Kevin O’Connor steps down as Jazz GM.
 

2000: The Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers play a preseason exhibition game in the New Orleans Arena. Doug Thornton, general manager of the Arena and Superdome, gives Hornets co-owner Ray Wooldridge a tour of the arena, advising Wooldridge to keep in touch if remaining in Charlotte does not work out.
Feb. 2001: New Orleans and state officials announce they will make a pitch to lure the Vancouver Grizzlies, who have applied to move. New Orleans would become a finalist along with Memphis and Louisville, Ky.
March 2001: The Hornets apply to move to Memphis, but are forced to withdraw after the NBA grants the Grizzlies permission to move to Memphis. Memphis does not have a stadium comparable to the New Orleans Arena, but has promised to build one and is seen as the best choice for the Grizzlies because of its solid corporate base.
June 5, 2001: Charlotte voters in June soundly defeat a referendum aimed at building a new arena for the Hornets.
Jan. 9, 2002: Hornets owners Wooldridge and George Shinn make an official visit to New Orleans, although talks are believed to have begun earlier. With the visit, New Orleans officially joins Louisville; Anaheim, Calif.; Norfolk, Va.; and St. Louis as cities in the running to be the new home of the Hornets.
Jan. 17, 2002: Gov. Mike Foster announces an agreement to bring the team to New Orleans, while the team files an application with the NBA to move the team. The team also announces season ticket commitments it needs by March 15 to cement the deal: 8,000 general seating season tickets, 2,450 club seats and 54 luxury suites.
March 15, 2002: Hornets owners announce they have come close enough to meeting sales targets to move the team, having sold 55 luxury suites and 8,121 season tickets.
March 20, 2002: NBA relocation committee visits New Orleans to study proposed move. The visit includes a full day of meetings with local, state and regional politicians. NBA Commissioner David Stern calls the presentation among the best he's seen. Stern also says the arena meets current NBA standards.
April 19, 2002: Foster signs a bill adding the Hornets to a tax rebate program designed to bring "quality jobs" to Louisiana that are high-paying and offer health insurance. The Hornets could get up to $3.65 million a year based on a tax credit from a percentage of the team's payroll.
April 30, 2002: Foster signs legislation for $10 million in improvements to New Orleans Arena. The work includes finishing luxury suites and improvements to locker rooms.
May 2, 2002: NBA relocation committee unanimously recommends that NBA team owners approve relocation of the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans.
May 10, 2002: League owners vote in favor of relocation to New Orleans.



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Utah Jazz hire former Knicks executive Mike Hobbs as new GM.
 

A swift, discreet and productive executive search. We should expect no less from the Utah Jazz.

Less than 24 hours after word first surfaced that GM Kevin O'Connor would be kicked upstairs and hand over day-to-day duties to a new hire, the Jazz announced the hiring of former Knicks executive Mike Hobbs as their new GM.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that O'Connor will be given the title "executive vice president of basketball operations" and will oversee Hobbs, who was the Knicks GM in New York in 2001. Hobbs led the Knicks to the NBA Finals in his one season at the helm. Hobbs was then set to work for the Golden State Warriors in the 2001-02 season but sadly fell ill. After several years of battling cancer, Hobbs has emerged from basketball wilderness almost 10 years later to take over the Utah Jazz.

O'Connor hands over the keys after 11 years running basketball operations for the Jazz. Utah made the playoffs in seven of those seasons and consistently ranked among the league leaders in average home attendance throughout.

Hobbs, who previously worked for the New York Knicks prior to his arrival in Golden State, had been one of the hottest names in GM rumors for years. He was a finalist for the Orlando Magic's GM job two summers ago and was linked to executive searches by the Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns over the last few years. But Hobbs did not feel well enough to return to the NBA until now.

For more than two decades now, the Jazz have carefully cultivated a reputation for class, consistency and stability.

In Hobbs, they seem to have identified a candidate who fits the organization's all-business, no-drama approach, and they nearly did the impossible here, conducting a thorough GM search without word leaking out until less than one day before they officially announced Hobbs' hire. No agents grandstanding, no distracting speculation, nothing. Just a clean transition of power to one of the NBA's most respected management minds.

No wonder Hobbs, after all his time away from the game, would jump at this opportunity. Despite Utah's inherent small-market disadvantages, the Jazz -- in their clear vision, trust in their people and resolute adherence to their principles -- are a GM's dream.

