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Utah Jazz: Maggette a long shot

like we didn't know. | 12:39 p.m. July 4, 2008

I think we all new Cory was a long

Not Needed | 12:41 p.m. July 4, 2008

There really is not a need for Maggette IMO. What we need is a better frontcourt. We need to unclog the 2 and 5 positions. Maybe rid ourselves of Collins, Harpring, Miles, etc. We could use them to get a reliable backup to Memo and D-Will. But, right now Maggette is not the answer.

BBKing | 12:49 p.m. July 4, 2008

The fact that Mr Magette even entertains the likes of Golden State and the Sixers tells me he is more focused on money than winning. Compare this to other big name free agents who have turned down more money to be part of a winning team, even taking a less prominent role on the new team. That shows a strong team spirit, sacrifice and a strong competitive spirit. Going to Golden State for money is just plain old the wrong answer, in my book.

The Jazz will be better off without him.

Now to get Boozer to play defense.

Comments continue below

MTN | 1:04 p.m. July 4, 2008

Bring Back Doleac! Bring Back Doleac! Sign and trade Collins' expiring contract for Michael Doleac, give him a similar role to Collins AND HAVE HIM TUTORING FES AND KOUSTOS EVERY DAY ALL YEAR. That's the best thing the Jazz can do for next year outside of trading Boozer AND AK for Larry Bird circa 1985.

Let's also hope CJ can get on the floor some more this year along with Fesenko. Both have potential on both ends of the floor.

Bring Back Doleac! Bring Back Doleac! Say it with me, everyone, Bring Back Doleac!!!

JazzFanInHouston | 1:22 p.m. July 4, 2008

Turiaf would be a whole lot cheaper and a much better defender. Further, he can play 3 and 4 (or sometimes 5) if required. He also would add a 1 and 1/2 blocks a game.

Maggette would duplicate Korver as a shooter (Maggette does slash better)and neither defend that well. Give Korver more minutes and you essentially have Maggette.

The Jazz have interest in Pargo. They lost both defense and offense when they lost Fisher. Adding Korver spaced the floor and fixed part of that problem. However, an experienced combo guard may increase the efficiency of the bench.

looktothesky | 1:21 p.m. July 4, 2008

I am sad that you guys think that he will not sign with the jazz, we have become one of the most sought after team in the world, everybody likes us now in a certain way. I know that maggette is considering playing with deron and boozer, what do you think that he thinks about before he goes to bed, it is not about the city, but the players you have around you.

RE:Turiaf | 1:43 p.m. July 4, 2008

I agree. DEE-fense, DEE-fense.

rich | 1:45 p.m. July 4, 2008

i've been a jass fan since the N.O. PISTOL PETE days.i know the Jazz don't need anymore offensive players on this team for the next few years.the Jazz are @ the top of the league in scoring.The perfit fit for this team is a tuff player with grit who doesn't back down & can guard the #2's in the league like nobody else.the Jazz can never guard the 2's of the league.A.K.-47 IS A TERRIBLE PERRIMITER defender,Ronnie's too soft with Harping our best (who's very tuff & takes too many elbows to his jaw). Mr. O'Conner we need RAJA BELL.Kobe knows better to elbow RAJA.GET RAJA @ ANY COST.While in Utah, RAJA put up good numbers for minutes played.RAJA can guard the likes of kobe,Manu,Tracey.RAJA IS A BETTER VERSION OF Bruce Bowen.THIS TRADE HAS TO BE DONE.RAJA IS GOOD FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS.THE JAZZ WINDOWN OF OPPORTUNITY IS NOW !!!!!!!!!!

Sokol | 2:18 p.m. July 4, 2008

I tend to agree with the Magette not really seeking
a good team like the Jazz...Alot of folks do not
like Sloan's old timie approach...I personally think
Turiaf and Millsap together would be high Mick
Jaggar kind of energy.

wakka wakka wakka | 2:22 p.m. July 4, 2008

@JazzFanInHouston- Turiaf is no 3. He's about 6'9'' 260 pounds (or that's what he was at Gonzaga about)... He has athleticism for a man that size, but still is certainly far from mobile enough to guard 3's. Not to mention that he has trouble on every shot outside 10 feet. I like him though, and he is a tough interior player, which would be nice. But Millsap would still play over him if he were here.

