Josh Smith would be a sweet addition to the Jazz. He's a defensive maniac, second in the league in blocks, can play at the four spot and is a prolific scorer as well. Kind af a Shaun Marion type. If we could dump AK and a two gaurd for him I think we would be in contention

you heard the man himself right here. jazz are bringin it this year, watch out! -roll one for the jazz-

"Williams made that much clear two-plus weeks ago, when he signed a contract extension with the Jazz that could be worth about $70 million and keep him here through at 2013."

For a second I thought I was reading an article on ESPN.com!

I have to wonder if Williams has met and had lessons from David Robinson? His alitude and behavior remind me a lot of Robinson when he first arrived in San Antonio and look what happened to the Spurs.

Don't fool yourself,there are 50 million reasons why Williams is all about the JAZZ!. And if were not for those 50 million reasons he would be somewhere else!.

Go jazz! I'm so glad we got dwill and so glad he's decided to stay! Can't think of a better player to lead our team to a chmpiondhip!!!

Nice to see the GM and point get along like Stockton.
Just grab Boozer and Malone...how much fun?

Booze is a Jazzman.............he can go manic for us!

Is the man!!!

D-will is the player of Jazz fan's dreams. Plus he knows the game. DEFENSE is what that team needs. Starting with Boozer! I can't believe what I have been hearing from Jazz fans all summer. "Dump Ak, I'm so worried Boozer and his ole defense will go to Miami". Did you people watch the same playoffs I did? Boozer stunk offensively and couldn't (or wouldn't) guard anyone. Why would you want to get rid of the only great defender on a team whose weakness is defense??? Boozer can be replaced. Any above average power forward would get 20 points in the Jazz pick and roll offense with Deron Williams at point guard. Kirilenko is the unique talent. He was solid on offense and is amazing with his blocks, the shots he alters, hustle plays, great passes, steals, and defense. The game is played on both ends of the court people! Something most Jazz fans and Carlos Boozer need to learn. The Jazz need to model themselves after the Spurs, Pistons, and Celtics (see champions) not the freaking Mavericks, Warriors, and Suns!! Let Boozer go to Miami, get a PF who will compete defensively.

D-Will is a stud!

Ditto.

You really get it!

Anyone remember AK's big 3s at the very end? They put the ball in his hands when it mattered and he came through for us.

DWill really is the man, thanks for staying!

D WILL FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!

Memo is a better defender than Boozer, and equal rebounder, and could play the post in the offense as well or better.

Even if they didn't get a center, they could slide AK to 4 where his defensive presence would be stronger, but have Memo pick and roll and pick and pop on offense. The Jazz have PLENTY of guys who could play the 3.

If the Jazz are left with a choice between the two, I'd choose Memo.

DWILL is freakin awesome!!!

@ Memo V. Boozer

Agreed, but I think the Jazz would need another starting caliber big to Take Boozers spot if they wanted to remain a solid title contender.

Booze vs Okur--Booze much, much better low post scorer, as long as he does not have athletic 7ft defender on him...Booze's strength, low post scoring is not gonna get better against much taller defenders, and quick shot blocking help defenders (think Tim Duncan, Lamar Odom) Booze is much better rebounder in traffic, and will use his body on the post..

Okur is a outside shooter, high post scorer...can move his feet to rebound a few feet away from basket, but will never be a physical presence in the paint..he is more of a nowitzki type, and if he played for don nelson, would score 25 pts a game

Booze, however, knows this is a contract yr, and his lack of defense is well known. He has potential to be a physical defender on the post, using his body to defend, but will never be a shot blocker

While Booze on the low post makes the Jazz a good team, having Booze as main scorer on the post, will never get the Jazz a title

Thanks for the insight.

The Jazz could seriously improve their chance of winning a championship by blowing this team up and starting over. They should keep Deron Williams and get rid of everyone else because he is the only player on the Jazz team with the heart of a champion and the talent and skills to match.

Boozer, Okur, and AK are decent players but they are incredibly soft and lackadaisical. These guys are happy to collect their fat paychecks not caring much whether they win or lose. Korver and Brewer have too many holes in their game to count on. They might score 20 points one game and 2 the next. Harpring and Millsap certainly try hard but Millsap is too short and Harpring is too old to do much damage on a consistent basis.

Did I leave anyone out? Coach Sloan needs to retire too. Sloan-ball is a good formula to win 45-50 games and lose in the playoffs every year. It would be better to tank a year or 2 and draft a real big man like San Antonio did.

RE: Memo V Boozer

You are spot-on!

Completely agree. I think the Jazz should put AK at the 4. He thrived at that spot before Boozer came to Utah.

I would take Memo for a few reasons,

The first reason is Memo's versatility, he can play PF or C he can take advantage of smaller guys in the post and force bigger guys to guard him outside.

Second is that because of the first reason finding a replacement for Boozer is easier than finding a replacement for Memo. if you kept Memo you could get a defensive minded center or a smaller energy guy like Josh Smith to take Boozers spot. If you get rid of Memo you pretty much need a good defensive center to replace him narrowing the feild of potential replacements to just a handful of players.

