| Show Jazz Keeps Players During Trade Eric Larson ff f 11 t f Sports f I r i. i 1 1 The Th e J Jazz's azz s s slogan I ogan ti for or this j 1 season was I Cant Can't Wait Perhaps they should change it to We Can Wait Almost half the teams in inthe inthe the made at least one trade before the trade de deadline deadline dead dead- d- d line passed Feb 24 With high profile players such as Chris Webber and Baron Davis busy changing teams the Jazz just sat on their hands Despite this the Jazz decided to keep their current team intact This has led many Jazz fans to question why a team with such a poor record wouldn't make a single trade While their qualms are understandable this show of patience by the Jazz I is exactly the reason why r I they will achieve the lofty S f expectations set during the summer I Before the season started the Jazz were facing enormous enormous enor enor- 1 expectations from the media and fans They spent j the summer building on last t seasons season's surprise 42 40 team Utah signed re-signed Carlos Arroyo and Gordon and added free agents Carlos Boozer and Mehmut to the mix In addition the Jazz added heralded rookies Kris Humphries and Kirk Snyder With all the additions expectations sky rocketed The playoffs were no longer longera a hoped for but had become expected Fans started debating how deep the Jazz's pl playoff run could be Could Ild r th the jazz make it to the sec secand second second sec sec- ond and round conference finals or even all the way to finals were debated daily on radio shows Jf It If the Jazz couldn't get to the finals this year fans believed it wouldn't be long before the Jazz were playing in the finals again The Jazz lived up to the lofty expectations early in inthe inthe the season when the Jazz leaped to a 6 61 1 1 record with wins over the Pistons Lakers and Nuggets Nuggets' twice The Jazz weren't just winning but winning big Things qui quickly kly turned ugly though Losses to the lowly Bulls and Hornets at home started a slide that they never recovered from Since their 6 61 1 1 I start the Jazz have gone 12 12 36 This slide has left the Jazz with the fifth worst record in the entire Their record is only part of this seasons season's problems After a falling out with Head Coach Jerry Sloan the Jazz shipped Arroyo to the Pistons for Elden Campbell and a first round draft pick Since the Jazz immediately immediate immediate- ly waived Campbell the Jazz Jazzes es essentially walked away from the trade with only a late first round pick Arroyo wasn't the only one who hasn't lived up to expectations this season star All-star Andrei Kirilenko has already missed 27 games due to injury and Boozers Boozer's work ethic has been openly questioned questioned questioned ques ques- by owner Larry H. H Miller With all these problems this year the Jazz seemed prime to make a deal before the trade deadline Several Jazz players especially Boozer and Matt Harpring were rumored to be involved in several potential trades Despite their poor record the Jazz razz had players other teams were interested clearly clearly interested in acquiring With all that has happened this his season why would the Jazz f azz not make some changes That is a question See Jazz continued on page 10 Jazz continued from page 9 that fans have been asking since the deadline passed without any deals The answer to that thatis is simple The Jazz dont don't make rushed decisions decisions decisions deci deci- that could potentially comeback to hurt them in the future Jazz management clearly felt it needed more time to evaluate the players they have Given that the Jazz are the second youngest team in the they must allow the team to grow together before they start making changes The Jazz are learning from other teams mistakes A few years ago the Warriors had one of the most talented young teams in the When the Warriors failed to live up to the expectations early they broke up the team Trading away Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes and allowing Gilbert Arenas to leave as a free agent has cost the Warriors While the Warriors are one of the few teams with a record worse than the Jazz all three players have ended up in Washington and have lead the Wizards to a surprising 31 24 record which is fourth in the Eastern Conference In addition both Jamison and Arenas made the star all-star team for the first time this season That is exactly what the Jazz wanted to avoid Miller made it clear before the trade deadline the Jazz weren't ready to hold a fire sale just yet In several interviews Miller stated the only way the Jazz would make a trade is if management thought it would benefit benefit benefit ben ben- the Jazz in the long term Its It's this type of patience that will lead the Jazz back into con con- |
