Comments about ‘5 questions with Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor’

I certainly hope KOC is right!!
I am actually excited again now for the season to get here!
GO JAZZ!

I think KOC has done a good job this offseason. A week ago, things were looking grim. Quality free agents were signing everywhere but here and Portland was trying to steal Wes from us. Well Raja will be better in the short term than Matthews would have been and for roughly half the price yearly. I think they could've handled the Matthews contract situation during the season to avoid this and we still could've added Raja, that would've been a great SG rotation for us. Matthews is gone and I wish him well, just not against us. Overall though, I think KOC has done well in the financial situation that the team is in. I believe we're sitting at 9 players under contract, so if Fes can be resigned we'll be at 10 and should have a pretty solid rotation. I think we can safely add 3 young projects to fill out the requirement of 13 players (a point, a wing and a post player) and wait to see if a good trade presents itself.

DAL is about the same or a little better. DEN is better with Harrington. HOU is better with Miller. POR is about the same or maybe better. PHO may be as good. Last year no one expected them to make the playoffs and they nearly beat LA. OKC will be better. SA will find a way to compete. Some of the weaker teams may have improved.

The West is going to be very competitive. Seeds will depend mainly on injuries and depth.

The Jazz should have enough offense. The most crucial area will be the interior defense.

I think Hayward could emerge as this years Mathews by the end of the season.

IF they do not make their teams second round picks Varnado and N'Diaye were the 2nd and 3rd best shot blockers in the draft.

1 question for Kevin O'Connor:

1) What is (are) the missing piece(s) for Utah Jazz to win the NBA championship?

Bugoff, Why should Ok City be better? Maybe they peaked already they made no real moves, we do not know. I do not see what Brad Miller is going to do much in Houston he is at tail end, sure hit couple shots off bench for Yao or back up Buddinger or Scola, but little impact.

Denver could be better
Portland take or leave

KOC should thank Boozer and Chi for the sign and trade. That allowed him to look good as a GM.

Question 1. umm No comment.

Question 2. umm No comment.

Question 3. umm No comment.

Question 4. umm No comment.

Question 5. umm No comment.

The sign and trade allowed this to happen in the short term, but the Jazz gave up 2 first round picks. It was not just a favor by Chicago--they got some real assets out of the deal.

“We've always like to have a big long guy that can block shots, but those guys are difficult to find” So go out and sign Fess. He’s exactly what you want and can afford and who wants to play here.

If the Jazz want to be an “elite” team this year it’s going to hurt financially. Replacing a 6'4" 2 guard in easy, replacing a 7'1" 300lb guy with some real potential is almost impossible.

KOC has done a fantastic job this season but his job isn’t done yet.

SoCalUtahfan : I am pleased with the acquisition of AJ, he is longer, taller and can have more of an impact in the paint than Boozer did, Raja gives a a good outside shooter and good defender, if Hayward develops and becomes a rotation player/contributor that will give us depth, If Fes can develop he will give us the man in the middle we need, he is tall, long, pretty athletic for his size, has bulk, intimidates and alters shots, CJ needs to continue to improve, then if we can get Tomic to come over in 2011 we will have he length, size and talent to compete with the Lakers or who ever.
To me the key to how good the Jazz can become is how much players like Fes, CJ, & Hayward can improve.

We are shafted by the draft and trades....no improvement on the horizen.

Kevin O' Conner said we needed a long guy who could block shots and may trade for one. I think Fesenko can play that role, plus Big Al has a long wing span and he should be a better defender near the basket than Boozer. We need someone with similar skill sets like Lamar Odom or Michael Beasley; long, athletic players that are about 6-10 who can get up and down the court. What players could we get?

RE:Bugoff
Who else is out there if Varnado and N'Diaye don't make there teams?