Third, Defense is the Jazz biggest weakness and Boozer is one of the Jazz weakest defenders. The Jazz have the capacity to make up for losing Boozers offensive production and Sloans offence has a way of bringing out the best in whoever plays the PF position so upgrading the interior defence by losing the weakest link seems logical.

Lastly he is cheaper. Boozer is going to be max money, Memo probably in the 11-12 mil a year range.

Lets see what Williams will do with the big contract
he has now. I hope he sees the bottom of the net and
not $$$ signs like so many NBA players. I think NBA
guys should be paid after each season is finished and
have a scale that rewards their team and individual
talents. I have a hard believing that Williams will
be as good after signing this contract. Time will tell

If I had to pick between Boozer and okur for this team I would keep Okur. Okur is a better low post defender and rebounds as good as Boozer most of the time, and better than Boozer when focused (durring the playoffs Boozer cracked double figures on the boards less than 40% of the games due to Okurs dominance).

Boozer used to be a better low post scorer until he found out it was easier to just shoot a fadaway jumper. He's been playing like Malone did at the end of his career.

The other reason is that it is much harder to replace Okur than Booze. Collins? Fess? No way!! Could we do just as well with Milsap? Yes. There were more than one game last year when Boozer sat long into the 4th because Jerryatric just couldn't afford to take Milsap out.

Trade AK for Josh Smith, remind Booze that it's a contract year and tell him he could make a lot of money if he learns to play defense. All that would be left would be to size the rings

The Jazz only need to keep their team in place. Yes, a defensive stopper would be fantastic, but not at the expense of Boozer, Okur, AK, or Harpring. I remember three years ago when they first aquired Booz and Okur. I thought if they can just keep this team together four four or five years, they will have a championship. This year or next should be the one.

Last year, they should have beaten LA. Call me whatever you want, but if you watch the last games they lost, clearly the refs caused their demise. They handled Boston easily in beantown. The year before only the Spurs were between them and a ring. The Spurs are on the decline. I would like to see Sloan leave Hart off the squad and start giving Fess some minutes, He may be the defense in the middle taht we need.

I love the way Williams talked about being friendly with people around the league in a way John and Karl were not. They were respected, but not liked hardly at all outside of Utah.

Williams' attitude could go a long way toward breaking down barriers for this franchise that the Stockton-Malone era reinforced.

Keep it up D-Will, you may be worth a gazillion dollars after all.

Hart got traded.

I love Boozer. He uses his body well in the post, he's mobile, he finishes strong (except against the Lakers), he carried us at times during the season. We would have been destroyed in game 3 against the Lakers if it wasn't for Boozer. By the way the Jazz are for real and they can compete with anyone in the league. They are also very young and staying athletic with guys like Miles, Brewer.

Go Jazz

I'm curious to see how the crazy Jazz fans handle Kobe and D-Will & Carlos Boozer in the same team jersey (USA)....somehow I think you will find a way to root against TEAM USA because Kobe is on the team.

P.S. Williams is an awesome player!

Totally agree. Kirilenko's defense: steal/block/shot altercations are vital to a Jazz system that can produce efficient offense (as D-will says, scoring is not the issue, but defense needs to pick up). Boozer's low post scoring is great, but in the playoffs when it's being taken away, he can't contribute as much as the regular season. D-will can hurt you in so many ways (3-pointers, driving and kicking, pick and roll) I'm so glad he's staying

I didn't say I don't like Boozer. He seems like a great guy. And its not that I don't think he has the ability to play defense. He is just too soft and coasts on defense. Boozer looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane!

Do you know what the (young)Mailman would have done with that tall skinny floppy haired Spaniard guarding him? Take him down on the low block and punish him. Out muscle him. Get him in foul trouble. Gasol would have been begging for the boat back to Madrid. Even though Gasol is taller, Malone would have used his strength to get in position to get shots or lived at the foul line.

Boozer shot fade away jumpers and tippy-toed around outside the paint the whole series. Until he starts playing defense I think the Jazz would be foolish to give him max money.

Okur over Boozer. Not even close. After watching Koufos and Fesenko, they are clearly not ready to contribute at the NBA level. Not this year, not next year. So when you add the fact that every NBA team is looking for quality centers, Memo is much more important.
Memo plays two positions, is a great fit with Sloans system, loves living in SLC, and in general looks like a guy who is not as money crazy as Boozer. I just don't trust Boozer as a long range big money investment. Lets hope that we can get something good in return for him, and send him packing before he walks away from us.

The key to Jazz success is 1) Sloan and his emphasis on hustle, hard work and defense, 2) Williams and his competitive drive, intelligence and leadership, 3) Eliminating the weak link on Jazz defense by getting Boozer to play better D or replacing him, and 4) keeping all the other parts that have showed brilliance, including Korver, CJ, Brewer and Price. The Jazz might be able to win without 3 and 4, but they need 1 and 2. If Sloan retires, an assistant who has the same philosophy, such as Johnson or Layden or even Corbin would be fine. But getting rid of Sloan and bringing in some coach with a new angle would be a huge mistake. As for Boozer, I agree with some commentators that he is replaceable to a degree, and I would rather have a tough defender and adequate scorer than another great scorer and poor defender.

