Utah Jazz notebook: No plans made for 2010 Rocky Mountain Revue

SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz "probably" will send their summer team to Orlando, Fla., again this offseason, general manager Kevin O'Connor said Monday.

That evidently again means no Rocky Mountain Revue, the long-standing, Jazz-hosted July summer league in Utah.

The Jazz haven't ruled out bringing back the Revue — a multi-team league for NBA rookies, youngsters and free agents — sometime in the future.

But at least for now, O'Connor suggested, the Orlando Pro Summer League continues to meet the Jazz's needs.

Utah made its debut appearance in Florida last summer, eschewing the nearby NBA Summer League in Las Vegas whose creation largely led to the Revue's demise.

"I thought it was well-run by a good organization," O'Connor said of the Orlando league, "and we (like) the fact that it's 'just basketball.' " Games in Orlando are open only to team officials, scouts and media members — but not fans.

The Revue, last held at Salt Lake Community College, was open to the public and featured low-cost tickets in a gym with a capacity of about 5,000.

"We're gonna miss being here, because we thought it was great for our fan base," O'Connor said. "But it is what it is. When Vegas became an NBA entity, there's 20-some-odd teams going down there — so it's difficult for us to have a league."

Rookies Sundiata Gaines and Othyus Jeffers both are expected to be a part of Utah's summer team in July at Orlando. The Jazz have an option for next season on each of their contracts.

"That's gonna be helpful," O'Connor said. "And hopefully our draft pick will be there, obviously, so it's gonna be good to be able to evaluate them, and quickly."

The Jazz also would like to have third-year center Kyrylo Fesenko play with them in July, but both he and undrafted rookie starting shooting guard Wesley Matthews will be restricted free agents in the offseason — leaving their status for summer-league play uncertain for now.

"We'd like to have Fes there, but that's gonna be up to him," O'Connor said. "But I don't know what they (Fesenko and Matthews) will do."

MISS AMERICA: Much was made by the Lakers on Monday about Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's comment Sunday comparing Lakers star Kobe Bryant to Miss America.

Said Sloan: "When you look at the whole picture, he's such a great player. He draws so much attention that if you give too much help, somebody else is open; if you don't give enough help, he's got what he wants.

"It's kind of like Miss America. You know she gets what she wants."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson managed to take the über-complimentary comment completely out of context and twist it into something about as far from what Sloan was suggesting as possibly imaginable.

Said Jackson: "I think Jerry calling Kobe Miss America and comparing him to that is a message."

STILL STINGING: Even while preparing for Game 4, the Jazz still were stinging over Saturday's Game 3 loss.

Jazz forward Carlos Boozer called it "over the last few years — probably one of the toughest losses that I've had to accept."

He added: "You know, it was tough to lose a game where we had so many chances and thought we played good defense, thought we rebounded better, thought we did everything a little better than the game before — and we still lost."

e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com