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SALT LAKE CITY - The NBA is now entrenched in the dead time. With the Dwight Howard trade to the Lakers most of the big movement of the offseason is done and now it is time to look back.
The Jazz are still in flux. After years of Stockton to Malone and D-Will holding down the star roles for the Jazz. Now they are still searching for their star, or finding a way to build around the young stars they believe they have.
In the past two years they will have a new player starting at each position. Deron Williams, Raja Bell, Andrei Kirilenko, Josh Howard, Mehmet Okur, Devin Harris and C.J. Miles have all started games over the past two years and are either gone, or are Raja Bell.
That much turnover might put a team struggling to find an identity, but according to ESPN's future rankings it has the Jazz poised to contend in the coming years. They are ranked fourth in their future rankings. The rankings are for success from 2013 to 2016. The link is an Insider link, but here are some clips of the story.
"After two really solid summers and a better-than-expected season in 2011-12, our optimism for the Jazz has never been higher. How does a No. 8-seed in the Western Conference without any stars warrant such a position?
Despite working in a less-than-desirable market, Jazz executive vice president Kevin O'Connor continues to be proactive in rebuilding this roster in a way that keeps the team winning while adding young pieces for the future."
The Jazz are still a year or two and a piece or two away from being serious contenders, but all signs continue to point in the right direction.
–ESPN Future Rankings
They talk about the mix of youth and veteran leadership from Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson to the young stars Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks. If the Jazz can keep Mo Williams they could have the pieces of their starting lineup for a few years.
Even in the front office the Jazz have their future set up with the addition of Dennis Lindsey. The future ranking includes one last caveat to their future success.
"The Jazz are still a year or two and a piece or two away from being serious contenders, but all signs continue to point in the right direction."
Chad Ford of ESPN gives his grade for every offseason trade. He gives the Jazz a B+ for adding Mo and Marvin Williams, Randy Foye and most importantly not losing any key players.
"Once again, executive vice president Kevin O'Connor deftly used his assets to add depth to his roster. He turned Mehmet Okur's trade exception into a starting point guard and turned Harris' expiring deal into Marvin Williams. Mo Williams should be a significant upgrade over Harris at the point. He is a better shooter and plays the pick-and-roll much better than Harris. And Marvin Williams' shooting stroke and defensive abilities give Utah some much-needed depth at small forward."
He adds that the biggest news should be the addition of Lindsey. This is setting up the Jazz for a long-term success.
"Perhaps the biggest news of the summer, however, was O'Connor's decision to hand over the GM duties to the Spurs' Dennis Lindsey. O'Connor, who has been with the club since 1999, has set up the Jazz for another long run and made a great call in putting in place a succession plan that included Lindsey. He has got the perfect combination of basketball and management IQ, along with the requisite dose of humility, to follow in O'Connor's huge footsteps."
There are two moves that the Jazz weren't able to pull off that might have changed their fortunes. The first is the reported buyout of Bell that was close but is now stalling. The other was a reported trade that didn't go down. The Jazz were shopping Millsap for then Magic forward Ryan Anderson.
NBC Sports' Kurt Helin talked about the trade that didn't go down with the upside and downside that would come to the Jazz.
"The problem is that Millsap becomes a free agent after next season and the Jazz could lose him for nothing if he leaves. He's not going to sign an extension — it's in his financial interest not to — and Millsap may stay, but that brings risk for the Jazz.
Losing Millsap would mean the starting four spot goes to Derrick Favors. It might anyway, they will split time and battle for the starting spot. Anderson scored 16.1 points per game last season, shooting 39 percent from three."
If Favors is the future for the Jazz moving Millsap could bring in a complement to his game. A player such as Anderson who could stretch the floor and let the Jazz's other big men, such as Favors, Jefferson or Enes Kanter on the second team could benefit from the paint getting opened up.
With the expiring contracts of Jefferson and Millsap the trade rumors will still go through the season, but the foundation has been laid for the future regardless of the movement the rest of this season may bring.