Boozer, AK or Okur
Everyone know we can't keep all three and stay under the luxury tax. But that decision does not have to be made until next year. Enjoy this season - we will have one of the top 3 records in the NBA. BTW AK hit two three pointers at the end of the last game

After Boozer returned from his injury, the Jazz became a dangerous team. I agree he needs to play better defense, but he is a key to anthing we hope to accomplish. The only problem with AK is his big salary. This past year he played well.

Didn't do EVERYTHING they could to bring a title to Utah. Let's hope that being friendly with others in the league will do the trick.

So Stockton and Malone weren't good at PR, so what? When they play almost every game for 18 years, never took a night off, never complained (at least Stockton didn't) and PLAYED HURT, in my opinion, they did everything they knew how to do to bring a championship to Utah.

Actually, if I remember correct, Stockton tried to recruit Barkley towards the end of the 90's to come to the Jazz, but he declined to stay with the Rockets. Still, he said that it was one of the biggest compliments he ever got, to have John Stockton try and recruit him.

Trade A.K. for Marion. The salaries match and Marion has just one year left on his contract, which will bring out the best in him because is is a contract year. Don't worry about the attitude issue because like I said it is a contract year. Then if he doesn't measure up let him go or get a sign and trade. But I guarantee he will be putting out this year, and he is very comparitable to A.K. in every category. That clears up the cap issue for the next few years.

I think most Jazz fans are hard on Boozer because they did lose in the playoffs, if the Jazz would have pulled it out, we all would be praising him like a god. I think he could step up his defensive game, just like everybody else on the team. Defense does win championships. We won't get a better quality player than Boozer, so lets back him up, and pray he(and the team)work harder on defensive end. Keep AK and Memo too, they bring a lot to the team that would be hard to replace.

First, I love JS.....Secondly, as everyone knows by now, Booz is a sieve defensively and the rest of the of the jazz roster, to varying degrees, isn't far behind......The job of turning multi millionare players in to a cohesive defensive unit falls on sloan......for one of the toughest player/coaches ever to play or sit the sideline, it totally befuddles me how he can sit by and watch the total lack of effort put forth by booz et al......he handles booz with kid gloves and tolerates his lack of hustle and mistakes while never once calling booz out....i guess trading points for points with the other teams pf works for js....sloan is the "only" person on earth that can command that booz play on both ends of the court....let's just hope js has the cajones to "DEMAND" a better defensive effort than what Booz has put forth in the past....There's alway hope.....

I love Boozer. There is no one else in the league the plays like him. His offense is excellent but I do agree with his defense. It needs to be worked on. but I think after the olympics he will come back and be a much better defender. Remember Boozer is a 2 time all-star in the in the past 2 years. D-Will to Booze. Thats what we'll be hearing for the next decade. GO JaZZ

I would love to see the Jazz trade Boozer/Collins/Korver to Atlanta for Pachulia and a (resigned 3yr. 45m deal) Josh Smith. Put Kirilenko at the 4, use Josh Smith incredible speed and defense at the 3, and Pachulia/Okur Center/PF. Atlanta would do this to pick up Boozer an All-Star who they can resign next year with all their cap space, Korver a wing to replace Childress (Maybe even Harpring since he is a local Georgia boy) and Collins, to free up space next year. And obviously Josh Smith does not want to play there.

CJ Miles will backup the 3, Millsap the 3 and 4, Almond and Price the 2, Price and Knight the 1.

I think that would be a Championship worthy team.

Because of the cap the Jazz can not keep D-will, Boozer, Memo A.K., Milsap, Brewer, and this team in place. Whats it going to be experts? You can't have your cake and eat it any longer. So decide what management needs to do, because I guarantee you all that Larry Miller ent. is not going to pay the luxury tax. Your dreaming if you think everything can stay status quo.

I think that is a great idea that both teams might gain from and be willing to do. One of the few realistic, good trade ideas I have ever seen posted.

If you want to see what AK has in his way of game just watch what he does in the O games. He will show he is not just a ok guy. A few years ago he was the Jazz only bright spot, scoring machine, defensive hustle that gave you the chills etc. Let this team have one more year together and see what happens? Who knows I think D Will is going to drive all of them there, Booz, Memo will have break out years typicaal of guys that have a shot at the open market it just drives valua up for themselves. I heard from a friend that is close to some LA players that Kobe is going to go to the Suns for Stotelmyrer and Rajah.

does anyone else beleive that williams and brewer could end up being elite defenders? Memo is a great defender already (2007 vs. yao) and ak is also especially off the ball.So pretty much that leaves one position left to be a great defender and that is boozer who needs to improve or we should ship him outa here.If you don't beleive me about williams and brewer just watch a few years of experience and we'll have a shutdown backcourt

SCaltransplant great post. I tried to paste your post here with my response, but was not allowed to. I have advocated trading Boozer and moving AK to the power forward position as a way of maximizing AK offensively and defensively, and of improving our interior defense. Just wanted to say their are others that agree with your post!