Utah Jazz's big offseason tipping off

The Jazz haven't held their annual organizational planning meeting yet. But with so much to decide this offseason, they already know holding just one might not be enough.

Not with just six players under contract for next season, a franchise's future at stake and individual agendas trumping all else.

Understandably, too.

"Everybody," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor recently said, "makes decisions based on what's good for them."

And some — namely starting power forward Carlos Boozer, starting center Mehmet Okur and backup shooting guard Kyle Korver — truly get to make them.

Until they do, the hands of Jazz brass largely are tied.

As it stands, though, as many as nine members of the team's 15-man 2008-09 NBA season roster could be free agents this offseason.

That number — based mostly on what Boozer, Okur and Korver choose — may soon dwindle.

But for now — with the Jazz's brief playoff run ending less than two weeks ago with a Game 5, first-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers — much is up in the air.

That in mind, what follows is a glance at where things stand — and what factors must be weighed, both by individuals and the team — for the time being.

It's broken up player-by-player, in order — arguably — of impact on the team:

CARLOS BOOZER

Boozer is, without question, the lead domino: How he falls impacts the direction of so many other decisions.

The two-time All-Star has until 10 p.m. on June 30 to let the Jazz know if he'll exercise the sixth-year, $12,657,233 final-season player option on his current contract.

He has said he unequivocally intends to opt out, but he also claimed on the club's recent locker-cleanout day that he considers himself a franchise cornerstone and very much wants to stay long-term.

How sincere that declaration is remains to be seen.

But by saying what he did so shortly after the season ended, Boozer put the proverbial ball in the Jazz's court — and set the team up to take the blame if they decide against bringing him back.