After a very tame off-season for the Utah Jazz, Jazz fans are anxiously waiting to see what the season will bring. The Jazz re-signed C.J. Miles and traded little used Jason Hart for savvy veteran Brevin Knight. They also signed Ohio State Center Kosta Koufos.
Not much.
Not that we expected much change for a team who was really good last year, losing to the Lakers in a series that they probably should have been able to win.
So what should we expect this year.
After a week of hard consideration, the Utah Jazz have decided to match the offer sheet offered up by Oklahoma City to steal away C.J. Miles.
The main reason that they said they chose to match the offer sheet was that they had invested 3 years in him and they figured that he was now at the point where he knew the system and could start making a valuable contribution.
Jazz fans and sportswriters are likely scratching their heads at this decision. They invested a lot in BYU product Rafael Araujo, but they let him go.
There has got to be a little more to this story than just “return on investment”.
Let’s take a look at things a little bit closer.
With the twenty-third pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select…
Well, the Jazz couldn’t quite pull it out against a very defeatable Los Angeles Lakers team.
Where should the Jazz go from here?
A lot of sports writers announced the Kyle Korver trade as a savior for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz finally got a long distance threat to spread the opposing defenses. The Jazz got a missing piece of a practically complete puzzle.
And the only things given up were a protected first round draft pick and Gordan Giricek, who of late had found himself in Jerry Sloan’s doghouse. Korver is likely worth more than either of those players, at least to the Utah Jazz, and everyone knows that yet another rookie would only make the Jazz even less experienced than they already are. They got something for essentially nothing.
Right?
The Utah Jazz have officially reached the Elite of the West now.
All kneel before them!
Um, well. Not quite.
