SALT LAKE CITY?Their frustrating season over at last, the steady, aging Utah Jazz face a potentially massive makeover. Everything hinges on what 40-year-old John Stockton decides about next season.
Team owner Larry Miller said he plans to meet with Stockton in the coming weeks to learn whether the future Hall of Famer will return for a 19th NBA season.
“We’re going to let the dust settle first,” Miller said. “We need to let the season emotionally tie itself up.”
Then Miller plans to press Stockton for an answer. They usually meet in late summer, but with 7 free agents and Stockton’s situation unresolved, time isn’t a luxury.
Utah needs to move ahead quickly on a roster strategy for next season, as well as planning a course for the franchise after the inevitable departures of Stockton and 38-year-old Karl Malone.
“We need to bring a new dimension to this team,” Miller said.
The downswing was evident in Utah’s 44-38 record in 2001-02, its worst since 1986-87, and a four-game first-round playoff loss to top-seeded Sacramento.
As Stockton and Malone age, the Jazz are in transition. They started two rookies, center Jarron Collins and Russian Andrei Kirilenko, for much of the season.
“The fans here in Utah can be proud of the progress our younger guys made,” said Malone, who averaged 22.4 points and 8.5 rebounds. “The discouraging part was that it was such an up-and-down season.”
Stockton has another season remaining on a two-year contract. He plans to discuss his future with his family and Miller, then decide.
Stockton, who averaged 13.4 points, 8.2 assists and 2.5 turnovers, has said he won’t return unless he expects a competitive season, individually and as a team.
“If you’re hurting the team, then you’re not doing anybody any good regardless of your experience,” he said. “I want this team to succeed whether I’m here or not.”
Once Stockton makes up his mind, Miller and other decision-makers can consider what to do about the free agents. Most notable are forward Donyell Marshall and swingman Bryon Russell, who both hope to return.
“The formula here has been good for me,” said Marshall, who is second in scoring behind Malone. “I’ve had two good years here and I would enjoy a few more.”
After Russell’s nine NBA seasons, he may be on the way out. Slowed by a broken bone in his pelvis, he averaged 9.6 points and shot a career-low 38 percent.
“I came back from the injury too soon,” Russell said. “That’s my fault, though. Nobody forced me to play, but I don’t think one bad season is going to put me down.”
Utah’s other free agents are Rusty LaRue, Quincy Lewis, Scott Padgett, John Starks and John Crotty. Also potentially in the picture is Raul Lopez, a Spanish-league point guard drafted by Utah last summer.
“I’d love to have those two guys, Stockton and Lopez, play together for a year,” Miller said.
The problem is, Lopez tore a ligament in his right knee last fall and missed his season after surgery. Additionally, there are questions about whether the Jazz can buy out the contract with his team in Spain.
“He’s not ready. He’s not going to be ready, either,” said Kevin O’Connor, Utah’s vice president for basketball operations.
All told, it looks like a retooling is in order for one of the NBA’s most stable franchises.
“We planned it a year ago to have a two-year window with our veterans to see how we would fare,” O’Connor said. “Some of the veterans aren’t going to be back with us.”
The Associated Press