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SALT LAKE CITY — As we approach the midpoint in the NBA season the Utah Jazz are once again playing .500 basketball.
It looks like more of the same and improvement, if any, from last season is tough to spot most nights.
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Fans are still filling the seats at Energy Solutions Arena but the excitement and buzz about this team among, arguably, the most passionate fans in the NBA seems to be lacking.
The thing that is missing is obvious.
A star.
They need a player that makes the extraordinary look easy. A leader that can be counted on down the stretch to make a big play when they need it. An athlete that people will gladly pay money to watch. A competitor that other teams respect and fear.
On many nights the most interesting, exciting player on the court suits up for the other team.
Too often we see the Jazz fall short in big games while players like Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant make big plays against the Jazz late in games to lead their teams to victory.
Jerry Sloan always reminded the media, among others, that the NBA is a players' league. This comes as no surprise but in a players' league the teams with the stars win playoff series and win championships.
History proves this to be the case. Since the NBA started recognizing All-Stars in 1951, no NBA team has ever won an NBA title without an All-Star. Also, just ten teams in the last 62 years have won an NBA title with just one All-Star.
Take last year as an example. Only four of the 25 players named to the All-Star team in 2012 missed the playoffs (Kevin Love, Steve Nash, LeMarcus Aldridge and Deron Williams). Of the 16 teams that reached the NBA playoffs only two, the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, did not have an All-Star. The teams who won a playoff series in 2012 all had at least one All-Star. San Antonio was the only team to reach the conference finals with just one All-Star, but Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were playing at an All-Star level.
Despite playing in one of the NBA's smallest markets, the Utah Jazz have had success finding and developing All-Star players. There have only been eight years in the 39-year history of the franchise the Utah Jazz haven't been represented in the All-Star Game. The Jazz have never won a playoff series in a year where they didn't have a player selected to the All-Star team. The Jazz have made it to the playoffs three times without an All-Star, but each time they never won more than 47 games.
Adrian Dantley was the first star for the franchise after they moved to Utah. He was a six-time All-Star in Utah and along with All-Star point guard Rickey Green led the Jazz to playoff series wins in 1984 and 1985.
The next generation of Jazz stars became legends. Karl Malone and John Stockton combined for 24 All-Star appearances during nearly two decades of winning basketball in Utah. Karl made 14 consecutive All-Star teams and John 9, an example of their consistency, durability and longevity. The Jazz averaged 56 wins during that golden era when both were named to the All-Star team in the same year. Only once during that time did they finish a season with less than 50 wins.
While brief, the Jazz enjoyed another era of success with a new generation of stars. Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer were named to the All-Star team in 2007 when the Jazz reached the Western Conference Finals. Deron Williams was named an All-Star twice in a Jazz uniform and you could argue he should have been selected in two other seasons as a Jazzman. That group averaged 52 wins a season from 2006-07 to 2009-10 and won four playoff series.
The Jazz have found All-Stars in different ways. Adrian Dantley came to Utah in a trade. John Stockton, Karl Malone and Deron Williams were drafted by the franchise. Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur were brought to Utah via free agency.
It's not rocket science to understand that the Jazz can't win consistently and contend for championships without a star or two. Where the science comes in is finding a star and keeping him in Utah.
Will they find that star in the draft? The pick from Golden State that was hoped to be a lottery pick this year won't be thanks to the Warriors rapid improvement. Even if the Jazz miss the playoffs and get a lottery pick of their own it will likely be late in the lottery and they won't be in a position to draft a franchise player.
Will they find that star in free agency? They've done it before with Boozer and Okur, but a look at the 2013 free agent class doesn't have many names that get you excited - and let's be honest, Chris Paul isn't signing with the Jazz this summer.
How about a trade? Perhaps there is a player out there that can be had at the trade deadline. The Jazz have some solid players in the last year of their contracts that teams would love to have or may need to dump salary. The truth is it's unlikely teams are willing to move a star for anyone on the Jazz roster.
Is there a future star currently on the Jazz roster? I think that is the most intriguing question of them all.
Does Gordon Hayward have All-Star potential? In his last seven games he is averaging 16 points per game and is shooting 64 percent from the 3-point line. That's not a typo, 64 percent. If Gordon can continue to shoot consistently from the 3-point line and score at his current rate he may have that potential.
We know Derrick Favors can be a star defensively but his offensive game has shown little improvement and leaves a lot to be desired which is cause for doubt about his All-Star potential.
How about Enes Kanter? He looks to be the most improved player on the team and has showed flashes of brilliance that make you wonder but it's still too early to tell.
We will learn a lot about these three young players as well as Alec Burks as the season develops and with so many players becoming free agents after this season the opportunity will be there for one or all of them to take the next step.
The Utah Jazz will have some decisions to make at a fast-approaching trade deadline and will be facing a very interesting offseason.
Another wave of change could be coming for a franchise that used to be known for its stability.
It will be up to Dennis Lindsey and the front office staff to make the right decisions in the coming months. Decisions that will shape the future of the franchise and hopefully deliver the next star to fans starving to cheer for one.