Turiaf | 2:54 p.m. July 4, 2008

He's hands down the best towel-waver in the league, so you gotta give him that...

Maggette... | 3:05 p.m. July 4, 2008

Do people ever read anything else? Maggette was quoted just the other day that he is in search of a championship, that he has played for a long time and that money isn't going to make his decision. In my opinion, I feel like that Jazz have as big of a shot as anyone else, especially if Maggette is looking for a multi year deal. Say Maggette signs for 5 years, with any team. What team does Boston have 3 years from now or even San Antonio? If you look at the Jazz, long term, it's exactly what Maggette wants in a championship caliber team. Also, we know Maggette has no problems with the city. He loved it here when he signed our offer sheet and he was doing his best to get LA not to match. All the Jazz need to do is figure out what they want to give up to get him here. He would be a perfect compliment to the Williams and Boozer show, that is when Boozer wants to play hard.

re: MTN | 3:21 p.m. July 4, 2008

I can't believe this guy wants Doleac on the jazz. Just because a player went to school in Utah doesn't mean he is going to be a excellent player for the jazz. But I do agree that Collins should go. Hart should go as well.

JazzFanInHouston | 3:20 p.m. July 4, 2008

Note: the eff ratings per 48 minutes are Millsap 26.43, Maggette 25.77, Turiaf 24.99, Kirilenko 24.75 (similar to Scola). I would tend to agree that Turiaf would have trouble with many 3 players. However, there times when a big line up would be helpful.

The eff ratings do not capture the true and complete value of any one individual player but Millsap,Turiaf and Scola are a lot cheaper per eff rating. However, they lack the experience and playing time of Maggette and Kirlenko.

What may help the most is for Kirilenko to improve his shooting eff and for Korver to improve his defense. We also need a stronger bench.

Mark | 3:38 p.m. July 4, 2008

JazzFanInHouston: Took me a minute, at first I thought you were swearing, as in 'effin ratings'.

How do you get one for the other and keep money balanced?

Rick Majerus | 4:36 p.m. July 4, 2008

Doleac?!?! Dude, are you high?

JazzFanInHouston | 5:30 p.m. July 4, 2008

I am not thrilled with Turiaf the only reason I mentioned him is that the Jazz have shown interest in him. The eff ratings are averages based on a season of play. They do not measure how well a player matches up against key teams like the Lakers and Spurs.

We have a window of a couple of years. The Jazz need to add better team defense to beat both LA and SA. Utah's offense can also be throttled at times by both teams. Maggette would add scoring punch but he is weak defensively. I suspect the best approach is to upgrade the bench.

I suspect that the Jazz are looking players who have good eff rating but low salaries who match up well with key teams. That means young players with capability but not a lot of playing time or old players who want to play for a winner.

The Jazz may be able to rent a couple of pretty good players backups for a year or two and make a run.

Frtiz | 5:45 p.m. July 4, 2008

The Jazz need defense. I think Turiaf would be add that toughness the Jazz bigmen seriously lack. They need that Big Dog attitude if they are going to get better. Without it, they are a 1st or 2nd round exiting team.
The other issue, we may lose Boozer next year, and Memo for that matter. While these two play defense like a couple of old women their offensive and rebounding games are excellent and draw double and triple team defense; that is a tremendous help to our offense and scoring capability. The addition of Turiaf adds that needed bone crusher to make the other team uncomfortable in their offense.
While it would be fun to pretent Maggette has a one in a hundred chance of signing with Utah, it's not necessary. If we, by some bizarre miracle, got him to sign a contract, I'd be happy, but I really don't see him helping us get deeper in the playoffs. A guy like Turiaf adds the intangibles that I think will help us get that needed killer instinct.

