On speeches, dodgeball and stirring it up
There was a lot to like about Jerry Sloan's speech Friday night as he was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame - - particularly Sloan's description of "drugstore cowboys," as borrowed from his old basketball coach in McLeansboro, Ill.
Those who were listening carefully also might have noted that Sloan included Carlos Boozer as he listed some of the players he was privileged to have coached over the years.
"As a head coach, I had the opportunity to coach great players and watch them develop," Sloan said. "You all know about John and Karl. Jeff Hornacek, Mark Eaton, Adrian Dantley, Artis Gilmore, Reggie Theus, Howard Eisley, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Greg Ostertag, Matt Harpring, Thurl Bailey and Bryon Russell among the many."
Between Boozer's campaign this summer for a trade and the Jazz's decision to sell his jerseys for 50 percent off and cut him out of their marketing campaign, Sloan's mention was significant if the Jazz are to move ahead with Boozer on the roster this season.
It also was notable given Boozer's injury-plagued tenure with the Jazz. Sloan has faced an endless number of Boozer questions these last five seasons, but that didn't stop him from reaching out to his All-Star forward from that stage in Springfield, Mass.
* * *
The Jazz are believed to have invited Ronald Dupree to training camp. Dupree is a 6-foot-7 forward who has played in parts of five NBA seasons with Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and Seattle, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 154 games.
Dupree is familiar with the Jazz's system, having finished last season with the NBA Development League's Utah Flash. Dupree averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds with the Flash and offers an option if Matt Harpring is unable to play this season.
* * *
Not only did Greece suffer its first loss of the European championships Sunday to Russia, but Jazz center Kosta Koufos also didn't see action. The Greeks fell 68-65 to Russia, leaving them with a 3-1 record in their group. They will play 4-0 France on Tuesday before heading to the quarterfinals.
UPDATE: Koufos was suffering from the stomach flu and stayed behind at the hotel for the game. He should be fine to play Tuesday.
* * *
The original estimate was $10,000, but it turns out Deron Williams and Kyle Korver will be donating at least $15,000 and possibly as much as $20,000 to The Christmas Box House shelters for children from the charity dodgeball tournament they hosted Saturday.
* * *
Williams said the season had come up quick the last month-and-a-half after he'd started working out again after resting his sprained ankle much of the summer. Some thoughts from Williams and Korver looking ahead to the start of camp.
"We definitely don't want to play like we did how we finished the season and on into the playoffs," Williams said. "We want to definitely be more competitive than that and not have so many ups and downs this year.
"We've had a lot of ups and downs over the last couple of years, especially towards the end of the season where we've fallen off and kind of limped into the playoffs when other teams are playing their best basketball."
Korver shared Williams' surprise that the Jazz didn't make a significant move this summer: "Definitely a little bit surprised. I mean, it's not what we thought was going to happen. But you never know. We have a good team, and when we're healthy, we feel like we're right there."
* * *
Korver on Boozer: "I think he felt like he was going to be somewhere like the next week for sure, and that's why he said the things that he said, I'm guessing. It's a business and we know that. We expect him to come back and play really well and try to be healthy and earn back the respect that whoever people think that he needs to earn it back to."
* * *
There's obviously a lot of speculation about the potential distractions that Boozer's return could pose, but nobody has really considered the effect on other players left to wonder if they'll be included in a Boozer deal, if and when it happens.
Williams, though, largely dismissed the notion.
"Our team, since I've been here, we've done very little in the middle of a season," he said. "We're not very aggressive during the season. Coach, I think he's one of those coaches who likes to finish with the same team he starts with, for the most part. Maybe tweak it here and there, but nothing too major."
* * *
So is Williams concerned about the distraction issue with Boozer's return?
"You know, Ross Siler and Tim Buckley come in, stirring stuff up," Williams said, laughing. "I'm sure there's going to be a lot of questions that have to be answered, but a lot of that's from Carlos. I've said I want to be here. I don't have any questions to answer."
That quote, by the way, is fantastic on so, so, so many levels.
--Ross Siler
Those who were listening carefully also might have noted that Sloan included Carlos Boozer as he listed some of the players he was privileged to have coached over the years.
