"Nowhere to Hide" The Coaching Legacy of Jason Kidd (NBA 2K13)

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No Country for Old Men: A Utah Jazz Story.

Stockton and Malone dominated the league for nearly two decades as teammates on the Utah Jazz. While they were unable to win a championship together — they came up short in the NBA Finals twice, both times against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls — they're recognized as some of the best players to have ever graced the hardwood, especially at their respective positions. Stockton is often viewed as the ultimate point guard and there are only two players in NBA history who have ever scored more points in their career than Malone.

On the strength of Stockton's passing and Malone's scoring, the two formed arguably the most feared pick-and-roll tandem in league history. In real life, 2002-03 was the final season for the duo, as Stockton retired and Malone joined up with Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant and Shaq to form a superteam with the Lakers. Again Malone came up short, losing the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons.

While the Utah Jazz had a decent rebuild when they drafted Deron Williams in 2005 and teamed him with Carlos Boozer, they never made the NBA finals again. Let's see what I can do with the duo in their last season or two together.

System: NBA2K11 PC
Rosters: RRP 2003 Mod
Sliders: RRP 2003
Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Sim Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Draft Class: 2002, 2003 Draft (RMJH4)
Season Length: 82 Games
Playoff Format: 7-7-7-7
Injuries: On
Progressive Fatigue: On
Player Roles: On
Team Chemistry: On
CPU Trades: On
Trade Override: Off

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Storyline.

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2002-03 Schedule.

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Depth Chart and Roster.

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Utah Jazz Draft Review.

Round 1: Nenad Krstic, 7-1, C, Yugoslavia (No. 19)
Round 2: Luis Scola, 6-9, PF, Argentian (No. 47)

Nenad Kristic was a great pick here. He may not be able to come over and play for another year, but when he does arrive he'll be considered a steal at No. 19. Teams already compare him to a young Vlade Divac. At 7-foot-1 he can rebound, block shots and shoot from the perimeter. The biggest question left? Does he know how to flop?

Luis Scola is a year or two away, but they knew that. All in all, not bad for the 47th pick. Jazz really solidified their frontcourt here with two solid pickups.

Utah Jazz' new European GM shows us his international scouting ability with both of these picks.

Grade: A-

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Jazz Sign Guard Larry Hughes.

July 18, 2002

Utah (AP) _ Free-agent guard Larry Hughes signed a three-year contract with the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

The 6-foot-5, 184-pound Hughes, who can play either guard position, will have an opening salary of $4.5 million. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.3 assists in 73 games with the Golden State Warriors last season.

He’s averaged 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists during a four-year NBA career with Philadelphia and Golden State.

During the 2000-01 season, Hughes averaged career highs in points (16.5), rebounds (5.5), assists (4.5) and steals (1.5) _ joining Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, Steve Francis and Antoine Walker as the only players to average at least 16 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals that season.

We are confident that Larry Hughes will make a significant contribution to our team,″ Jazz general manager Mike Shields said.

He adds versatility to our roster with his ability to play both of the guard positions and his athleticism will help us on both ends of the floor.″

Hughes left Saint Louis University after his freshman year and was the eighth overall selection in the 1998 draft by Philadelphia.

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Jazz Sign Jose Calderon.

OCT. 2, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Utah Jazz announced Wednesday they have signed free-agent point guard Jose Calderon. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Calderon, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, has spent the past five seasons in the Spanish pro leagues, the past f
two with Fuenlabrada. He led Fuenlabrada to a second-place finish in last season’s Euroleague Final Four.

“We are very excited to be able to reach an agreement to bring Jose to the NBA,” said Jazz General Manager Mike Shields. “He is exactly what we are looking for in a true point guard.

“Even though he won’t turn 22-years-old until September, he has plenty of experience in international competition.”

Calderon has averaged 10.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 214 regular-season games. He owns a career field goal percentage of .541 (488-902). In Euroleague play, Calderon has averaged 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 58 contests.

Calderon averaged 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 39 regular-season games in 2003-04. He shot .567 (114-201) from the field and .823 (107-130) from the foul line. In 2003-04, he led Tau to the Spanish National Cup (King’s Cup).

Calderon now joins a somewhat growing foreign legion in Utah now under Irish GM Mike Shields. Nenad Krstic (Yugoslavia), Luis Scola (Argentina) who were just drafted this summer to join Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and Carlos Arroyo (Puerto Rico) Lets see if the Utah Jazz play style now adds some international flair to complement the Stockton and Malone duo.