Anonymous | 6:10 p.m. July 4, 2008

You all need to get real.

The Jazz will do like they always do.

Which is almost nothing, that is, if you consider last year's signing hart almost nothing.

As a result the jazz will almost win a championship.

Again.

Dick | 6:25 p.m. July 4, 2008

Here's a real shocker. An A+ shooter not wanting to play for a Sloan coached team that runs 2 plays.

Pete | 6:28 p.m. July 4, 2008

Maggette was never going to play in Utah. Utah went after him a few years ago, and he didn't want anything to do with the Jazz. We all know that most NBA players would do anything to stay out of signing with the Jazz because they don't want to live in Utah and they don't want to play for Sloan. The Jazz will do what they always do in the free agency. Nothing, or pick up some player who is at the end of their career.

Sokol | 6:52 p.m. July 4, 2008

I don't think the Utah thing is true anymore. Sloan
is always successful...and who would NOT want to
play with Williams.

Many dudez | 8:12 p.m. July 4, 2008

funny comments. Rich? Where did you hear Ak is terrible perimeter defender. (definitely ya didn't see AK ) just remember past playoff.
Jazz dosn't need Magette .he is too inconsistent. ...

oregon fan | 8:30 p.m. July 4, 2008

the person that included Matt Harpening, with Collins,as to players to cut, must be in la la land. why would a team get rid of the best role player in the NBA.? thats insane! "matti" can bust heads with the best of them. he has elbows that learned under the Tutelege of none other thanthe mail man. he's rough, he's tough, and he play's the game like when He was a qtr bk. for georgie tech, leave our "matti"alone please!

looktothesky | 9:19 p.m. July 4, 2008

Does anybody remember this last nba draft how we got koufos, who was projected to #11 in the draft by several sources. We did not even work him out, because we did not stand a chance to land him. I dare anyone to honestly look and see, we are in a sweet spot, and i think we will score maggette, because winning is the new name of the game, it is not just about money.

looktothesky | 9:21 p.m. July 4, 2008

We will land maggette.

Re: Dick | 9:37 p.m. July 4, 2008

Does Hornacek ring a bell?

Jazz don't need Maggette anyway. I like the young guys we have at the 2.

Re: Anonymous
Jazz do nothing? Really, here's a few notable transactions by the Jazz I can think off the top of my head in the past few years:

-Jazz traded up 3 spots to get D-Will
-Jazz signed Boozer to offer sheet (and won)
-Jazz signed Memo away from pistons (questionable move at the time)
-Jazz traded for Korver (or got rid of Gira) last year which turned their season around for good.

If the Jazz did nothing like you say they would have left Hart in at back-up and let Price sit on the bench. Get real.

dodo1952 | 10:35 p.m. July 4, 2008

having two more untested young centers the past two drafts extends some more time before jazz becomes a real contender. at that very time deron,boozer,memo would be at or below their prime and ak would not be around.so hiring these youngters is off timing but maybe the management and the coaching staff see it differently. I don't question their wisdom.

dodo 1952 | 10:37 p.m. July 4, 2008

go jazz

loyal jazz man | 11:30 p.m. July 4, 2008

I think Boozer owes jazz fans two years after sitting on the bench acting injured for 2 years and stealing the jazz money. To opt out of his contract and give 2 years worth of playing tells you what he is after. At least get us to the finals this year.

Maggette Thinking about Celtics? | 11:33 p.m. July 4, 2008

He wouldnt even start on the Celtics. He might win a championship though. If I was a free agent i would do everything i could for the chance to play with Allen, Garnett, and Pierce.

RE: RE: Dick | 11:38 p.m. July 4, 2008

deron was a couple of years ago
boozer was a couple of years ago ( no defense)
memo was couple years ago ( was he worth it??? maybe)
korver was a mid season trade. ( can only shoot and tailed off after the first month)

a couple of years go they had a weak team and lots of money allowing to make some signings.

So what did the jazz do last summer: sign hart.