WHERE ARE THE MINUTES

How do you get Fes any minutes

There are only 96 Minutes between the 4 and the 5

You have Okur, Millsap, Jefferson Fes and everyone wants some of those minutes for Kirlinko

Millsap can only play the 4, Fes can only play the 5

Jefferson and Millsap Demand 30-36 minutes a game so say 33 minutes each

Kirlinko also should get 30 minutes but 20 of those could be at the 3

Take Jeffersons and Millsap and Kirlinko's 10 minutes out of the orginal 96 minutes that leaves 20 minutes

Since Millsap and Kirlinko can only play the 4 that means 43 minutes are at the 4 are taken

So that says Jefferson can only play 5 minutes at the 4 and the other 28 minutes have to be at the 5

That leaves 20 minutes left at the 5 and Okur and Fes have not played yet

That means Okur plays 15 minutes at the 5 that leaves only 5 minutes for Fes.

How do you play a $10 million player 15 minutes. So you can get a 300 pounder 5 minutes a game.

WHERE ARE THE MINUTES

How do you get Fes any minutes

There are only 96 Minutes between the 4 and the 5

You have Okur, Millsap, Jefferson Fes and everyone wants some of those minutes for Kirlinko

Millsap can only play the 4, Fes can only play the 5

Jefferson and Millsap Demand 30-36 minutes a game so say 33 minutes each

Kirlinko also should get 30 minutes but 20 of those could be at the 3

Take Jeffersons and Millsap and Kirlinko's 10 minutes out of the orginal 96 minutes that leaves 20 minutes

Since Millsap and Kirlinko can only play the 4 that means 43 minutes are at the 4 are taken

So that says Jefferson can only play 5 minutes at the 4 and the other 28 minutes have to be at the 5

That leaves 20 minutes left at the 5 and Okur and Fes have not played yet

That means Okur plays 15 minutes at the 5 that leaves only 5 minutes for Fes.

How do you play a $10 million player 15 minutes. So you can get a 300 pounder 5 minutes a game.

They had the right team last season,clicking on all eight,until the Ronnie Brewer trade.[for no reason other than just to trade someone]. If it aint broke, don't fix it. New management is the answer.

Re: Rock On

"How do you get Fes any minutes."

Anyone who thinks Okur is going to be back by October is sadly mistaken ... including Memo.

It's tough to come back from a complete tear of the Achilles tendon in less than 9 months. Yes, Memo should be able to play this year but don't look for him to play very much until after the first of the year. For him to attempt to do so before then could jeopardize his career.

Fes will take up the minutes Okur would have had and be better for having done so.

We all need to remember what happened last year. Due to injuries, CJ and Korver were out for weeks right at the start of the season. It was a bad situation but it gave Matthews the chance to shine and work his way into the lineup.

I don't see any playing time problems until after the first of the year and knowing Sloan he's going to take it real easy on Okur before allowing him to play more than a few minutes per game.

@frelsi. We didn't have "jack" last year, who are you trying to jam? Brewer,Mathews, Korver, Boozer are those types going to lead anybody to the "PROMISED LAND"? Wake up your dreaming, it's daytime!

How do you get superstar players to want to come play in Utah? It's tough. I'm a Lakers fan, but I love it when the Jazz are competitive. It makes the Western Conference so much more interesting. I hope the moves the Jazz made will help, but I honestly don't think it will. As much as you guys hated Boozer, he was the reason you guys were competitive for most of the season. I don't think Jefferson is an upgrade compared to Boozer. It's like picking up Boozer Jr.

@ Old Timer.Brewer is one of the few players that can defend Kobe. If you want the title, You have to beat the Lakers. Defense is as important as offense,if not more so.

Re Rock On:

I disagree with your math. Assuming everyone is 100% healthy AK won’t be playing any PF. You also have to take into account that KOC said that Okur, AJ, and Milsap will be playing a few min each night together, that means that Milsap will see some time at SF. So here is my math based on that statement.

At SF AK gets 30 min, Hayward 12, and Milsap around 6 min

At PF Milsap gets 27 min and AJ 21

At C Okur gets 24 min, AJ 12 and Fess 12 min.

But- there will be injuries and when any of the aforementioned players gets injured the one player who will benefit most with more minutes will be Fess. Fess gives the Jazz depth and with Okur’s injury they’re going to need that depth right away.