Meet the 2010-11 Utah Jazz

[drivewayball]

Just so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to proposing deals for the Jazz and assessing the team's short term future, some numbers:

1) The projected luxury tax figure for next season is $65 million.
2) The Jazz ownership will be unwllling to pay luxury tax again next season (educated guess).
3) The Jazz are committed to paying eight players $57.259 million already (AK47, DWill, Millsap, Okur, Maynor, Koufos, Miles and Price) ... so that is basically the core of the team for next season.
4) The Knicks pick, if it is top three, will cost about $4 million in salary. The Jazz regular pick will cost anywhere from $1.5 to $2.5 mill in all liklihood. Even at a low end projection of $5 mill total, that will bring the salary level to within $3 million of the tax limit for 10 players ... leaving just peanuts to fill out the roster.
5) There would appear to be no chance of resigning Brewer without eliminating one or more of the eight current commitments or trading away draft picks for future commitments.

So there you have it. The front office has painted the Jazz into a corner. Unless something like a Kirilenko for expiring contract(s) can be accomplished this season, there is nowhere to go.

[DelaneyRudd]

The Jazz regular pick will be Minnesota's if they make the playoffs. And there isn't any reason to think they wouldn't pay the tax next year. I see them viewing AKs contract expiring as the year they need to look at that. But I agree Brewer is likely gone. He is good and really makes some nice plays but we need more consistency from that position.

[Neon Black]

Yeah I like Brewer but feel like he's pretty much peaked. And on the plus side, front-loading Millsap's contract will help us in the future.

[Racer X]

The Jazz should let Brewer walk:
As much as I love my man Brewer. I was a lone voice crying in the wind during his rookie season to take some of Fishers minutes. However, for us to be a more complete team, we need a more complete player playing at the two guard spot. Brewer is not much of a liability when it comes to spreading the floor.

They should then use the Knicks pick on Evan Turner:
He has been compared to Brandon Roy. He is a VERY complete player. Dude already has 2 triple doubles this season. Has a legit mid range game. He would take ball handling pressure off of Deron. He can create his own shot. He is 6'7 which is excellent size for the 2 guard position.

This what Draft Express tweeted about the possibility:
Depends on their plans for Ronnie Brewer. They can't play together RT @812327 @DraftExpress would Evan Turner fit well with Utah Jazz?

[The Sheik]

Evan Turner has the same problems Ronnie Brewer has now and Ronnie Brewer had as a rookie...ie needs to add weight, needs to develop a consistent jumper. In all likelihood he is an upgrade to Brewer with a higher upside, but he is far from a complete player.

Also as DR stated above our pick is going to Minny if we finish with pick #18 or higher.

They have 2 years to impress Deron Williams before he decides if he stays here or not. The roster you mentioned above will not make the playoffs. The Jazz wont fill their remaining 5 roster spots with minimum players. They will again pay the tax next year or make a deal to get just under at the trade deadline. I think KOC has made known to Greg Miller that they will be a tax paying team for the next 2 years...hence the move to FSN for $$$.

As for Ronnie Brewer the Jazz will let the market decide whether they keep him or not. I personally think anything under 5 mil and the Jazz will match.

The worst decision the Jazz made was extending Okur because personally I would have rather given Boozer a 2yr extension then Memo. This will be Harpring 2.0.

[erudite23]

Well, to be fair, Okur is only two more years at 21m after this. He's 29 now and will be 31 when the contract expires. I think that was a solid move for the player he was in the past. However, he's been much worse this year, so if he doesn't pick it up it will be a bad contract down the road a little.

I think we keep Brewer. This FO has a long track record of keeping their own guys and building from within. Unless he gets a contract above the full MLE, I think he's back with us next year.

The real problem is that Brewer and AK can't play together. They are too similar and not having a shooter on the wing kills our floor spacing. Evan Turner will take 2 years at least before he's nailing the NBA 3 on a consistent basis. That's too long. He doesn't answer our shooting woes, so we are going to need to make a move for a sweet shooting wing who can do some other things too, unlike KK.

That's why I like the idea of Kevin Martin so much. Amazing 3 point shooter and is a capable rebounder and ball handler. We are desperate for someone like that.

[Jampod]

We need a true big man with the Knicks first round pick. The Jazz are due for a complete 7 footer.