Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- Tom Gugliotta was one of the highest-paid and least-used reserves in the NBA, languishing on Phoenix's bench until the Suns and Utah Jazz reached a deal that made everybody happy.
Two weeks later, the Jazz are approaching "thrilled" with their veteran addition, who has moved into a starting job as Utah makes a push for a 21st straight playoff appearance.
"We hadn't seen Tom play in a long time," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Thursday. "We didn't know really where he would be conditioning-wise and how he'd be able to hold up for us. I think he's done a very good job for us. He knows how to play."
Although he's averaging just 3.5 points in his four games with Utah, Gugliotta is also contributing 5.3 rebounds. And most importantly, the Jazz are 4-0 since he joined the team last week and 1{ games behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Unloading Gugliotta and his $11.6 million salary was a financial move for the Suns. Utah had the money available and Phoenix threw in an undisclosed amount of cash to help out the Jazz.
In return, Utah gets an experienced veteran for the playoff stretch, even if he isn't at his 20-point average of years ago.
"It's exciting. These last 21 games, every game is going to mean something the whole way down," Gugliotta said. "As a player, that's what you want because if it's not like that, the last 20 games feel like 50 games and they all feel like scrimmages."
Gugliotta, who was making $11.6 million in his final season of a six-year deal with the Suns, had played in just 30 games and averaged 10 minutes -- when he played.
"The way it was in Phoenix, it was hard to stay focused and go to practice every day with a good attitude. It was hard to have fun," Gugliotta said. "I was a gerbil in Phoenix, running on the treadmill for countless hours."
The Jazz acquired Gugliotta and shooting guard Gordan Giricek in separate deals on the Feb. 19 trade deadline. Utah traded DeShawn Stevenson and a conditional second-round draft pick to Orlando for Giricek, whose shooting range is a little longer than Stevenson's.
On Monday, Giricek scored 24 points off the bench to help lead the Jazz to a 94-86 win over the Detroit Pistons. He was 10-for-17 shots, including all four of his 3-point attempts.
"I don't want to say that all the people can expect all the time that I will shoot 4-for-4," Giricek said. "It's not easy to do."
Gugliotta took over for Michael Ruffin when he sat out with a slight ankle injury, and Sloan expects him to stay there as long as the newest starting lineup continues to play well. Gugliotta, Andrei Kirilenko, Jarron Collins, Carlos Arroyo and rookie Sasha Pavlovic have started the last three games -- and the combination seems to be working.
Center Greg Ostertag, who lost his starting job last month after some lackluster performances, seems rejuvenated when he subs for Collins.
"The guys are playing off the bench pretty well and that's what our intentions were when we changed our starting lineup to begin with -- hoping to get better production off the bench as well as get better production from the starters," Sloan said.
Giricek is expected to miss the next two games for the Jazz, starting Friday night at home against Indiana, as he returns to Orlando to be with his wife when she gives birth.
He's gone from the Magic, who are 17-46 and way behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race, to Utah (31-30).
"We are playing pretty good right now, so it's possible we can make playoffs," Giricek said. "That's the wish of everybody."
