O'Connor interview/KSL
Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor faced a lot of the same questions Sunday night in a TV interview with KSL Channel 5 that he did Saturday as the Jazz presented the newly re-signed Paul Millsap at their practice facility.
Most significantly, O'Connor again didn't deny that the Jazz are looking to trade Carlos Boozer. He said the Jazz did not "guarantee" Boozer that he would be traded, but both sides seem to acknowledge that a deal is in their best interests.
O'Connor's also expressed concern about setting the precedent of trading a disgruntled player who has gone public with his feelings. He voiced similar concerns after Andrei Kirilenko made his trade demand in the summer of 2007.
The full transcript from O'Connor's interview on SportsBeat Sunday:
Q: How hard was it to bring things together for the $10.3 million upfront payment in Paul Millsap's contract?
A: You can call it a bonus, but it's not a bonus. What it is, it's the money that would ordinarily be paid over four years, some of it's paid upfront. So his four-year contract is still exactly the same [value], it's just some of it's given upfront.
Q: You've seen a lot of things over your career, but coming up with $10 million in a week?
A: It's not easy to spend someone else's money at that number.
Q: Paul says starting is the next step for him. Does that come with the big money?
A: You know, everybody wants to start. I think right now the obligation for these guys is to come back and continue to improve and he's done that every year. And that's one reason that we matched the contract. That's a big issue with us, to see how guys get better. He's improved. This year we talked about making sure he works on his jumpshot and making sure that he works on his ball-handling a little better, getting in great shape. He looks terrific when I saw him. He's about 251 [pounds], which is a great weight for him. He's got the next level to take it to and we're confident that he will.
Q: You're $12 million into the luxury tax, so now do you start to whittle back in the next six to eight months.
A: You can look at that, but let me say this: The Miller family is committed to putting a good team on the floor and I think we showed that with matching the contract for Paul. What you've got to understand is that there's probably 14 or 15 teams that are going to pay the luxury tax this year.
Q: How do you react to Carlos Boozer's comments on the radio last week?
A: First, it's interesting that you hear something like that. We're not in a position to say, 'Hey, we're definitely going to trade him.' As I've said in my pat answer is if it improves the team, then we're going to look to make a move. But under no circumstances did we guarantee him a trade.
Q: Is there an urgency in making a move like that soon?
A: Let's just not concentrate on one player. The biggest issue that we have is to improve the team. We're not going to give a player away because if you do that, the next player comes and says the same thing. You know, Andrei said it two years ago and I think we fought through that and realized that that was a situation where he seems to be in play and comfortable in his position where he's at. So this happens all the time. Our problem is it's public knowledge.
Q: Andrei went to the Peak Performance Project in Santa Barbara, Calif. How did that work out for him?
A: We sat down with him this year. With Andrei, I think this was the first year he was committed to saying, 'You know what? I've got to get stronger.' He was always worried about getting bigger, but I think as he looks at it, he knows now he's got to get stronger. And if he'll do that....We've stayed in communication with him about once a week. Supposedly he's up to 230 pounds and he ended the season at 218 and hopefully that's muscle mass on him. He's working with a trainer overseas. It's a commitment that he has to himself and to the team.
Q: A couple of weeks ago, we saw him mentioned in connection with a Tracy McGrady trade. Is he concerned about that?
A: I think any player would be concerned once they hear their name involved in trades. That's why you don't hear too many things coming out of our locker room. Do we talk a lot? Yeah. If somebody's feelings get hurt because some name is out there, that can happen.
Q: Your roster looks mostly the same as last year. Is that good enough to contend?
A: You know, I think it is and I think it was all the way up until the last 12 games of the year. The last 11 games of the year, we were in second place. And if we tweak the roster, hopefully we tweak it in the right way.
Q: What's Matt Harpring's situation? Can he play another season?
A: We don't know. It's an absolute concern. Hopefully it's something that will be resolved early on and so we know going forward what we'll have. His toughness is something that you can't replace. He's just a guy that just works at it and he annoys the other team, which we kind of enjoy a little bit.
