Jazz fall abruptly into summer overhaul


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SALT LAKE CITY — For the second time in three years and fifth time in 10 years the Jazz have finished out of the playoffs.

"It's going to be a long summer," Gordon Hayward said, while waiting for his season-ending meeting with Jazz management. "It's weird, because you get close to these guys and now I feel bad for them because with so many free agents you don't know how many will be back."

The reluctant third year leader of the Jazz was referring to the amazing number (nine of the 15 players on the roster) who are in the last weeks of their contracts with the Jazz, headed to free agency on July 1, 2013.

Jazz expiring contracts

PlayerSalary
Al Jefferson$15 million
Mo Williams$8.5 million
Paul Millsap$7.2 million
Randy Foye$2.5 million
Earl Watson$2 million
Jamaal Tinsley$1.35 million
DeMarre Carroll$885,000

To a man, those Jazz players with expiring contracts all praised teammates, talked glowingly about this Jazz franchise approach towards winning and running the business of the NBA. All of them say they want to return, which is exactly what 99 percent of free agents-to-be say. Kyle Korver told me the same thing when came into town, and free agents always want more bidders for their services.

That may be a cold assessment, and I realize these guys probably genuinely want to return to the Jazz - except maybe Paul Millsap.

It was clear from the 10 minutes he spent with the media, that he has deep emotions on the situation, deeply mixed feelings. When asked how he felt about two-thirds of the team being at the end of their contacts and maybe not coming back Millsap's response was short,

"I'm not thinking about that, I don't want to think about it so I'm not going to," the seven-year veteran said.

Millsap's case is unique. He played seven seasons under Sloan and Corbin, and he feels a bit under-appreciated, referring to adjustments he had to constantly make this past season with Coach Corbin's substitution patterns, which affected Millsap's minutes and ability to get comfortable in his role.

In defense of Corbin, Millsap's inconsistent, sometimes apathetic play contributed to the adjustments with minutes. Those factors and the obvious rapid development of 21-year-old Derrick Favors and 20-year-old Enes Kanter.

Still Millsap understands the business of basketball.

"It's not a bad time, it's a good time, exciting to think that all of my preparation and development of my craft will hopefully be rewarded," he said.

Don't cry for Millsap, he's made close to $34 million in his seven NBA seasons and will likely command another big money contract here or somewhere else this summer.

Then there's the upcoming decision on Big Al and his big contract. The Jazz will have to decide if his 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game are worth $15 million a year. His situation will be one of the great test cases of the owners lockout and the new, team-friendly collective bargaining agreement forced on the players a year and a half ago.

Jefferson has enjoyed a tremendous three years here, scoring over 4,000 points while playing and starting 221 games. As the free agent brought in to effectively replace Carlos Boozer, he has far exceeded expectations. He has a polished low-post game, impressive big-man offensive skills, and even now pokes fun at himself.

"You know I had this reputation as a 'black hole' and believe me I earned every bit of it," he said at the locker clean out.

However, under the tutelage of the Jazz "system," Jefferson has become an adequate passer and Big Al tells us Jazz management told him, "They appreciate how hard I've worked on my defense and how much it's improved."

Then there are the shooters that were brought in to fill a desperate need from the previous season, Mo Williams and Randy Foye. These two guards are now free agents for the second straight summer.

"I'm going into my eleventh season, and stability matters so much more now than it used to," Mo Williams said. "The Jazz drafted me, gave me my first chance in the NBA, so of course I want to come back. They know how I feel."

Is Mo's shoot-first point guard game worth anything near the $8.5 million he made this season? That is something that remains to be seen. Randy Foye can fill it up from the perimeter and, at $2.5 million, could come at a reasonable salary number, but his performance on the road was not good, again, so Jazz nation will have to wait and see on Foye.

Ty Corbin's longevity as Jazz head coach may be inexorably tied to how the team is constituted after this summer's rebuild. After taking over amid the chaos of Sloan's quitting and Deron's blockbuster trade, Corbin then had to learn on the fly through the lockout and no training camp.

This season, with nine expiring contracts, was his first "normal" season, if you call two-thirds of your team heading into the uncertainty of free agency normal. He admits it was a challenge to juggle that incredible, on-going lack of stability, praises his players for back-burnering those concerns and pushing hard, together, to win and make the playoffs. He made it clear coaching with so much uncertainty wasn't much fun. When he asked around the league for advice or input on how to best get focus and production from his nine soon-to-be free agents, Corbin said the response was a collective "good luck!".

He boiled down the Jazz management's position on whom to bring back and whom to let go and it dovetails precisely with what's resonating league-wide. The free agent market will dictate who ends up here or there. Look for shorter deals and marginally less money than in the past.

Now if you are a fan of the Jazz,and maybe even the Millers, Lindsey and O'Connor, what an incredibly exciting time. There is plenty of money to spend, young talent to build around, and draft picks to sweeten up a deal. At the same time there's a long range view that will factor in decisions on Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Both will be free agents next year, and by comparison with other deals signed by similar talent, Hayward and Favors will demand contracts in the 4 year/$40-$50 Million range.

Now let's not get too far ahead, and take a moment to prepare for another draft lottery. As it stands right now, Jazz will have the No. 14 and No. 21 pick in the first round and in the 2nd round, No. 44 overall.

The deep disappointment of another "no playoffs" spring will soon give way to excitement, wonder and speculation of a major team-building summer, but with the huge advantage of already having the "Core-Four" Hayward, Favors, Kanter and Burks to build around.

Attached, you can experience the sights and sounds of this story in much shorter, yet also more entertaining TV feature-form from the KSL 5 TV News Thursday 10pm.

As always welcome your feedback. In short burst, Twitter form @tksportsbeat or if you like more than 140 characters, email also works. tom.kirkland@ksl.com

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