A Bittersweet Symphony - Utah Jazz Association

[JazzMan]

Retiring NBA Players in 2013
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
-	Nazr Mohammed - Bulls	C	35
HOF	Grant Hill - Clippers	SF	40
HOF	Jason Kidd - Knicks	PG	40
-	Marcus Camby - Knicks	C	39
-	Rasheed Wallace - Knicks	PF	38
-	Pablo Prigioni - Knicks	PG	36
-	Kurt Thomas - Knicks	C	40
-	Jerry Stackhouse - Nets	SG	38
-	Andre Miller - Nuggets	PG	37
-	Derek Fisher - Thunder	PG	38
-	Jason Collins - Wizards	C	34

[JazzMan]

UTAH JAZZ OFFSEASON

The Jazz have decided to let Coach Ty Corbin's contract expire in favor of signing previous Nuggets coach, George Karl. They have also decided to resign assistant Scott Layden.

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Karl has flirted with retirement, which is probably why the Nuggets let him walk after he coached them to the Finals and almost to a championship. This signing makes sense for both Karl and the Jazz: this situation is a lot like the one in Denver a few years ago, and Utah could use an experienced, upper-tier coach, which is what they got in Karl.


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Jazz reportedly offer Al Jefferson 5 year contract

Just when everyone thought the Jazz would let Jefferson walk, they offer him a 5 year contract with lots of $$$. I can't help but feel like a sign-and-trade is in the works at the moment, considering Enes Kanter looks ready to start.

[JazzMan]

Round 1 of the Draft is complete!

NBA Draft - Round 1 Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Cavaliers	Lewis Brady	SG/SF	6'5"	220 lbs
2	Hornets	Dell Wise	SG/PG	6'3"	185 lbs
3	Magic	Felix Haston	C/PF	7'0"	242 lbs
4	Bobcats	Percy Turner	PG	6'3"	191 lbs
5	Pistons	Sasa Schumacher	PG/SG	6'3"	205 lbs
6	Suns	Jonathan Williams	PF/C	6'9"	247 lbs
7	Wizards	Bo Dillon	SG/SF	6'6"	211 lbs
8	Kings	Vlade Stojic	SF/PF	7'0"	224 lbs
9	Rockets	Niko Vugrinec	PG	6'0"	171 lbs
10	Timberwolves	Jordan Grove	SF	6'8"	226 lbs
11	76ers	Garrett Dawson	SG/SF	6'7"	208 lbs
12	Lakers	Quincy Owens	PF	6'10"	234 lbs
13	Trail Blazers	Brandon Sanders	SF	6'8"	232 lbs
14	Bobcats	Corey Mobley	C	6'11"	289 lbs
15	Bucks	A.C. Fortson	SF	6'10"	231 lbs
16	Celtics	Trent Rivers	PF/SF	6'8"	226 lbs
17	Jazz	Michael Moss	SG/SF	6'8"	217 lbs
18	Rockets	Lloyd Elliott	PF/C	6'10"	266 lbs
19	Hawks	Abe Warner	SF/SG	6'7"	234 lbs
20	Warriors	Dwayne Edwards	PG	5'10"	164 lbs
21	Pacers	Mikael Andersson	PG/SG	6'4"	176 lbs
22	Bulls	Sergei Alenichev	SG	6'4"	192 lbs
23	Nets	Len Taft	PF	6'10"	236 lbs
24	Nuggets	Robbie Bishop	SG	6'6"	206 lbs
25	Clippers	Lloyd Barrett	PG	6'2"	172 lbs
26	Pistons	Jeffery O'Conner	SF	6'8"	198 lbs
27	Thunder	David Givens	C	7'1"	267 lbs
28	Spurs	Ekpe Uwawah	PF/C	6'10"	249 lbs
29	Heat	Nick Blackwell	PG	5'10"	189 lbs
30	Knicks	Dillon Wagner	PG/SG	6'7"	192 lbs

[JazzMan]

Jazz free agent signings:

PG Shelvin Mack
C Al Jefferson
PF Dario Parker
PF Vincent Freeman

BREAKING NEWS

A 3 team trade has been made involving Al Jefferson.

Jazz trade - Al Jefferson, Lottery Protected 1st
Jazz receive - Kevin Martin, Percy Turner

Thunder trade - Kevin Martin, Serge Ibaka
Thunder receive - Al Jefferson

Bobcats trade - Percy Turner
Bobcats receive - Serge Ibaka, Jazz's Lottery Protected 1st

Turner was the 4th pick of the draft this year, and is expected to start for the Jazz. They also receive Kevin Martin, a very capable scorer that could help Utah grow into a contender.

The Bobcats already have Kemba Walker, so they felt it was necessary to trade for a capable big man, which they did when they got Ibaka. They also receive Utah's 1st rounder, which is lottery-protected, so they can add another piece if Utah doesn't make the playoffs.

The Thunder decided that Al Jefferson would fit nicely and would put OKC over the top so they can finally win an NBA Championship.

