Could it be any other way with Carlos Boozer and the Jazz? Everything is so complicated, from late owner Larry Miller's combative stance on Boozer's injuries to Boozer's renewed sense of self-worth to the constant conflict between stardom and also-ran status. Boozer surprisingly picked up his 2009-10 team option Tuesday, putting Utah on the hook for $12.3 million.
Boozer is well worth the cash, so this development should be a clear win for Utah, right? Well, it's complicated. Boozer's commitment puts the status of back-up power forward Paul Millsap and starting center Mehmet Okur into question. By casting his lot with Utah for one more year, Boozer may very well have cast his buddies out.
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
Even in hard economic times, the top players like Carlos Boozer, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd will leave teams and get their financial reward in other places. The squeeze will be on the lower-level free agents who must settle for minimum or various exceptions.
What hurts this class is that only seven teams really have major room under the salary cap to make something happen, and they usually aren't the NBA's biggest spenders. Unless the free agents stay with their current teams, only Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Atlanta, Portland, Toronto and Detroit have major room.
Although there has been plenty of dancing and unofficial talks the last few days, the real dealings can't start until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Here is a breakdown by position of the five most intriguing – and unrestricted – free agents.
After two putrid drafts, the NBA returned to form in 2001 -- but not right away. This draft will forever be known as the day Michael Jordan transformed from the greatest player on Earth to a below average general manager. With the No. 1 overall pick, Jordan held the fate of the Washington Wizards in the same hands that dunked on many of opponent, and he had a rich variety of players for which to don the savior of the franchise.
And he chose Kwame Brown. It really wasn't Kwame's fault. He was the victim of an amazing workout that impressed Jordan so much -- was this thing on video? -- that Air was convinced Brown would emerge as an All-Star. The brutal truth is that this prep player from Georgia faded into one of the biggest busts in draft history, hanging out in the same club as LaRue Martin, Joe Barry Carroll and Michael Olowokandi.
Well, well, well. Utah has decided it won't go down without a fight. Behind a raucous (as usual) home crowd, the Jazz clawed their way back in Game 3 to put a win up on the board. Now with Game 4 tonight, the Jazz have an opportunity to prove our own Brett Pollakoff wrong and make this a series for real. The Jazz get Mehmet Okur back tonight (most likely) which is a big plus for them. For the Lakers, the question is not talent, nor execution, nor offense, nor defense. It's simply effort. If they don't want this game more than Utah does and play like it, no amount of talent and size is going to save them amongst the rabid Utah fans.
Say, since this is such a big game, why don't we get a liveblog going? Indeed, let us. Join us at 9PM EST for Lakers at Jazz, Game 4.
The Lakers came into Sunday's game with the Jazz as the prohibitive favorites, expected not only to win the game but to dominate the entire series. For the first 24 minutes on Sunday, that's exactly what happened: the Lakers held a 62-40 advantage heading into the half, with the Jazz looking like they were making a case for the league to adopt a mercy rule.
The Lakers eased up in the second half, allowing the Jazz to almost -- almost -- make a game of it, making up nine points in the third before playing to a draw in the fourth. The end result was still a lopsided 113-100 win that had the Staples Center crowd more concerned about free tacos (they didn't get any) than the final score, but still, the visitors proved (at least to themselves) that they can hang with the league's golden team for stretches at a time.
The Lakers versus the Jazz was a competitive and physical second round series a season ago, but this year it looks to be (on paper) one of the most lopsided matchups of the first round. So what's changed? Well, while the Lakers have gotten better with the return of Andrew Bynum, injuries and a lack of continuity have sent the Jazz limping to the finish line.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Boston had two reasons to beat Philadelphia: to flex its biceps, and to help ensure the Celtics and Sixers would meet in the playoffs. Those muscles gleam, because Paul Pierce nailed a jumper late to give Boston the victory, dropping Philly into the No. 7 seed heading into the season's final day.
Pierce scored 31 on 16 FGAs, filling offensive gaps left by the absences of Kevin Garnett (injury recovery) and Ray Allen (spastic elbow). Philadelphia has Thaddeus Young back, but dang. No good, y'all.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Jim O'Brien is the new Don Nelson! Okay, maybe not, but this year's Pacers look an awful lot like Golden State East, giving up more than 107 points a game, second-most in the league only to (wait for it ...) the Warriors. As such, a good performance against this team practically demands an asterisk in the game log.
In other words, congrats on the career-high 43 points, Mehmet Okur, but let's see you do that against a real defense! Fortunately for Memo, he won't be facing a "real" team until the weekend -- the Jazz are in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Memphis on Friday before taking on the Mavericks in Dallas on Saturday.
After missing the first six games of the season with a sprained ankle, Deron Williams is expected to make his season debut tonight. It's not clear how many minutes he's going to play, but considering the Jazz turned the ball over 20 times in an embarrassing loss to the Knicks on Sunday, the team will appreciate his steady presence for any length of time.
Unfortunately, Williams' return doesn't mean the Jazz will finally be at full-strength: Mehmet Okur left the team on Monday to return to his native Turkey due to his father's illness. There's currently no timetable for his return.
This opens the door for for funny-manKyrylo Fesenko to slide into the starting lineup, right? Not so fast. As it turns out, he's out of the country, as well, traveling to Toronto to resolve a visa issue. All of a sudden, the lone remaining option seems to be giving 19-year-old rookie Kosta Koufos, who's played all of seven minutes this year, the start tonight in Philadelphia.
At 2-4, the Sixers are still finding their way after their big moves this summer, but Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert have combined for over 22 boards a game so far. Things could get ugly.
Excellent post from Henry over at TrueHoop regarding the late game put-back from Pau Gasol that clinched the Game 5 victory for the Lakers. Like Henry, while watching it happen live, I thought Gasol pushed off, and was shocked there was no foul called. Not "angry" shocked, mind you, just "relieved" shocked, because I was rooting for the Lakers. But shocked nonetheless, because it appeared that Gasol used his forearm to shove Mehmet Okur in the lower back to be able to get the position to grab the rebound.
A big time Laker fan I know who was at the game texted me immediately with "Gasol pushed off!" That's how it looked live, and I guess that's how it looked in person. I mean, heck, Okur did go flailing under the basket, so he must have been fouled, right? Watch the video a few times though, and I think you'll see that Okur clearly exaggerated the contact, and it looks like the refs made the proper no-call.
Could it be any other way with Carlos Boozer and the Jazz? Everything is so complicated, from late owner Larry Miller's combative stance on Boozer's injuries to Boozer's renewed sense of self-worth to the constant conflict between stardom and also-ran status. Boozer surprisingly picked up his 2009-10 team option Tuesday, putting Utah on the hook for $12.3 million.
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
The Lakers came into Sunday's game with the Jazz as the prohibitive favorites, expected not only to win the game but to dominate the entire series. For the first 24 minutes on Sunday, that's exactly what happened: the Lakers held a 62-40 advantage heading into the half, with the Jazz looking like they were making a case for the league to adopt a mercy rule. 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. 
After missing the first six games of the season with a sprained ankle, 
