guard who followed his 51-point performance with a game-high 36 points in Saturday's overtime win over Bakersfield for the Jazz-affiliated Utah Flash.

"He's been a wonderful person to work with," Sloan said of the first-round draft choice from Rice University. "He pays attention and tries to do things that you ask him to do. Hopefully that's still going on."

The Jazz's thoughts on promoting Almond or keeping him in the D-League could be impacted by what they decide to do with veteran shooting guard Gordan Giricek, who was sent home from a road trip last week after getting into a war of words with Sloan.

No decision on the Giricek matter — trade, buyout, reinstatement or otherwise — is expected until Tuesday at the earliest.

In the meantime, Almond remains with the Flash.

"I think it's good for him to play," Sloan of Almond, who was used sparingly and went scoreless during his first NBA stint.

CLARK CASE: According to an Associated Press report, ex-Jazz center Keon Clark has received a March 12 date for a new trial on felony drug and weapons charges.

Clark was given a new trial because he lacked legal representation when he was sentenced in absentia this fall to 2 1/2 years in prison.

ALUMNI UPDATE: According to the Akron Beacon Journal, ex-Jazz shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic of the Cleveland Cavaliers has struggled after contract matters prompted a late start to his season.

"Since coming back," the newspaper reported Sunday, "Pavlovic hasn't been close to the player he was for the second half of last season. Not just because he's been in a shooting slump, but also because his effort defensively has not matched the way he played last season, when he was trying to get a contract."

PRAISING SLOAN: Ex-Jazz forward Kris Humphries of Toronto apparently gets reminded often about his short one-season stay in Utah.