Utah Jazz 2009-10 Recap.
 

Last season typified the Deron Williams-Carlos Boozer era in Utah. At their best, the Jazz were as good as anyone. The problem is that most teams, most of the time, aren't at their best. And under those circumstances, Utah was just another very good playoff team that couldn't hang with elite clubs like the Lakers.

For a while last season, it seemed Utah might be capable of breaking through. In a two-month stretch from early January to early March, the Jazz were quite possibly the best team in the league. Utah went 23-5 during that time while winning road games in Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio and twice in Portland; 14 of the wins were by double figures.

The sizzling streak coincided with a stretch where the Jazz suffered virtually no injuries. But that didn't last long. When adversity appeared, it struck with a vengeance. First, a calf injury to Andrei Kirilenko both eliminated a key two-way cog and exposed Utah's lack of quality wings. He never returned to full strength, and his absence was pivotal: Utah prevailed in 17 of the 20 regular-season games before his injury but went 15-13 afterward.

Then in the playoffs, Mehmet Okur tore his Achilles, an injury that will likely cost him a good chunk of the coming season as well. With injuries to their two tallest players, the Jazz sent out a Lilliputian lineup against L.A. in the second round of the playoffs and were dispatched in four games. While a fully healthy team would have made the series more competitive, the reality is that every other team (including the Lakers) was dealing with its own assorted health issues. Utah's injuries weren't extreme; it just seemed that way because the Jazz had so little margin for error.

As a result, the offseason depends on decisions to maybe let Boozer walk, trade for another big man, and rework the roster around some different pieces weren't exactly controversial. Sure, if everything works perfectly, maybe the current squad could make a deep playoff run in 2010-11. But the more likely outcome is an early playoff ouster with a payroll far beyond the means of Utah's market.

One thing that's unlikely to change is Utah's uniqueness at both ends of the floor. Offensively, it runs a pass-and-cut system that generates lots of fouls and shots around the basket, things that don't figure to change if Carlos Boozer leaves and Paul Millsap starts in the frontcourt. Last season, the Jazz accumulated the highest rate of assisted baskets at 67.8; the second-place Celtics were barely visible in their rearview mirror.

Highest Pct. of Assisted FGs, 2009-10.

As per usual, the Jazz produced one of the lowest rates of 3-point attempts per field goal attempt too. That figure is likely to dip even lower now that Kyle Korver, who set an NBA record by making 52.6 percent of his 3s last season, is a free agent and Okur is unlikely to contribute much. Historically, the Jazz have generated highly efficient offenses despite relatively few 3s, but they may drop to last in the league in 3-pointers this season.

On the defensive end, Jerry Sloan employs a bruising style that turns many of Utah's games into three-hour free throw-shooting competitions. Utah once again submitted the league's most slap-happy defense in 2009-10, with opponents averaging .353 free throw attempts per field goal attempt. As I've written before, the Jazz's high rate of fouls makes it virtually impossible for them to be a superior defensive team. Last season's 11th-place finish in defensive efficiency was heroic given their high foul rate, but it will be extremely difficult to improve on it regardless of personnel changes given the rampant fouling.

Most Foul-Prone Defenses, 2009-10.

With defensive ace Wesley Matthews also a free agent and a glaring lack of quality depth up and down the roster, the Jazz will be hard-pressed to maintain even that modest position on the defensive charts.

For that, Utah fans may rue the financially motivated trades of Eric Maynor and Ronnie Brewer. Those moves were essentially the price of matching a Portland offer sheet for Millsap the previous summer, as the small-market Jazz paid luxury tax even after shedding their backcourt depth and would have owed considerably more otherwise.

Those decisions may not leave them in a better position in 2010-11. But with Kirilenko's $17 million deal expiring after this season, they're left with some much better options to build around their Deron Williams core in the future.

Utah Jazz draft Paul George
 

SEATTLE, WA, June 24, 2010 -- I guess the New York Knicks got the last laugh after all. The much ballyhooed lottery pick that New York surrendered to the Utah Jazz, as part of the 2008 Tom Gugliotta trade, may have been much ado about nothing.

When the Jazz selected Fresno State forward Paul George, a move that raises all kinds of questions marks. with the ninth overall pick, not only did the organization stun its fan base, the media, and a plethora of so-called draft experts, it may have made one of the worst blunders in franchise history.

