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This is what I would do.

I would follow the Steve Nash model for success, or be prepared to pack my bags and find a new job after Deron Williams leaves for a team who will.

The Steve Nash Model:
1) The best PG in the league
2) Surrounded by players in the 2-5 positions that can all hit outside shots and are athletic
3) A coach who emphasizes running and scoring a lot of points (this is what Deron is asking for)
4) Goal is to outscore opponents while being competent enough defensively to hold own against the elite teams.

Why Steve Nash failed:
First off, "failed" is a difficult word here. Nash took his teams to several WCFs and had lots of bad luck (see Horry, Robert).
But the reason Nash's teams failed was because of Nash's defense...or lack thereof. He got burned by Tony Parker in the playoffs enough times to keep him out of the Finals.

Why Deron would succeed:
Deron is not the passer Nash is, but he is a much better defender, bigger, stronger, and has a respectable outside shot. He is also clutch. When it's winning time, all Deron needs is teammates that can hit open shots. The Jazz were leading the league in scoring when Memo was at his peak (hitting three's) and when Korver was shooting well (3's).

This is a new league. Teams dont like to play defense. Teams like to shoot 3's. Teams like to run. We have one of the best PGs in the GAME and he is being wasted in an offense that produces less than 20 points per quarter while Al Jefferson holds the ball for the last 10 seconds of the shot clock.

For those of you who read Magic's book, he explains he nearly demanded a trade before Riley was coach because his coach wanted to slow the game down and pound it into Kareem all game long. Magic didnt want any part of that. As you recall, that coach was fired and in came Riley and the showtime Lakers dynasty.

We will lose Williams if we dont put the team around him RIGHT NOW that plays to his strengths. Unfortunately...I think its too late. We have chosen to stick by a 71 year old coach who never got us any hardware instead of changing our philosophy to adapt (what all successful businesses do) and try to make a run with one of the best in the game at what he does....

So you are saying is all we need is Kareem and Magic and fire our coach and we have a dynasty in the making...

I think you are WAY undervaluing defense and WAY overvaluing outscoring your opponent with a disregard for defense. In the Lakers game the other night, the Jazz got their @$$ handed to them because of their stifling defense and the Jazz' inability to stop them on the defensive end.

The run and gun Suns teams failed because teams step up their defense in the playoffs and make you outshoot them with someone in your face 4 games out of 7. Because those teams weren't built to play defense AT ALL, they couldn't return the same pressure when it mattered most.

They failed because half their team got suspended in the playoffs.

I kinda like this idea. I get frustrated watching the Jazz because I often get the feeling that the team is full of subpar shooters. By that I mean that I have this nagging feeling that if you had each rotation player on each NBA team shoot 15-20 ft. jumpers from spots all over the floor the Jazz would collectively rank near the bottom of the NBA.

We need a combo of what you'all said! Two outside shooters and a power forwsard or center who can play defense and shoot jumps hots. Keep Okur, Williams, Evans, and Milsap and watson. Get rid of all the rest

Fido wrote:So you are saying is all we need is Kareem and Magic and fire our coach and we have a dynasty in the making...

I think you are WAY undervaluing defense and WAY overvaluing outscoring your opponent with a disregard for defense. In the Lakers game the other night, the Jazz got their @$$ handed to them because of their stifling defense and the Jazz' inability to stop them on the defensive end.

The run and gun Suns teams failed because teams step up their defense in the playoffs and make you outshoot them with someone in your face 4 games out of 7. Because those teams weren't built to play defense AT ALL, they couldn't return the same pressure when it mattered most.

Not undervaluing defense. Saying the Jazz were at their best w/ Deron surrounded by guys that can make open shots because HE WILL GET THEM OPEN SHOTS. But when he is dishing to Kirilenko, Bell, Watson, and Price that is disaster in the making. The only guy that can make open shots is CJ, and even he is inconsistent.

And yes, the Suns failed because they couldnt stop teams defensively. But Deron is a much better defensive player than Nash, and Nash was the reason the Suns got burned on defense. I remember Amare abusing Duncan in several playoff games defensively.