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Utah Jazz: Okur agrees on 2-year contract extension

This extension should help the Jazz defensively....(rolling eyes)

Now we no the Jazz don't want to be contenders. They are content with making the playoffs and losing in the first round. While the rest of the west is getting stronger the Jazz are staying the same or getting weaker.

that has got to be one of the dumbest moves i have ever heard. who is going to sign okur for 10+ mil next season? didn't he say that he would take a pay cut to make the jazz more competitive?

Poor decision. Find me one team in the last 30 year to win an NBA championship with a starting center that is perimeter oriented, and is soft in the paint on both offense and defense. You can't. Plain and simple.

They should have waited until next year to see if it was possible to get a major player in the 2010 class. We will always be good, but never great!

This is great. Do not underestimate Okur's value. If he was not hurting in the playoff we would have done better.

I am also concerned about the Jazz interior D (sorry, Millsap is far from sufficient for that vs the giants), but I like Memo and he brings a wide open floor to the game with him.

There goes any of your hopes for a shooter at the 2, btw. Okur more than suffices in that category.

Memo's running floater really improved last season. Some additional effort chasing loose balls, and better utilization of his size on defensive rotations would be nice to see, though.

Change for the sake of change is foolish. I'm reminded of several "core Jazz player" convos earlier this year, and the main pieces are Williams, Boozer, and Okur.

Get used to the idea that experience matters, Jazz fans.

It does, and with everyone else gettin all willy nilly this offseason the Jazz have a legit shot to shock.

Memo didn't say he'd take "a pay cut." He said he'd offer a hometown discount.

At little more than 10 a year for his services both he and the Jazz management did VERY well, all things considered!

Memo has a unique skill set that resembles Nowitski's. Could we see him play a little at the 4 in the future?

That would certainly quiet Jazzsmack...;-)

You semi-pro naysayers are nuts! This is great news. Okur gives the Jazz amazing flexibility, he's an outstanding, clutch 3-point threat, an excellent free-throw shooter for a big guy, and he has a winners attitude. And his shooting, defense, and rebounding are improving.

Look at how well we did when Boozer wasn't playing, and how bad we looked without Okur in the playoffs. That wasn't all because we were playing the Lakers.

Sloan is pretty good about putting the right players in for the situation, and Okur is right for most situations because of what he does for offensively. What defensive center wants to leave the lane, and yet who wants to give a 40%+ 3-point threat an uncontested shot, either And how about the defense he played on Yao Ming in the playoffs last year?

I love Okur. Wake up, you guys - Okur and Williams are the most important players on our team - they give us a huge competitive advantage. $10 million IS the home-team discounted price for the big guy. What's not to love about Memo?

Stop whining! Okur has been a huge part of who we are, and has hit so several 3s that sent each of you jumping and cheering at one point or another. He is not the one to eliminate, and can pull out defending big men from the key due to his range. With a few more resources around him and Williams, the Jazz can still be a great team. AK47s contract will free up the cash for a great player to assist them and get it done.

Okur is top 5 center in the league and he deserves this extension. THere are a lot of bad centers out there getting 10 million or more. Heck even Brad Miller is making 12 million...Okur is way better than him

BREAKING NEWS?

Memo brings offense outside and inside. You haters of him playing outside must remember that he drags the "Big" guarding him out also. He did start a penetration drive and a floater off from that last year that was very effective. He guards big slower centers just fine but does have problems with quicker players as all do. I like him because he is a model citizen and a team player first. Nice Jazz nice. Now get Miles and Booze out of here, for 2 dead flies and one penney if need be.

I think this is a great deal for the Jazz. Okur may not be a defensive juggernaut, but he's a solid center, and $10M a year is a fair price. He's definitely a notch above Ostertag.

Yeah Okur's good, but then again the jazz never had a problem scoring. It's poor defending that smacks em up. Now tell me that it wouldn't have been possible and even better, to find a center that can defend and average 17. All this says is that the jazz don't want a championship enough to risk everything. Which is why we'll never have one.

Okur can't play under the basket-- if you watch European Basketball they all play perimeter basketball.... their game is outside-- let Okur go home and play with the National Team in Turkey and perhaps Boozer would want to go with him if he doesn't get hurt getting on the plane......

good move by the Jazz. He's a quality player and person. He spreads the floor offensively and at least he plays with some heart.

Keep in mind what the Jazz paid Okur - a guy who didn't hit 10 points per game during his career in Detroit - just a little bit under what his contract extension is - after hitting 17 pts and 7.7 rebs. Okur brings as much to the table as he does in his skill set as he does in the intangible asset of stretching the floor with his excellent range. This is a great move, and a good value. Without Okur, the Jazz are not a playoff team. Period.

This is good move because the contract is only for 2 years. He turns 31 and the deal is done. Along with the Boozer trade - this makes the Jazz a lot better

i like okur. and he is a model citizen for the jazz. if boozer goes, okur should be the one doing the pick and roll with deron. hopefully the jazz can swing a deal to trade boozer for an athletic, shot-blocking big man. and i hope the jazz get rid of miles, too.