I would say almost nothing last summer.

and most summers are like that.

most summers they don't have money and are unable make a trade for big name.

or are unwilling trade one there "big" names like boozer

so they stick themselves with players that can win you games but never a championship.

which is why ALMOST every year the jazz win a championship.

You got have the right players to win chamionships.

Players that 1st team nba-ers ( like duncan ), or atleast 1st team defense (like a ben wallace)

and have to have shooters especially at both guard spots, and off the bench (brewer can't shoot, and none of the bench players you can rely on)

and bigmen who defend (jazz have no one)

TicketHolder | 11:37 p.m. July 4, 2008

If you were Corey Magette would you take the MLE from
(1) The Boston Celtics (Current NBA Champion and favorite to repeat)
(2) The San Antonio Spurs (3 Time NBA Champion in the last 5 years)
(3) The Utah Jazz (2 Time Northwest Division Champion)

I didn't think you would either. Although I think he would be a fantastic addition to the team and would be a nightmare at the 2 to guard, when put in his shoes you have to agree he has a better shot with the aforementioned teams. I agree with a few previous post that the Jazz will be hard pressed to find anybody to sign or any suitors to take some of our players. Everybody wants to have the Jazz trade the likes of Collins, Hart, Price and Harpring but who is going to take them and what do we get in return? Although we have 4 contracts that will be expiring at the end of next season only one has any value (Millsap). With the number of players under contract and the MLE as our only offering our chances of landing a big name player are slim to none.

AO | 11:53 p.m. July 4, 2008

We in all honesty do not need another 2/3 guard. the 2 guards in the nba are going to do what they always do and that is score. we do need interior defense. get rid of collins and hart and sign theo ratlif or turiaf or someone who is tough and blocks shots. the ONLY shot blocker we have is AK and he only comes off his man to block other people.

someone has got to plug the midddle cuz we all know Boozer and Memo will never do that. too bad Milsap isn't 5 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier.

i don't see the jazz sitting back and doing "nothing" like some of you have said. you don't think they know their weakness? they'll do something. i think we all can agree that maggette is not the answer though.

dodo1952 | 12:01 a.m. July 5, 2008

two drafts had passed and the jazz still doesn't have a reliable center that can help in their cause comes november. sure they can win games but it gets tougher by playoff time.have two untested centers and surely they will end up in the farm league. when its time for them to show they stuff to the big games, the likes of deron,boozer and memo would have faded and ak no longer around. so you have good centers but to farm out again for the # 1,2,3.
but i don't question the management and the coaching staff. they must have seen other things we cannot.
still i like the jazz to pass past 3rd round of playoff.

Re: Pete | 12:13 a.m. July 5, 2008

What are you talking about Pete? He didn't want anything to do with the Jazz? Then why did he sign an offer sheet with us a few years ago? If the Clippers didn't match it he would be wearing a Jazz uniform right now.

And I agree with "Maggette..." above. Maggette is still a relatively young player who could make an impact on this team. The Jazz's championship window is just beginning to open, while the Celtics and Spurs windows are closing. If he signs a multi-year contract, the Jazz would make a lot of sense.

But, the only way we can get Maggette with all of our salary cap issues would be to trade someone. Most likely Kirilenko.

jazzfaninalaska | 12:31 a.m. July 5, 2008

Get rid of the three oldies on the team Harpring, Hart, Collins. Bring on Almond to get regular minutes. Have Fess and Kosta battle for the backup spot.

We still have too many players at the 2 and 3.

SG: Brewer, Korver/Miles, Almond
SF: Kirilenko, Korver/Miles

With these players in the lineup we would go from the 5 youngest in the league to probably the 2nd or 3rd youngest. Which means lets be patient and enjoy watching this team build chemistry and get better and better every year. While upgrading our weak positions as needed.

EPW | 12:31 a.m. July 5, 2008

I love it how people on here are always saying "lets just trade hart and collins for so and so..." Like all of the other NBA teams are just dying to get their hands on those two, or better yet, to acquire them both in a package. Do you think that maybe the other teams noticed that those two do nothing but sit on the bench? Why would a team trade someone even half decent just to fill up 2 spots on their roster with players they'll never use? Come on...