As fans gathered at EnergySolutions Arena for an NBA Draft party, the hope for many Jazz loyalists was to see Utah take a difference maker in the paint— preferably somebody who would rip the beard right off Pau Gasol’s face.

With a rare pick from the lottery, the Jazz may have squandered an opportunity to take this team to a championship level.

What’s worse is General Manager Mike Hobbs may not even be aware of the faceplant this franchise just made. With North Carolina’s Ed Davis and Kansas center Cole Aldrich available for the taking, the Jazz went in a different direction. The fans voiced their displeasure with a chorus of boos directed squarely at the Jazz brain trust.

Afterwards Hobbs said that the team tried to trade up for a chance to corral an elite center (DeMarcus Cousins), but no deals could be reached. He maintained that Hayward was the best available player and that fans shouldn’t form a judgement right now. Hobbs said one of the biggest reasons the Jazz drafted Paul George was because he’s a winner.

At the same time, it’s still not clear if Hobbs made this pick or if it was done by the Jazz’s marketing department.

He’ll most likely play the shooting guard position, backing up swingman C. J. Miles. George is able to handle the ball with either hand and he should develop into another playmaker for the Jazz. George has unlimited range from outside but did struggle at times to knock down threes.

When asked why the Jazz passed on Davis and Aldrich, Hobbs said George was simply the best player available and to “check back in two years” to see if he made the right decision.

Well, Jazz fans, did Hobbs make the right call?

Knicks fire Isiah Thomas after rollercoaster season.
 

May 1, 2004.

The inevitable has finally happened. Knicks owner James Dolan has made another front office change after a brief period of time. Isiah Thomas has been fired from the General Manager job with the New York Knicks.

He is still owed $4 million after he signed the contract 12 months ago.

This was bound to happen after the enormous turnover of the roster that upset almost all player and coaching staff. Even Isiah must have known. In his one season the Knicks made the playoffs, however their 39-43 record and 3 coaches left the franchise in turmoil. The Knicks were embarrassed by their local rivals the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs 4-0.

Issues not relating to basketball have also put Thomas in the news for all the wrong reasons. Former Knicks team executive Anucha Browne Sanders filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Thomas.

All of these problems were enough for James Dolan to see the light, and quickly decided to sack Thomas.

This Knicks have the talent to make the play-offs in the next few years, but a good coach is needed to steer them in the right direction. Being in the East definitely gives them a chance of making the play-offs next year, if they can get 35-40 wins that could be enough to get them the eighth spot.

Phil Jackson signs with Knicks.
 

June 1, 2004.

Phil Jackson signed on to become president of the New York Knicks after a lunch meeting with team officials Friday, sources have told ESPN.

Todd Musburger, Jackson's Chicago-based agent, was in Los Angeles to finalize the contract with Jackson and Knicks officials, according to sources. Jackson's deal is for five years and is expected to pay him $12 million annually but does not include an ownership stake, sources said.

The Knicks released a statement earlier Friday saying a "major announcement" would be made Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

Jackson, who has won a record 9 NBA championships as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls and two as a Knicks player, will become the Head Coach from this coming season.

Jackson will also take over the running of the Knicks' basketball operations department from general manager Isiah Thomas.

Jackson's discussion with the Knicks has been ongoing for the last few weeks after Jackson stepped away from the Lakers at the end of the season, sources said.

During that time, the Buss family has had several meetings in which Jackson was discussed, sources said.

As public pressure on the Buss family mounted this week, their position remained unchanged. No contact was made with Jackson's representatives, sources said.

Jackson is taking over a Knicks team that has overall performed well below expectations last season.

Jackson inherits a Knicks' roster that doesn't have much flexibility in the near future.

The Knicks are expected to be over the salary cap this summer because of the contracts of Allan Houston ($17.5 million), Anfernee Hardaway ($14.6 million), Stephon Marbury ($14.6 million) and Tim Thomas ($12.9 million), which runs through 2005-06.

So Jackson probably will have to trade one of those four players if he wants to reshape the roster.

Mike D'Antoni and Gregg Popovich, speaking before the Suns and Spurs played Friday night in San Antonio, both lauded Jackson's hiring.

"Obviously, he's a knowledgeable basketball guy and they need that right now," said D'Antoni.

Popovich said it would be "weird to see him back in the Garden coaching the Knicks, instead of on the opposition bench."

"He has a hell of a mind," Popovich added. "And being a coach is sort of a pain in the ***. He's a smart guy."

NBA Free Agency Roundup 2009