--Ross Siler
Most significantly, O'Connor again didn't deny that the Jazz are looking to trade Carlos Boozer. He said the Jazz did not "guarantee" Boozer that he would be traded, but both sides seem to acknowledge that a deal is in their best interests.
O'Connor's also expressed concern about setting the precedent of trading a disgruntled player who has gone public with his feelings. He voiced similar concerns after Andrei Kirilenko made his trade demand in the summer of 2007.
The full transcript from O'Connor's interview on SportsBeat Sunday:
Q: How hard was it to bring things together for the $10.3 million upfront payment in Paul Millsap's contract?
A: You can call it a bonus, but it's not a bonus. What it is, it's the money that would ordinarily be paid over four years, some of it's paid upfront. So his four-year contract is still exactly the same [value], it's just some of it's given upfront.
Q: You've seen a lot of things over your career, but coming up with $10 million in a week?
A: It's not easy to spend someone else's money at that number.
Q: Paul says starting is the next step for him. Does that come with the big money?
A: You know, everybody wants to start. I think right now the obligation for these guys is to come back and continue to improve and he's done that every year. And that's one reason that we matched the contract. That's a big issue with us, to see how guys get better. He's improved. This year we talked about making sure he works on his jumpshot and making sure that he works on his ball-handling a little better, getting in great shape. He looks terrific when I saw him. He's about 251 [pounds], which is a great weight for him. He's got the next level to take it to and we're confident that he will.
Q: You're $12 million into the luxury tax, so now do you start to whittle back in the next six to eight months.
A: You can look at that, but let me say this: The Miller family is committed to putting a good team on the floor and I think we showed that with matching the contract for Paul. What you've got to understand is that there's probably 14 or 15 teams that are going to pay the luxury tax this year.
Q: How do you react to Carlos Boozer's comments on the radio last week?
A: First, it's interesting that you hear something like that. We're not in a position to say, 'Hey, we're definitely going to trade him.' As I've said in my pat answer is if it improves the team, then we're going to look to make a move. But under no circumstances did we guarantee him a trade.
Q: Is there an urgency in making a move like that soon?
A: Let's just not concentrate on one player. The biggest issue that we have is to improve the team. We're not going to give a player away because if you do that, the next player comes and says the same thing. You know, Andrei said it two years ago and I think we fought through that and realized that that was a situation where he seems to be in play and comfortable in his position where he's at. So this happens all the time. Our problem is it's public knowledge.
Q: Andrei went to the Peak Performance Project in Santa Barbara, Calif. How did that work out for him?
A: We sat down with him this year. With Andrei, I think this was the first year he was committed to saying, 'You know what? I've got to get stronger.' He was always worried about getting bigger, but I think as he looks at it, he knows now he's got to get stronger. And if he'll do that....We've stayed in communication with him about once a week. Supposedly he's up to 230 pounds and he ended the season at 218 and hopefully that's muscle mass on him. He's working with a trainer overseas. It's a commitment that he has to himself and to the team.
Q: A couple of weeks ago, we saw him mentioned in connection with a Tracy McGrady trade. Is he concerned about that?
A: I think any player would be concerned once they hear their name involved in trades. That's why you don't hear too many things coming out of our locker room. Do we talk a lot? Yeah. If somebody's feelings get hurt because some name is out there, that can happen.
Q: Your roster looks mostly the same as last year. Is that good enough to contend?
A: You know, I think it is and I think it was all the way up until the last 12 games of the year. The last 11 games of the year, we were in second place. And if we tweak the roster, hopefully we tweak it in the right way.
Q: What's Matt Harpring's situation? Can he play another season?
A: We don't know. It's an absolute concern. Hopefully it's something that will be resolved early on and so we know going forward what we'll have. His toughness is something that you can't replace. He's just a guy that just works at it and he annoys the other team, which we kind of enjoy a little bit.
--Ross Siler
12:59 AM
| 
1 Comments:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/220175-millslapped-i-dont-think-so/page/2
Post a Comment
<< Home