Utah Jazz are in the back of the line for free agents

As if the Los Angeles Lakers, fresh from the franchise's 15th NBA championship, weren't tough enough to begin with, they just added renowned tough guy Ron Artest to a lineup that's already loaded.

Meanwhile, the small-market Utah Jazz couldn't help but wish and wonder what they might be able to do this offseason if they weren't already over the league's salary cap.

The Dallas Mavericks swung a deal to acquire proven veteran forward Shawn Marion from Toronto, and the Mavs also dangled a $34 million deal in front of Orlando Magic backup center Marcin Gortat.

The Jazz fretted over the future of their prized young power forward, Paul Millsap, a restricted free agent who reportedly is now the Portland Trail Blazers' top priority after they were spurned by Hedo Turkoglu, who wound up in Toronto instead.

San Antonio, never one to stand idly by while other teams reshape their rosters, landed veteran free agent forward Antonio McDyess. That deal comes on the heels of one late last month in which the Spurs acquired another proven performer, swingman Richard Jefferson, in a four-player deal with Milwaukee.

And the Jazz, in a major front-office move, announced plans for a season-ticket open house.

Such is the quandary in which the Jazz find themselves these days. While other Western Conference teams are busy trying to strengthen themselves via the free-agent market this offseason, the Jazz must feel like a fourth-string point guard who's buried on the end of the bench without a chance to get in the game.

With Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver all choosing to opt in and play the final years of their contracts with the team, Utah — already financially hamstrung by Andrei Kirilenko's bloated contract and the new big-money deal of cornerstone point guard Deron Williams — finds itself on the outside looking in as an interested-but-handcuffed observer at this year's NBA free-agent merry-go-round.

If Boozer had opted out of his contract, as expected, and became a free agent, the Jazz could have gained some financial flexibility to possibly do some wheeling and dealing. But now that they're obligated to pay Boozer his $12.7 million this season — barring a trade, of course, which would conceivably save the Jazz some salary space if they could find a taker for Boozer or Kirilenko — the Jazz don't have a lot of options.

They'd love to keep Millsap, too, because the kid has shown a sincere desire to work hard, hustle and produce solid numbers, either off the bench or as a starter, during his first three years in the league.