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SALT LAKE CITY - With all the movement the Jazz have seen this offseason players and front office personnel are getting replaced and now are popping up elsewhere in the NBA.
The Jazz added Mo and Marvin Williams, Randy Foye and Kevin Murphy since the season ended. That means the point guard, small forward, shooting sixth man and someone deep on the bench were replaced.
This isn't a look at all the players that left, as in Devin Harris and Andrei Kirilenko, just those that left without a big story.
First is C.J. Miles. He was the longest tenured Jazz man and is now working into his first new team since he came into the league out of high school with the Jazz seven years ago. He went to Cleveland to fill a weak small forward position that was held last season by Omri Casspi.
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He almost signed with the Thunder four years ago when they were a mere storm cloud coming off a 20-win season much like the Cavs and Miles thinks Cleveland could take similar steps.
"It's a lot like that, I feel," Miles said. "Honestly I'm a couple years older, but other than that it's a similar situation. They have similar types of pieces with Kyrie (Irving) there, drafting Dion (Waiters) this year, and drafting Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson, there are a lot of young guys on the team. I'm one of the older guys and I'm 25 so that just lets you know where we stand with that. I think the oldest guy is Anderson (Varejao) and he's 29."
Miles was looked at as a "what if" player for years with the Jazz. He was drafted out of high school and they kept bringing him back based on his potential. Still only 25 the Cavaliers think they could tap into what Utah never could.
"I just thought that he had so much left in him basketball-wise that's really untapped," Cavaliers coach Bryon Scott said, from ESPN Rumor Central. "I think there are so many other things he can do on the basketball court. I was honest with him. I told him how I felt. I told him I thought he would be a great fit for us. ... I'm the type of coach who's going to work him, but I want him to know that I want the other abilities he has inside of him to come out."
Jazz fans have seen splashes of his potential over time and if the Cavs can help him become consistent then the Cavs could be taking big steps over the next two years.
Next up is Josh Howard, who is currently homeless, not literally though. Howard played one season for the Jazz and was in the starting lineup for 18 games last season including three in the playoffs. Now he is waiting for a call or maybe to make his choice where to play next year.
According to a tweet by Marc Spears of Yahoo! Howard has three teams looking at him, "Free agent F Josh Howard, a Winston Salem native, has been working out with Charlotte this week, sources tell Y! CHI, NY amongst interested."
He might not get the chance to start in either of those situations, with the Bobcats drafting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but each team could offer him a chance to play and with the Bulls and maybe Knicks a chance to win, sorry Charlotte.
Last player is Blake Ahearn. Ahearn was signed from the D-League last year to add depth when Devin Harris and Earl Watson were injured. He is a sharp shooter, but wasn't brought back with the Jazz's logjam at point guard.
He is now signed to get a shot with the Pacers. This is only a training camp contract, but it will give him a shot to play a full season in the NBA. However there is a lot of competition for Ahearn according to John Lark of "Bettor.com."
"The Pacers already have enough players to fill into their back-court rotation which includes the likes of recently re-signed George Hill, D.J. Augustin, Paul George, Gerald Green, Lance Stephenson and Orlando Johnson."
It won't be a guarantee, but for the all-time leading scorer in the D-League, a shot is all he could ask for to show off his his skills.
The other big name, non-player, that will work for another organization is Scott Layden. In what amounts to a trade Layden will take the assistant general manager position left vacant by the Jazz bringing Dennis Lindsey in for their general manager position.
Quizem Ramirez of "Air Alamo" wrote about the accomplishments of Layden and why he works with the Spurs.
"His astute player management was indicated by the efficacy of the organization; Utah won 50+ games for five consecutive seasons in addition to three 60+ win campaigns. As a result, Layden was named runner up for the Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year award in the 1994-95 season (Utah finished 60-22.) Layden later joined the New York Knicks and helped them advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000. Judging by his extensive resume, Layden appears to be a nice fit for the Spurs organization."