[JazzMan]

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UTAH JAZZ OFFSEASON REVIEW

After getting bounced out in the 1st round again by the Spurs, Utah decided it was time to let Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson go. However, they resigned Jefferson, but immediately traded him for Kevin Martin and Percy Turner, the 4th overall pick in the draft this year.

Without Millsap and Jefferson, one would think the Jazz will struggle to score, but with the addition of Kevin Martin, the Jazz should be just fine.

Percy Turner looks to be the PG of the future in Utah, and is expected to start over recently signed free agent Shelvin Mack.

[JazzMan]

On a side note, the draft class that I'm using for this upcoming year is not the one that I wanted to choose lol. So I'll have to edit it up a bit but the 2nd round guys probably will go untouched.

[JazzMan]

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'13-'14 Utah Jazz Season Preview

The Utah Jazz are looking to bounce back from their early exit in the playoffs at the hand of the Spurs, and they have a revamped and reloaded roster that is capable of doing so.

Swingman Gordon Hayward has become the face of the Jazz franchise, and his supporting cast is young, but talented. Guys like Derrick Favors, Hayward, Kanter, Burks, Percy Turner, and Kevin Martin should put teams in trouble with an attack like the Nuggets from the previous years. They even acquired former Nuggets head coach George Karl.

With only one player 30 years or older (Kevin Martin, 30), the Jazz are an ultra-young team that wants to show the world what they are capable of. However, the losses of Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Mo Williams could come back to haunt the Jazz, as they were great veteran talents and scorers. Will Utah struggle to score the ball? Head coach George Karl doesn't think so. "This really is a young team, kind of like the team that I coached for the last few years. We've got some great young guys like Hayward, Favors, Kanter, Burks, and Turner, but we've got a couple veteran guys like Martin and Marvin. It should be a fun, fun year here in Salt Lake."

The main question for Utah might be a lack of depth in the frontcourt, which is something they didn't have to deal with for the past few years. Behind Kanter and Favors are Jeremy Evans, and rookies Vincent Freeman and Dario Parker. Needless to say, the Jazz could use a veteran talent behind Favors and Kanter.

Meanwhile, the Jazz have a great load of depth on the wings this year. Hayward and Martin/Burks will be great in the starting lineup, and with either Martin or Burks coming off the bench as the sixth-man, Utah has plenty of firepower off the bench. They also have returning players Demarre Carroll, Marvin Williams, and Kevin Murphy, and first round pick out of Creighton, sharpshooter Michael Moss.

The Jazz also acquired rookie stud PG Percy Turner in the Al Jefferson trade, and he looks to be the point guard of the future for the Jazz. Behind him is new Jazzman Shelvin Mack, and rookie Leo Conner.

It's certainly a young team, but they have all the potential in the world.

'13-'14 Utah Jazz Roster
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
#15	Derrick Favors	PF/C	22	6'10"	248 lbs	$6.01M
#20	Gordon Hayward	SF/SG	23	6'9"	210 lbs	$3.45M
#23	Kevin Martin	SG/SF	30	6'7"	185 lbs	$4.90M
#8	Percy Turner (rookie)	PG	20	6'3"	191 lbs	$2.81M
#0	Enes Kanter	C	21	6'11"	262 lbs	$4.75M
#10	Alec Burks	SG/SF	22	6'6"	202 lbs	$2.32M
#31	Michael Moss (rookie)	SG.SF	24	6'8"	217 lbs	$1.24M
#22	Shelvin Mack	PG	23	6'3"	207 lbs	$1.85M
#3	Demarre Carroll	SF	27	6'8"	212 lbs	$556K
#2	Marvin Williams	SF/PF	27	6'9"	245 lbs	$7.50M
#55	Kevin Murphy	SF	23	6'6"	185 lbs	$519K
#40	Jeremy Evans	PF	26	6'9"	196 lbs	$1.66M
#36	Vincent Freeman (rookie)	PF/SF	22	6'8"	254 lbs	$500K
#42	Dario Parker (rookie)	PF/C	23	6'10"	241 lbs	$670K
#16	Leo Conner (rookie)	PG	25	5'11"	167	$615K

[JazzMan]

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Alec Burks named starter over Kevin Martin to start the season

3rd year guard Alec Burks will be the starting 2 guard for the Jazz this year, while veteran Kevin Martin will come off the bench as the sixth-man.

Kevin Martin's thoughts on the situation: "I'm glad for Alec. The short time that I've gotten to know him, he's a been a really cool, collected kid, and I'll look to mentor him throughout the year.

"I'm perfectly happy coming off the bench. I can be the leader for the bench unit and be the number 1 option with those guys out there, kind of like my situation in OKC. I love it."

It's great when you can have veterans like Martin who are happy with what they are given. The Jazz bench should be able to put up their fair share of points with Martin leading the unit.

Utah Jazz Depth Chart Depth Chart - '13-'14
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Percy Turner (r)	Shelvin Mack	Leo Conner (r)
SG	Alec Burks	Kevin Martin	Michael Moss
SF	Gordon Hayward	Demarre Carroll	Marvin Williams	Kevin Murphy
PF	Derrick Favors	Jeremy Evans	Vincent Freeman
C	Enes Kanter	Dario Parker	Vincent Freeman