Post#46 » by JDubJazz » Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:41 pm
After having a few hours to digest this move, I don't hate it as much as I did yesterday. Its is a lot of money saved, but it was also at the expense of talent. To me this says the Jazz don't really like what they are seeing on the court and realize that this team is not an upper echelon contender. Its not worth it to pay Isaiah Thomas @ the Knicks level salary and tax burdens for a middling team. It will be interesting to see if there are future moves coming as well.
I don't think we should expect a Boozer or Korver trade now, as it seems the Jazz are most interested in the cash savings that expiring contracts can get them in the offseason. Once Boozer and Korver fall off the books and are under the tax bill, it will be time to rebuild the Jazz. The Knicks pick is looking more and more like a mid first-rounder, so there goes our hopes of getting a real stud in the draft. At least the Jazz will have a sizeable trade exception they can use in the offseason which gives them flexibility.
All-in-all, I think the Jazz are in a very dangerous place. The team does have to deal with the same rocky finances that have burdened this country recently. In the past though, we had Larry Miller, who was emotionally connected to the team and really cared about winning. Now, it looks like Greg only cares about the bottom line. If this is how he is going to run the team for the foreseeable future, there is a better than 50/50 chance we become the next "LA Clippers." Unless the Jazz can find a way to replace the talent they are going to lose over the next 6-8 months, they will be nothing more than an also-ran. Does anyone think Deron will stick around for that?
--J-Dub--