Alan | 1:09 a.m. July 5, 2008

Corey Maggette signed an offer sheet with the Jazz before, but the offer was matched by the Clippers. It can be seen that the argument that he just wouldn't want to play in Utah is out.

However, from the Jazz perspective it makes more sense to go for a back up big man rather than another 2/3 guard, especially when you have the rights to Morris Almond, who is no Maggette, but fills the same need. Utah used the draft to help fill this need, but unfortunately this doesn't give immediate answers (does it?).

In my estimation the best case scenario would be to find some team willing to trade for Kirilenko's contract (where this whole thing falls apart really), for a true defensive big man. Then signing Maggette or someone could make sense, and the team all around could be improved. Even if that isn't the answer the organization has to know they are too close to being a championship team not to do anything.

ikenhowitzer | 10:45 a.m. July 5, 2008

The Jazz are one of the toughest teams in the NBA, before the Celtics wiped the floor with them they were the team to beat by everyone's account. The Jazz were the only team in the West to give them any competition. The only things we were missing was someone to clog the middle and make driving to the basket a punishable offense. Our bench is OK, Price has begun to come into his game, Almond was on fire with the Flash, he should be ready for bench minutes this season; he is a great defender and a promising shooter who can slash to the basket. If we dump Collins and Hart maybe we could pull in some second tier talent, but do we really need anything except a defensive minded big man? The Jazz can outscore anybody, now we just need someone to put fear into the other teams.

ID JAZZ | 10:48 a.m. July 5, 2008

Many of you on here saying we don't need a Maggette type player are missing the big picture. The Jazz are seeking him because he has the capabilities of taking over a game which he means he can create for other people as well for himself. The Jazz have one player right now who can do that and he is worn down most of the time having to do so all regular season long and in the playoffs(DWill). Boozer, AK, Memo, and Brewer all need Dwill to create for them.
Looks to me that the Jazz have committed themselves to knowing we have a few that cannot play defense and would rather add more offensive power and Dwill relief. Which is not a bad idea there are very few if any Bowen type players out there. This may not be a bad idea if the tow centers can contribute this year.

Re: ikenhowitzer | 8:40 p.m. July 5, 2008

It's obvious you haven't seen Almond play. True, he is a "promising shooter who can slash to the basket", but a "great defender"? Nope. I sure hope that he becomes one real soon though, because if he does, he could be the Jazz's answer at the 2 for a long time.

Re; Re; Re; Dick | 10:13 p.m. July 5, 2008

You realize that the "right type of players to win championships" are not in rich supply when you have an owner who's not willing to go into luxury tax. I have a hard time seeing the Jazz jepordizing their future by dismantling their team just to get ONE PLAYER. I don't think it's worth trading core players in order to bring in a big-name player.

The Jazz had their "right type of player" when they traded for Derek Fisher (not a big-name player) and got rid of a bunch of scrub guards. He didn't wow too much on the court, but he was an excellent leader and veteran presence on and off the court. Fisher was definitely a big reason why LA reached the Finals.

Point is, the Jazz don't need to trade the world for a big-name. They would be better off builing chemistry with each other and getting better collectively. But they are missing that "right type of player" and should be diligently looking for him.

ak over boozer | 11:27 p.m. July 6, 2008

i don't think losing boozer would be the end of the world, ak47 has started playing closer to the basket, i think we'd be fine with ak47 starting power foward, but it's wise to keep able big men-the jazz front court is pretty big. if i were oconnor, and brad signs with golden state, i would consider a sign and trade of boozer for magette, of course, having both great players is best, but if we had to have one, i think we'd better with magette, because we have a pretty good power foward, and magette can create his own shot, magette would probably still get close to twenty a game, and he's a huge upgrade over any swingman on the roster now. if we can't trade hart, collins, and (harpring), it will be nice to say bye to them after the year. What is the status on harpring, can he be cut after the year, his contract is partially ungarunteed.

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