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3. Paul Millsap will make the All-Star team ... and a small fortune in the summer

For this prediction to come true, two things will need to happen in the fan voting, both of which seem fairly likely. First, Chris Paul will need to edge past Tracy McGrady at the guard position; provided anybody in China is actually watching the games, this should happen. Second, Amare Stoudemire will need to beat out Anthony at forward; with Anthony out with a broken hand, that also seems probable.

Should both of those events take place, Millsap has a good chance of filling out the end of the West roster. If you accept that the first five spots would go to starters Stoudemire, Paul, Bryant, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming, and the next five to subs Brandon Roy, Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, that leaves two spots open.

In that scenario, the Jazz would be the only one of the top nine Western teams without a representative. And Millsap's argument is getting stronger by the day. He's averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds as a starter, and since Nov. 24, he's had a double-double in every game. All 18 of them. Even the Milwaukee game, when he left in the first half with a hyperextended knee and somehow came back to finish it.

In that time, he clearly has been the Jazz's best player. In fact, he's the main reason the Jazz are still in the playoff discussion despite having had Carlos Boozer for only 12 games and a hobbled Deron Williams for 22 of them. His PER of 20.60 is comparable to those of his probable competition for the final two spots (Jason Terry, Nene Hilario, Shaquille O'Neal and Manu Ginobili), and his per-game averages, which were dampened a bit when he spent much of November as a reserve, should be very solid by the time it comes up for a vote.

All of which sets him up for a pretty big payday this summer, when he'll be a restricted free agent in a market that's not exactly inundated with A-list names.

6. Utah will play its trump card

The Jazz can start celebrating this summer. No, not because they won the championship -- in fact, thanks to all their injuries, the Jazz likely will barely scrape into the playoffs and might not survive more than a round once they're there.

No, the Jazz can start celebrating because the Knicks aren't going to have one of the eight best records in their conference. Which means, thanks to Isiah Thomas' trade for Stephon Marbury in 2004, the Jazz are guaranteed to get New York's first-round pick in 2010, which figures to be high. (The Jazz got the pick in a subsequent trade when the Suns dumped Tom Gugliotta's contract on them to avoid the luxury tax.)

And since it's an unprotected pick, it's likely to have some serious trade value -- which is big news for a team that's positioned to win now rather than count on a high pick leading it to future glory. It seems the Jazz would be much more likely to trade this pick than use it themselves.

Fast forward to this summer, and you can see how this pick could become a huge factor -- regardless of whether they keep Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Millsap (all of whom could be free agents), the Jazz will have the wherewithal to fill any holes on their roster with the pick, especially in an environment in which teams are likely to be shedding contracts left and right.

So my preseason prediction of Utah winning the West probably won't come true this season. But it might be a case of the Jazz merely being delayed rather than denied.

Batronuj wrote:I've always thought that was a more valuable trade piece then draft pick. It's could be a potentially high pick, not top pick but possible top 10 which would be awesome.

But even with a top 10 pick you have to hope you get a player that is of value, and you have to hope that player ever turns into anything which the odds are against you.

Teams love picks, and the Jazz could make a good move for a good player with that pick. It's a real wild card.