"We've had a little bit of conversations, but same thing (as Boozer)," O'Connor said.

Boozer, an All-Star the past two seasons, currently is in the fifth year of a six-year, $68 million deal.

Rumors swirled during the past offseason that he would indeed opt out, perhaps so he could sign with Miami, where the Alaska native and his family reside.

They persisted even after the Heat landed Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley, whose game mimics that of Boozer's in some regards, with the No. 2 overall selection in last June's NBA Draft.

Such talk may even hang overhead during the upcoming season.

But O'Connor, for one, vows not to be sidetracked by any of it.

"When we talked, I was assured by both Rob (Pelinka, Boozer's agent) and Carlos it was all stuff that was Internet stuff," the Jazz GM said. "And that's all I needed to hear.

"I know the stuff was out there ... but I don't believe there was a lot of validity to it," he added. "That's how I feel, and that's how they feel, so let's go on from there."

Moving forward also means leaving behind a postseason in which the Jazz, who were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Los Angeles Lakers, were bogged by Boozer's atypical performance.

"He didn't play as well as he wanted to in the playoffs, and he has said that publicly already," O'Connor said. "This is a new season. Guys (sometimes) don't all play as well as they want to. Is there any concern about it? No."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan echoed those same sentiments Tuesday.

"Last year's over," he said. "My concern is what he does now. You can't do anything about (the past). I talked to him. He's anxious to get started, try to play well. And that's life.

"He had a pretty good year up until the (playoffs)," Sloan added. "We wouldn't have gotten to where we were if he wasn't a factor. And he's still he a factor, because of the way we play. I think he'll be just fine, myself."

So Boozer's ready to rock-and-roll, and Sloan's ready to pick-and-roll.

"What else can you do?" Sloan asked. "I'm gonna play him.

"Everybody has times they don't play well. You just hope it's not at a time you need him in any of those games. But life goes on."

It does, and Boozer wants to get on with it already.

"I'm not worried about it at all," he said of a 12-game postseason in which he averaged 16.0 points, well down from the career-high and team-leading 21.1 he averaged during the regular season.

"You just move on," Boozer added. "For me, I learn from it. It was a learning experience for me, and I take it in stride. It's part of my career, something I'm gonna learn from."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com