�Obviously, we have struggled a little bit and when you have that, you find out who you really are,� Sloan said. �When things are going well, ... things seem to be pretty cozy. But when you lose a couple of games, you see how tough you are, how you fight back, see how we play.�
They didn�t play well. If Sloan was looking for some fight out of his team, it never showed, and frustration mounted for both Sloan and his players.
The Jazz lost to Boston, wound up losing all five of the games on their road trip and went on to lose 10 of 14 games including Wednesday�s home loss to Chicago. After the Celtics game, the wheels began spinning and did not stop until Sloan -- in his 23rd season in Utah -- resigned. Longtime assistant Phil Johnson resigned, too, and the team is expected to be left in the hands of well-respected coach Tyrone Corbin.
It�ll be astounding enough to have the Jazz take the floor Friday against Phoenix without Sloan on the sideline, but if you�re a player on the Utah roster, you have to think the resignation of Sloan signals the possibility of more aggressive changes. The axiom in sports is that coaches get fired because you can�t fire the players, but actually, the Jazz are in position to make some further moves if they don�t think a new coach is enough to spark this disappointing lineup.
And it is a lineup that needs some sparking, because looming in the background is the impending free agency of point guard Deron Williams, whose contract will be up in 2012. Sloan�s bread-and-butter, 1-4 offense might not have been ideal for Williams, and it�s likely that Corbin will make some adjustments to get Williams going.
But there are bigger changes to be made here beyond Xs and Os. The only two players who are probably considered untouchable on the Jazz roster are Williams and big man Al Jefferson -- not that the Jazz would not be open to trading Jefferson, but he has two years and $29 million left on his contract, and would be difficult to move. Power forward Paul Millsap has had some lulls over the course of the season, but he is likely off-limits, too, given his reasonable contract number ($6.2 million) and overall ability.
The Jazz badly need better production out of their two-guard spot, and they need better point guard play when Williams in not on the floor. They do have bait in small forward Andrei Kirilenko, whose $17 million contract expires this year. Kirilenko isn�t the player he was back in 2006, but he is a solid contributor who could help a playoff team -- he is also coveted by the Nets, who are hoping that team owner Mikhail Prokhorov can help sell the team to the New York area�s large Russian population when the team moves to Brooklyn. The Jazz have gotten frequent inquiries on Kirilenko, and will have to start considering them more earnestly now.
Utah�s only other big-ticket item is center Mehmet Okur, who makes about $9 million this year and will make $10.9 million next year. Utah would have to be willing to take back a long-term contract for Okur, but the challenge of trading Okur got a little more difficult when it was announced that he would be out at least three weeks as he rehabs from a bad back.
The Jazz can also use rookie Gordon Hayward as a trading chip, as well as big man Kyrylo Fesenko, who has several fans in NBA front offices. Neither has a particularly big contract, but they can be useful pieces in a package with Okur or Kirilenko, enticement for a rebuilding team looking to unload a high salary for cap relief and youth.
The Jazz have a decent set of big men in Millsap and Jefferson, but they badly need a better perimeter threat to pair with Williams. There�s added pressure to go out and get someone who can fill that role. Sloan is gone -- and Utah doesn�t want Williams to follow him soon thereafter.
