Here is Hollinger's entire article...
OK, let's start right from the top: Would you trade Carlos Boozer for Al Jefferson?
You'd at least have to think about it. Jefferson is three years younger and had better numbers over the past three seasons. He can play center -- Boozer cannot -- which allows the Jazz to paper over Mehmet Okur's expected absence and move Andrei Kirilenko up to power forward in stretches, where he's more effective anyway.
Jefferson's not a great defender, but neither was Boozer. Yes, he's probably worse than Boozer in this respect, but last season's particularly lead-footed performance could be partially attributed to the fact that he was still recovering from knee surgery.
And the price is less. Jefferson has only three guaranteed years left on his deal; keeping Boozer would have cost at least five. Would you rather pay Jefferson until he's 28 or Boozer until he's 33?
Apparently Utah thought the same thing, because it effectively completed a Boozer-for-Jefferson swap Tuesday, using the trade exception from Boozer's sign-and-trade to Chicago to acquire Jefferson from Minnesota. The Timberwolves, in return, get two first-round draft choices.
As you can probably tell, I consider this a pretty solid endgame for Utah. Jefferson can coexist with both Paul Millsap and Kirilenko offensively, and while the former pairing might have some rough nights on D, they'll be a hellacious combo offensively. Jefferson will have to get used to more pick-and-rolls and fewer post-up isolations, but he can handle it.
The deal leaves the Jazz over the luxury tax, but not intractably so -- $1.7 million, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Utah is close enough to the line that it can probably engineer a deal at the trade deadline, if not sooner.
There's also a good chance it could trade Okur for a wing player, especially if Kirilenko shows he can thrive at the 4. With Jefferson at the 5, Millsap at the 4 and Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko in reserve, it would seem to be the next logical move. His injury status, however, could prove an impediment to such a swap until the trade deadline.
What it does likely mean, however, is that Wes Matthews is headed to Portland. I can't imagine Utah matching the Blazers' offer sheet and swallowing the luxury tax hit. The Jazz may also choose to pull Fesenko's qualifying offer, since that extra $500,000 could really matter when it comes to tax avoidance.
The picks Utah gave away are of modest value. While the "Memphis pick" sounds alluring, it will never be in the top nine, and if unused by 2015, it reverts to cash. The protections are top 14 in 2011, top 12 in 2012, top 10 in 2013 and top nine in 2014 and 2015.
The Jazz's own pick, obviously, is likely to come late in the draft … especially now that they have Jefferson. But the Wolves now have a decent stable of first-round picks -- the one from Memphis, the one from Utah and their own. This should make Minnesota fans feel slightly better when I remind them that the long-ticking time bomb called the Marko Jaric trade may cause them to owe the Clippers a completely unprotected pick in the 2012 draft.
For Minnesota, I can't argue with the idea of trading Jefferson. There was no way he could coexist in the same frontcourt as Kevin Love, and I'm a huge Love fan. Additionally, wiping away Jefferson's $13 million opens the door to substantial cap space -- it'll have it right away but may not choose to use it until next summer. Alternatively, it can adopt the Oklahoma City model and rent out its cap space in return for more assets. And two first-rounders never hurt.
Regardless, a frontcourt with Love, Michael Beasley, Nikola Pekovic and Darko Milicic will be a considerable improvement on last season's unit at both ends of the floor. The Wolves likely will spend another year in the basement, but one can at least see the kernels of a foundation taking shape.
The Jazz, however, are the big story here. They've kept the window open on the possibility of the Deron Williams era producing a conference championship. They've managed to come away from Boozer's free agency none the worse for wear.
