Trade Milsap & AK or Memo

[GP]

I think patience is the key right now. However, BH, you make a very good point about mediocrity. I think the Jazz are the poster child for being consistently the "almost great" team. This team to me is always a "contender for the WCF", never a championship. This viewpoint makes me think that maybe it is time to make some changes and take a gamble.

[princeofpalace]

Detroit offers Rip Hamilton for Okur

[DelaneyRudd]

What are we the Thunder?

[blackham9258]

One of the last posts finally got to the point I am trying to make. Milsap, I love him but if he is our PF we are not a title contender....PERIOD! He may be a great feel good story, but he is just too undersized. We would be an upper tier team, but always short of top tier.

I just think we need to mix it up now to make progress for next year. I like the idea of Okur for Hamilton. That is a great deal. We get a stud SG who fits the Jazz perfectly, and we then have a more open option with Boozer and Milsap. I think we should still sign Boozer, but if we decide to save the money and went with Milsap, we could try to trade Boozer for a Defensive center now.

Lets face the truth, we will not be winning a championship this year period! Boston, and LA are to good and too long and athletic. We won't have capspace for 2010 and that large free agent crop, so we need to be proactive now. I could do:

Okur for Rip
Boozer for Okafor and Pick

Leaving
Williams/Knight
Hamilton/Korver
Brewer/AK
Milsap/AK
Okafor/Koufos

That makes us ... HUNGRY ... Yeah, I think Hungry sums it up. We are still deep, but now we are athletic and defensive.

[JStockLivesOn]

You just said a team could never win a championship with Millsap as their PF, so now you're trading our two big men in a deal that will see Millsap's minutes increase and force the wire-thin AK to play heavily at the 4 also?

[TaylorJ]

Is the point of your argument is we can't win a championship with Millsap because he is too short but we can with Boozer because he is so much taller? According to the Jazz, Millsap is one inch shorter than Boozer (I don't know if they are being honest but I have no idea why they would lie about Millsap's height and not Boozers). Would you say that Boozer is a better defender than Millsap? If not, then what is your point about the dominant fours in the league. Sure, they might score points against Millsap (just like they do against each other and every other team in the league) but I'm confident that Millsap does a better job defnesively against them than Boozer. Bottom line, I don't see how any of the points you made regarding why we can't win with Millsap as our PF can't be made for why we can't win with Boozer as our PF. In my opinion, both of them are great players and the Jazz can be successful with either of them as long as we have the right pieces around them (mainly a strong interior defender).

[blackham9258]

The point of my comments is as follows: We are too weak defensively and we need to upgrade significantly. That means Trading someone. We also face the choice this offseason of resigning Boozer or Milsap. Boozer is flat out better, and anyone who argues against that needs to only see the offers that come their way this summer. Boozer will get at least $90M, and Milsap something around $45-$54M. I believe that since our cap position is such that we cannot sign them both, I say choose now and get what you can. To me that means trading Milsap as long as you get something of value. I do not believe we are capable of winning this year against LA or Boston. Because of that, I believe that smart teams reshape and retool one to two years ahead of problems, and the bad teams recognize it too late and consign themselves to mediocrity. We have some serious assets right not, we can stand by and see them slip away without compensation or we can look to improve our team.

It is simple:

I believe we will be a 7-10 seed without Boozer. I believe we are a 2-4 seed with him and the team as currently constituted. With Boozer, and a defensive low post starter like Okafor we can be a championship contender.

[JStockLivesOn]

Again, though, if that's the case, why would you advocate a trade that sends Boozer packing and keeps Millsap, who you think so little of?

[princeofpalace]

What about Rip & Sheed for AK, Okur and Brewer (or Price)

[blackham9258]

In response to JStocklives: Why I would advocate trading Boozer, if I believe in him so much? I would only advocate that if we were to replace Okur with a stud defensive presence and Boozer went to somewhere like Detroit for Hamilton and a Pick or something. I could live with Milsap/ Okafor (or someone of equal overall value and defensive value) versus Boozer/Okafor if we got a Hamilton type player and picks as well.

Okafor/Koufus
Milsap/AK
Brewer/Ak
Hamilton/Korver
Williams/Knight

[JStockLivesOn]

That's fair enough. But it would also seem to indicate, then, that you do believe it's possible to attain an NBA title with Millsap.

I'm not trying to mince words here. I'm just saying that, if Paul were really a no-chance-whatsoever-at-being-an-All-Star player, as you said you believed him to be, then those trades wouldn't make us serious contenders for a title by any stretch.

[blackham9258]

To your point, No I don't think that squad is a title contender. But it accomplishes one aspect of my view point, and that is to leverage your assets for more assets. The Jazz cannot sit back and let assets walk out the door with no return, because that is what will happen if they do not make a trade before the deadline.

I think this line up could be a championship contender 2 years from now:

Okafor/Koufus/Fesenko
Boozer/Ak
Brewer/Ak
CJ/Korver
Williams/Knight

I say two years because CJ needs to come along a lot, and Brewer a little bit more too.

[JStockLivesOn]

Okay. I disagree with your assessment, but that's a reasonable view certainly.

[blackham9258]

What do you make of Miami's rumored trade for Jermaine O'neal? I was a little surprised, and would be very surprised if they pulled the trigger. I assumed like everyone else that they were targeting Boozer this off-season. If they indeed pull off this trade, that leaves only Memphis and OKC, unless I am missing someone else who would have the major cap space to sing Boozer to a huge contact.

I guess Detroit would be his only other location, and I really wonder if Boozer would choose a dieing city and a franchise who is retooling over the Jazz. Come to think of it however, Detroit is the perfect example of a team that is making the right moves a year or two in advance. They know that they can't beat Cleveland or Boston this year so they jettison Billups to boost their young point guard, and clear cap for the off-season so that they can retool. If they get Boozer, they are a contender again.... wise, very wise to be a player this off-season than to try to beat out the entire league who is trying to clear cap for the 2010 large free-agent crop.

Stuckey
Hamilton
Prince
Boozer
McDyess/Wallace.... likely a sign and trade for a center.

I digress:

Also, with Miles going back on Portland's cap, we lose them as suitors for Milsap as well.

I still think that Milsap gets a big offer from both OKC and Memphis and that we lose him this offseason for nothing.

I love both players and just feel that Boozer is the more likely player to lead us to a championship. But what I most would like to see is the Jazz to be decisive and make a choice now to ensure they get something for whoever they will be choosing not to resign in the off-season.

[freakazoid]

blow up the whole team for cap and picks. sweet. with that cap we can sign AI or Sheed. Or maybe we save the cap and go after amare or lebron or wade? Im sure one would come to utah right? with one guy on our team deron williams. Other then that why would a player come to us? Millsap can play, he is improving his mid range game and overall he will just be a better player then carlos. He may not ever get to where boozer is offensively, but he already has more D and hustle, not to mention more durable. Id take millsap at 9 million for 5 years over carlos 16 over 5.

God, I love sarcasm.

Best post I've read in a long time.

Who would know I'm the king of sarcastic posting? You're welcome, New Jazzy.

Wait....I forgot how much you paid for Kidd and......haha, as if anyone cares.
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