Utah Jazz

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder Struck

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By Brett Pollakoff 2/03/2010 2:00 PM ET

If the playoffs began today, the Thunder would be in the conversation. Kevin Durant is within percentage points of leading the league in scoring, and has led his team to wins over the previously red-hot Nuggets and Hawks in the past week. As such, Oklahoma City finds themselves moving all the way up to the six spot in this week's Rankings.

The Cavaliers, of course, are still on top, but there was plenty of movement otherwise. Read on to see where your favorites ended up this week.

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By Brett Pollakoff 2/02/2010 6:30 PM ET

Derrick Rose will defend his championship in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge at All-Star weekend, but will have to beat two former champions and one of the league's top rookies to retain the title.

The field is set, and will feature Deron WIlliams, Steve Nash, and Brandon Jennings. Nash won it back in 2005, and WIlliams was the champ in 2008. But neither finished his final round with as much flair as Rose did a season ago.

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By Tom Ziller 1/30/2010 6:37 PM ET

You'll be unsurprised to learn Carlos Boozer is in pain, taking the weekend off for treatment on his strained calf. Time for Paul Millsap to reintroduce himself. The Kings were the first to remake his acquaintance, getting pounded by Millsap's 32-and-14 night Friday, with Paul just simply dominating the second half.

Some have phrased the alarm as a "move Boozer" siren; others, taking a cue from the man with the golden stopwatch, suggest Millsap-Boozer will push slumping Mehmet Okur to a lesser role.

The Jazz have surged of late, but this really ought to serve as a wag of the finger to the previously eluded to Jerry Sloan, who hasn't used Millsap nearly as much as he should have this season. Millsap, in the first season of his four-year, $32 million contract, has averaged 26 minutes a night for Sloan, producing as always in his relatively limited minutes.

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By Brett Pollakoff 1/27/2010 4:30 PM ET

The Cavaliers remain on top in this week's rankings -- the same spot that they've held for the last month. So that's not exactly news at this point. The recent surge from the Jazz? Now that's worth talking about.

Utah made the biggest leap, moving all the way up from 12 to number three. And they did so impressively, by winning eight of their last nine, with road wins over Dallas and San Antonio, along with the home buzzer-beater over the top-ranked Cavs.

As for everyone else? Read on to find out where your favorites landed this week.

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By Chris Tomasson 1/19/2010 5:00 AM ET

Andrei Kirilenko will be paid 487 million bills this season.

OK, so that's in rubles from his native Russia. In U.S. currency, it's $16.452 million.

Whatever source you're reading, from a Russian newspaper to an American internet site, many stories about Kirilenko mention his contract. He's often dubbed the NBA's most overpaid player.

And, yes, it can be burden on the Utah Jazz forward.

"It definitely puts more pressure on you, but what can you do about it?'' Kirilenko, who will make $17.823 million next season to conclude a six-year, $86 million contract, said in an interview with FanHouse. "Nobody can say I'm not playing 100 percent. I give 100 percent and I'm hustling so the world is not perfect.''

Kirilenko signed a maximum extension off his rookie contract on Oct. 29, 2004, back when he was a much more focal player for the Jazz. The past half decade has seen Kirilenko have squabbles with Utah coach Jerry Sloan about his role, and in September 2007 he was quoted in the Russian newspaper Sport Express about wanting to give up the then $63 million remaining on his contract to play in Europe.

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By Matt Moore 1/15/2010 1:45 AM ET

You deal with the low pay, and the long travel. You play in convention centers and hockey arenas. You travel to Bismarck, Bakersfield and McAllen, Texas. You listen to your coaches tell you that if you work hard and keep focused, you'll get where you want to go. A shot to play in the NBA. You stick with the NBA D-League, believing in the system, and believing in yourself, believing that you'll get your shot.

Sundiata Gaines got that shot with the Utah Jazz. And with that shot, he took the shot, and won a game for the Jazz over LeBron James and his sidekicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 97-96. There are moments in sports that really speak to the human experience, that reflect the value of persistence, of dedication, of effort, and the underdog making it count. Tonight was one of those stories.

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By Tom Ziller 1/13/2010 9:18 AM ET

Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor lashed out at pundits who insist Utah will do anything/everything to slip under the tax line this season. Those assumptions have been based on the franchise's refusal to stay above the tax threshold in years past, as well as, you know, the trade made a few weeks ago which essentially forfeited promising rookie Eric Maynor in order to shrink the team's tax bill.

Underneath it all, it seems like the issue is that teams think O'Connor has to sell off a valuable asset, no questions asked. So he's getting crummy offers, like the one detailed by Marc Stein at TrueHoop: expiring contracts and roughly $5 million in cash savings from the Mavericks in exchange for Carlos Boozer. The Jazz said no, Stein reports, and Dallas moved on to more Najeraian pastures. So, between O'Connor's fit and Stein's rumor, we can surmise Utah is not going to make itself dramatically worse -- which trading Boozer for, ahem, Kris Humphries, would certainly do (no offense, ladies) -- without getting an asset.

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By Tim Povtak 1/11/2010 6:00 PM ET

The rise and fall and return of Luther Wright, who has gone from a first-round NBA draft pick to homeless crack addict to basketball coach and peer counselor, will add another chapter next month at All-Star Weekend in Dallas.

He will become a star again.

Wright was selected to be part of the NBA Legends Band that will perform at various functions throughout All-Star Weekend, doing a combination of R&B, Jazz and Gospel music.

The band, comprised of former NBA players now spread across the country, rehearsed together for the first time Sunday when they gathered in Las Vegas.

"It was awesome,'' Wright said after returning home to New Jersey on Monday.

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By Matt Moore 1/05/2010 6:05 PM ET

Okay, so we were totally spot-on about the fact that Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor was at a Utah Flash vs. Idaho Stampede D-League game looking to scout a player to add after trading Eric Maynor to the Thunder.

We were just off on which player.

Instead of Flash guard Dontell Jefferson, it turns out that O'Connor was also taking a look at standout Stampede guard Sundiata Gaines, whom the Jazz officially called up this afternoon.

Gaines has lit up the D-League this season, averaging 23.9 points per game to go along with 6.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals. Quite the D-League stat-stuffer. Gaines is on a 10-day contract with the Jazz, so think of this as the "rent-before-you-buy" stage. Or rather, since they can sign him to another 10-day, the "rent-before-you-rent-some-more" stage.

Gaines, a 6-1 guard from Georgia, is expected to be available for Wednesday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. With good scoring instincts and incredible speed, Gaines could make an impact for the Jazz -- if he manages to find some time in on admittedly stacked roster.

The Stampede were second in the West and will undoubtedly suffer after losing Gaines, but such is the life of a D-League team. If your guys are getting called up, your coaching staff is doing something right.

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By Brett Pollakoff 12/31/2009 5:50 PM ET

The third returns of the 2010 NBA All-Star balloting are in, and unfortunately, not much has changed since the first returns were released three weeks ago. Allen Iverson of the 76ers and Tracy McGrady (still technically) of the Rockets are in line to start the mid-season exhibition, as both hold close leads on the second place spots at their respective positions.

It's right about now that I feel the overwhelming urge to include the #10yearsago hashtag that's been floating around Twitter today.

Going into a long-winded diatribe on how wrong it is to let the fans vote is pointless, because the All-Star game is, well, for the fans; the event's unapologetic purpose is to bring even the most casual observer's attention to the league during its weekend-long extravaganza. But it is worth noting that, by letting people who obviously aren't paying attention to how things have played out in the current season choose who makes the team, it leaves those players who statistically deserve to be recognized for their efforts holding the short end of the stick.

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