"As a head coach, I had the opportunity to coach great players and watch them develop," Sloan said. "You all know about John and Karl. Jeff Hornacek, Mark Eaton, Adrian Dantley, Artis Gilmore, Reggie Theus, Howard Eisley, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Greg Ostertag, Matt Harpring, Thurl Bailey and Bryon Russell among the many."
Between Boozer's campaign this summer for a trade and the Jazz's decision to sell his jerseys for 50 percent off and cut him out of their marketing campaign, Sloan's mention was significant if the Jazz are to move ahead with Boozer on the roster this season.
It also was notable given Boozer's injury-plagued tenure with the Jazz. Sloan has faced an endless number of Boozer questions these last five seasons, but that didn't stop him from reaching out to his All-Star forward from that stage in Springfield, Mass.
* * *
The Jazz are believed to have invited Ronald Dupree to training camp. Dupree is a 6-foot-7 forward who has played in parts of five NBA seasons with Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and Seattle, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 154 games.
Dupree is familiar with the Jazz's system, having finished last season with the NBA Development League's Utah Flash. Dupree averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds with the Flash and offers an option if Matt Harpring is unable to play this season.
* * *
Not only did Greece suffer its first loss of the European championships Sunday to Russia, but Jazz center Kosta Koufos also didn't see action. The Greeks fell 68-65 to Russia, leaving them with a 3-1 record in their group. They will play 4-0 France on Tuesday before heading to the quarterfinals.
UPDATE: Koufos was suffering from the stomach flu and stayed behind at the hotel for the game. He should be fine to play Tuesday.
* * *
The original estimate was $10,000, but it turns out Deron Williams and Kyle Korver will be donating at least $15,000 and possibly as much as $20,000 to The Christmas Box House shelters for children from the charity dodgeball tournament they hosted Saturday.
* * *
Williams said the season had come up quick the last month-and-a-half after he'd started working out again after resting his sprained ankle much of the summer. Some thoughts from Williams and Korver looking ahead to the start of camp.
"We definitely don't want to play like we did how we finished the season and on into the playoffs," Williams said. "We want to definitely be more competitive than that and not have so many ups and downs this year.
"We've had a lot of ups and downs over the last couple of years, especially towards the end of the season where we've fallen off and kind of limped into the playoffs when other teams are playing their best basketball."
Korver shared Williams' surprise that the Jazz didn't make a significant move this summer: "Definitely a little bit surprised. I mean, it's not what we thought was going to happen. But you never know. We have a good team, and when we're healthy, we feel like we're right there."
* * *
Korver on Boozer: "I think he felt like he was going to be somewhere like the next week for sure, and that's why he said the things that he said, I'm guessing. It's a business and we know that. We expect him to come back and play really well and try to be healthy and earn back the respect that whoever people think that he needs to earn it back to."
* * *
There's obviously a lot of speculation about the potential distractions that Boozer's return could pose, but nobody has really considered the effect on other players left to wonder if they'll be included in a Boozer deal, if and when it happens.
Williams, though, largely dismissed the notion.
"Our team, since I've been here, we've done very little in the middle of a season," he said. "We're not very aggressive during the season. Coach, I think he's one of those coaches who likes to finish with the same team he starts with, for the most part. Maybe tweak it here and there, but nothing too major."
* * *
So is Williams concerned about the distraction issue with Boozer's return?
"You know, Ross Siler and Tim Buckley come in, stirring stuff up," Williams said, laughing. "I'm sure there's going to be a lot of questions that have to be answered, but a lot of that's from Carlos. I've said I want to be here. I don't have any questions to answer."
That quote, by the way, is fantastic on so, so, so many levels.
--Ross Siler
7:10 PM
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1 Comments:
as always - GREAT blog! I too thought Sloan's Boozer inclusion was significant. I'm guessing both Korver's and D-Will's comments about being surprised about essentially having the same team is more a reflection about all players with options, opting IN rather than a backhanded slap to KOC for not being able to pull off a trade for Boozer. Deron's a VERY smart player and person and surely he understands why KOC didn't take trade "garbage" for Boozer. Thanks again Ross for great insights!
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