Originally posted by Joe Mama
Utah would be better off signing Stephen Jackson to a deal with a first-year salary of $15 million that goes back down to something reasonable a year later.
Joe Mama
Looks like Utah is interested:
Jazz still pursuing guards
Stephen Jackson
By Phil Miller
The Salt Lake Tribune
They may have missed out on their dream backcourt of Corey Maggette and Gilbert Arenas, but the Jazz haven't stopped shopping for guards.
The Jazz will add a point guard today by signing their own free agent, Carlos Arroyo, to a one-year contract. And Friday, they will turn their attention to Stephen Jackson, showing him around Salt Lake City in an effort to attract the Spurs' shooting guard.
Jackson, who averaged 11.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 80 games for the world champions last season, is not expected to return to San Antonio after the Spurs acquired Ron Mercer, Hedu Turkoglu, Robert Horry and Anthony Carter earlier this month.
The prospect of moving from a champion to a rebuilding team like the post-Stockton & Malone Jazz doesn't bother Jackson, his agent said. "When you are 25 years old, your clock's not ticking at the same pace. A player like Steve looks at it differently," said agent Dan Fegan, who also represents Arenas. "Steve has confidence in his ability, and being an important part of the process -- helping restore a winning franchise -- is attractive."
At 6-foot-8, Jackson is unusually big for a guard. "He's a strong perimeter defender, and with his size, he can overmatch other guards. And he showed he can hit big shots in the playoffs," Fegan said. "He has also proven he can play within a system, which is something I know the Jazz value. He doesn't need the ball all the time to be effective."
Jackson, an unrestricted free agent who played one season with New Jersey and the last two with the Spurs, also has drawn interest from Atlanta, Denver and two other Eastern Conference teams, Fegan said, and he will visit at least the first two. But Jackson would have no problem playing in a small market like Salt Lake City, Fegan said. "Steve is very much about playing," the agent said. "If you put him in a so-called 'hotspot' and he didn't play, he would be miserable. Utah absolutely has an opportunity."
Opportunity is what convinced Arroyo to return to the Jazz, too. With veterans John Stockton and Mark Jackson gone, the third-year point guard figures to see far more minutes than last year's 287 in 44 games.
"His comment to me was that he felt very comfortable here," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations. "He accepted a one-year contract knowing that we'll have money next year, and he feels like he can prove he's worthy."
Arroyo, who averaged 2.8 points as the least-used player on the Jazz's active roster, will stop in Salt Lake today to take a physical exam and sign his contract before hurrying on to the Dominican Republic. Arroyo will represent Puerto Rico in this weekend's Pan Am Games, and next month in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan.
Unlike the Jazz's disappointingly quiet offseason -- in which every high-profile free agent they have sought ended up elsewhere -- Arroyo has had an unusually busy one. Playing for Santurce, Arroyo was named MVP of the Puerto Rican summer-league finals after averaging 21.5 points, six rebounds and 4.8 assists in a 4-0 sweep of Leones de Ponce. Arroyo even hit the game-winning free throw with four seconds remaining in the finale.
Play like that increased Arroyo's profile, and gave O'Connor some urgency in keeping him. "It became a situation where we wanted something done quicker, because he had other suitors," O'Connor said. "There were two or three other teams really looking at him as somebody who could play right away. But our coaches really like him, and he's a good fit for us."
The Jazz plan to carry three point guards, O'Connor said. Raul Lopez (who has a guaranteed contract) and second-round draft pick Mo Williams (who doesn't) are already on the roster, but it's possible the Jazz could still add a vetera
