NBA Trade Alert - More Change in Utah

More news for the dozens of people that might still give a rat’s ass about the NBA. Deron Williams, franchise point guard of the Utah Jazz, has been traded to the New Jersey Nets. That’s right, the one decent player they had left has been dealt…just weeks after the Jazz said goodbye to longtime head coach Jerry Sloan.

Me, oh my! I’ve been a fan of the consistent mediocrity that is Utah Jazz basketball for so long! What shall I do now?

The trade itself is fairly shocking, although it probably shouldn’t be. It was becoming increasingly evident that Deron Williams no longer wanted to stay in Utah over the long-term. And usually when a superstar starts to tip in that direction, the situation can only get worse.

So there goes my favorite player…from my favorite team…in what used to be my favorite sport. Que sera, sera.

But since I like to play armchair G.M. anyway, I might as well give my two cents on this deal (assuming the early reports are correct).


Here’s what New Jersey gets:

- Deron Williams (PG), easily one of the best point guards in the league. At age 26, still in his prime years…and under contract through next season with a player option for 2012-13.


Utah gets:

- Derrick Favors (PF), 3rd overall pick in last year’s draft. Mixed results in limited action so far this season, but incredible potential and highly-valued prospect.


- Devin Harris (PG), an underrated, savvy point guard with solid skill set. Soon-to-be 28, should still have a few years left as a legitimate NBA starter. Contract goes through the next two seasons, at a considerably lower price tag than Deron would have.


- 2 First Round Draft Picks? Seriously? Reports say that one of the picks will be New Jersey's first rounder for this year’s draft, and the other is Golden State's for next year.


- And $3 million on top of that?

If you consider that Deron Williams was probably not going to stay in Utah, then I can’t blame the Jazz for pulling the trigger here. They get two starting players for the price of one, with 2 first-round picks and cash to boot. For a fringe-playoff team with no clear direction, it doesn’t get much better than this.

I recently wondered if they would try to trade Deron, especially with the fan backlash he received over Sloan’s resignation. I didn’t expect it to happen this soon, but at least it didn’t drag out like the Carmelo Anthony situation.

All in all, this is a great value deal out of a situation that wasn’t likely to get any better. The pieces are now in place to maintain mediocrity for years to come. Crisis averted. Go Jazz!

Sloan Tired of All That Jazz

If not for the unheard consistency of the Utah Jazz franchise, I likely would have lost interest in the NBA a long time ago. I became a fan of the team way back in the late 1980’s, and haven’t given up on them since.

But today, that era of Utah basketball has officially ended with the unexpected resignation of long-time head coach Jerry Sloan.

It may not be quite the exit that he envisioned, but it’s a well-earned retirement nonetheless. Not only did he serve as the head coach in Utah for 23 seasons, but he made his mark as an NBA player for the Chicago Bulls in the 60’s & 70’s. He walks away from the game leaving a legacy that won’t soon be forgotten.

As the league and the game changed, Sloan never did. His fierce competitive nature and work ethic made everyone around him that much better. Though his teams never achieved the ultimate goal of a championship, Sloan always got the most out his players. His signature philosophy of hard-nosed defense and fundamental basketball kept his teams competitive year after year, even when short on talent.

As a fan, I would just like to say thanks to coach Sloan for all the years of hard work and dedication. You will be missed.

One can only hope that newly appointed head coach Tyrone Corbin can establish the same kind of consistency that Sloan did for all those years. But it won’t be easy.

Though most of the team’s issues have been kept behind closed doors, it’s clear that something isn’t quite right in Utah. The front office has done a solid job of replacing departed talent, but this year’s team has yet to put it all together. Add to that the speculation over Deron Williams’ future with the team, and you have quite a mess.

Even though it probably wasn’t just one thing that led to Sloan’s retirement, the timing of his resignation indicates that the team isn’t headed in a positive direction. The talent level is about the same as it has been over the past few years, but the chemistry isn’t there.

So there is probably much more to the story of Sloan’s retirement, but none of it really matters at this point. It’s a new era for Utah Jazz basketball, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

On another note, ESPN still sucks! I have stopped tuning in to SportsCenter completely, but flipped over to ESPiN today to see the story on Sloan. They had a brief and uninformative interview with former Jazz center Mark Eaton, and then went into a lengthy segment about how wonderful the Miami Heat are supposed to be. As if we were still unaware of LeBron taking his talents to South Beach. They even had dramatic background music and everything.

Thank you ESPiN, for doing your best to destroy sports journalism. Keep rolling those Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry highlights…and I’ll keep waiting for a Golden State/LA Clippers conference finals showdown. Stupid pricks.