Utah Jazz: Questions loom, hoping for answers after Europe trip

LONDON — Even after they've crossed the pond twice, and have returned later this week from games Tuesday night here in London and Thursday night in Madrid, the Jazz still will not be halfway through their preseason schedule.

NBA Europe Live Tour games against the Chicago Bulls at London's O2 Arena and against Spanish power Real Madrid at Palacio de Deportes in Madrid are mere early October exhibitions.

Once they're back from being overseas, though, Jazz brass do hope to have a solid sense of just how coach Jerry Sloan's club is taking shape — and where it can go from there.

Some lingering questions likely will remain unanswered, but some issues of chief concern might be addressed.

Here, then, is a look at five, and how the Jazz — who after landing in London this morning were scheduled to immediately take part in a light, non-contact practice — feel about them:

1. THE STARTING LINEUP

Unless he were to sprain an ankle and be cursed with some other similar injury-related setback, point guard Deron Williams need not worry about his place in Utah's opening lineup for its Oct. 28 regular-season opener against Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets.

Center Mehmet Okur's place seems secure, too, and so far there have been no indications that the Jazz plan to do anything other than again start Ronnie Brewer at shooting guard.

When training camp got under way late last month, though, Sloan was curiously coy about not wanting to name a starter at power forward.

That didn't seem to sit well with two-time NBA All-Star and two-time United States Olympian Carlos Boozer, who said as the incumbent he considers himself the starter.

But the Jazz matched Portland's four-year, $32 million offer to backup Paul Millsap over the summer, and seemingly it wasn't so Millsap merely can spend the next four seasons continuing to come off the bench.

It's hard for now to buy that Sloan won't ultimately stick with Boozer, if for no other reason than using him as a reserve — even if his days with the Jazz are numbered in the final season of his current contract — could potentially destroy the season.

Until Sloan says otherwise, though, the intrigue is there.

Then there is the not-so-little matter of small forward.