Utah Jazz: Miller's son takes reins — for drive to the top?

There's one question that Greg Miller, the new boss of the Utah Jazz, gets asked more than any other.

It's not whether the Jazz will be able to retain a number of key players who could become free agents at the end of the season. It's not whether the Jazz can finally win that elusive championship.

It's this: "Are you going to have your own locker in the Jazz locker room?"

The answer is no. That was his father's shtick, and he won't be repeating it.

"It's funny — that's the one question everybody wants to ask," says Miller.

Another baton has been passed in the Jazz family. Karl Malone left for the Lakers, John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek retired and now Larry Miller is turning over the operations — but not ownership — to his son.

Tonight's season-opening game between the Jazz and the Denver Nuggets in EnergySolutions Arena will mark the start of the first season with The Kid in charge. He was 18 years old when Jerry Sloan became an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz. He was still tormenting teachers at Alta High School when Sloan first joined the Jazz as a scout a year earlier.

"This is a great opportunity to be involved with a rare asset," says Miller, 42.

The change might be little noted if Larry Miller wasn't one of the most visible, popular owners in the NBA. He has been involved intimately with the Jazz since risking everything to buy them and prevent their exit from Utah more than 20 years ago.

He famously has his own locker in the player locker room and is an ever-present figure in his court-side seat. He stands in line with the players during pre-game introductions, exchanging high-fives. He chats it up with players in the locker room. He occasionally scolds his players in the post-game and halftime locker room for lackluster performances.

"That's been my dad's style," Greg Miller said earlier this year, "and ... my dad and I are different."

Behind the scenes, his father has been a hands-on CEO, but that will change. After suffering a heart attack and other health problems last summer, Miller, 64, appointed his eldest son to replace him as CEO of The Larry H. Miller Group. As such, Greg Miller will oversee the Utah Jazz, along with more than 70 other businesses ranging from restaurants to car dealerships to theaters.