Korver should help Jazz — if all get along

It's been clear, judging by the reaction of the fans at the most recent two home games, that acquiring Kyle Korver for Gordan Giricek and a future No. 1 draft pick was a popular move in Utah.

Korver, in his first game with the Jazz, got a hero's welcome on New Year's Eve. He responded by scoring 11 points in 17 minutes.

Giricek, meanwhile, elicited a much different reaction when he made his EnergySolutions debut in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey on Wednesday night. He was booed every time he touched the ball and had no real impact on the game.

Korver, meanwhile, netted 14 points in only 11 minutes against his old team.

So Kevin O'Connor, Jerry Sloan and Larry H. Miller have already won a major battle with their fans when it comes to the deal — in the court of public opinion.

Whether or not the trade turns out to be a steal on the basketball court — like when the Jazz dealt Jeff Malone to the 76ers for Jeff Hornacek in 1994 — remains to be seen. It may take years to find out who got the better end of the deal thanks to the uncertainty of who the Sixers will get from their draft pick.

For now, however, it appears like it will be beneficial for the Jazz — since it was clear that Sloan and Giricek could no longer stand to be around each other.

The only concern now is if having a new guy on the team will cause ill feelings in the locker room over playing time.

Korver is saying and doing all the right things. He has talked to C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer — two guys he may take minutes away from — and told them that he is cheering for them.

But Brewer, in particular, has indicated that he's not pleased with being on the bench at crunch time in each of the past two games.

"Just to get subbed out, it was kind of, I don't know, kind of frustrating," Brewer told beat writer Tim Buckley.

Brewer, however, quickly caught himself before he went too far. "It's basketball, it's a job and you've got to sacrifice to win games. And I'm willing to do that because we haven't been winning games."

Sloan has said that the competition for playing time will only be helpful and that it will eventually work itself out. But with as many wing players as the Jazz have — in addition to Brewer, Miles and Korver there are Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring who deserve to see action — it will be impossible to keep everybody happy.