By the end of this upcoming season the Jazz need to trade Okur

[coreyc04]

Okur is a good player. I do like him and he could have helped us in the second round but, he still is over payed and we need to clear cap space by the end of this season if the Jazz want to go after a really great talent in the free agent market next season. If things ended the way they are now the Jazz would be 6 million under the cap. That is not enough to do anything with. Now they need to eliminate Okur's Salary of 11.5 million and become abou 18 million under the cap. This also saves the Jazz from paying luxury tax once again and I don't think it hurts our chances that much next year.
What do you think?

 

[Darkwing Duck]

So you know how exactly the new CBA will work next year and know what the salary cap and luxury tax line (should it exist) is going to be?

And Paul Millsap's cap hit is about 1.4 million more than his actual salary.

And Okur makes just shy of 11 million next year.

What is accurate is that the Jazz will have around 52 million guaranteed to 5 people next year. CJ is an obvious team option at 3.7, so that's a bit shy of 56 million for 6 players. Trading Okur would help, but I doubt anyone is just going to take Okur with the new CBA, even as an expiring. The only way I see it is if teams want to trade future prospects to get in on the 2012 free agent class, but that class isn't going to be nearly as wacky as this free agent season has been.

 

[David Stern]

Because an expiring Memo isn't going to be attractive with a new CBA in place? Use your head.

 

[coreyc04]

No not exactly but you plan to eliminate the luxury tax this season and eliminate future salary so we can be in a good position in this new CBA

 

[sirkickyass]

Because an expiring Memo isn't going to be attractive with a new CBA in place? Use your head.

It might not.

What if a substantial portion of the season is cancelled and contracts toll for a year under the new CBA so that he doesn't actually expire until 2013? (this has happened previously with some hockey contracts, so this isn't a made-up problem).

What if one of the remedies for a lower salary cap level is to give teams an Allan Houston rule style remedy? The market for cap relief contracts would significantly dry up.

What if contracts become pro-rated to the new lower salary level? That might significantly change the value of an expiring deal.

I could go on. Two total unknowns: Memo's play-level following rehab and the provisions of the next CBA. Pretending you can estimate Memo's value or the value of his expiring contract going forward is an exercise in self-delusion.

 

[WinningUgly]

I disagree that KOC overpaid Okur. He only signed him to a two year extention, the second year of which will have a substantial poriton wiped out by a lockout (At least I am sure he was weighing this into the equation). If you are not going to get Howard, Bogut, Bynum, Noah or Lopez to play center for you Okur is a good choice as he fits into Sloan's system well, looks like a great guy and a fun guy for teammates, will play hurt and is very happy to be in SLC. Brendan Haywood just got a new contract 6 years for $ 55 million which compares with Okur's original contract of 6 years for $50 million and the extention. Okur can also play both the four and the five, and although it effects his performance at the offensive end is still one of the better one on one defenders against the big aircraft carrier type of centers in the league.

The torn Achilles screwed what KOC had in mind, but there is no telling how Okur will return from the injury. He could return near % 100 then again he may not. This will be the key in evaluating his future with the Jazz. He is an experienced center/power forward who is not afraid to take the big shot, has won more then his share of games for the Jazz over the years, is a Sloan type of guy, and looks like to be the perfect big guy for contending teams to come off the bench to back up two positions. If he wants to conclude his career in Utah, after the completion of his present contract, he should resign for somewhere between the veteran minimum and the mid-level exception depending on how he bounces back.

And finally sorry but I just don't see LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, Amar'e level free agents looking into signing with the Jazz no matter how much cap space the Jazz have freed up. KOC is either going to find guys who have not established themselves yet like Boozer and Okur when he signed them to long deals, or he is going to overpay for second and third level stars like god forbid Orlando did with Lewis.

 

[InGameStrategy]

I disagree that KOC overpaid Okur. He only signed him to a two year extention, the second year of which will have a substantial poriton wiped out by a lockout (At least I am sure he was weighing this into the equation). If you are not going to get Howard, Bogut, Bynum, Noah or Lopez to play center for you Okur is a good choice as he fits into Sloan's system well, looks like a great guy and a fun guy for teammates, will play hurt and is very happy to be in SLC.

Except that he isn't able to play offense and defense together in the same game.

Brendan Haywood just got a new contract 6 years for $ 55 million which compares with Okur's original contract of 6 years for $50 million and the extention. Okur can also play both the four and the five, and although it effects his performance at the offensive end is still one of the better one on one defenders against the big aircraft carrier type of centers in the league.

Even without the injury, Utah got little to no bargain in extending him for just over $10 million per year.

Haywood isn't as prolific a scorer as Okur, but he has been a significantly better rebounder an shotblocker. Six years was too long for him, but just because Cuban reupped Haywood doesn't mean that Utah should have done the same for MO--even for two.

 

[Scorpjazz]

The Memo deal was a good deal at the time, and will still help us. Either keeping him or using the expiring.

 

[Lost_Jazz_Fan]

The Memo deal was a good deal at the time, and will still help us. Either keeping him or using the expiring.

Agreed. Plus there is no harm in bringing him off the bench with AK to run the 2nd team together. That's a lot of extra fire power that we didn't have last year coming off the bench. This is of course assuming AJ and Sap start at PF and C.

 

[vj_74]

Agreed. Plus there is no harm in bringing him off the bench with AK to run the 2nd team together. That's a lot of extra fire power that we didn't have last year coming off the bench. .

where is the "extra" fire power? We have just replaced Booz with Al Jefferson, that's it. Instead of a Booz-Okur-Millsap 3-man rotation we now have AJ-Okur-Millsap rotation at 4/5. Just by shuffling the guys and changing the positions they play around you dont generate extra fire power.

 

[carolinajazz]

...we're not going to get much, if anything for Memo. He's damaged goods now...plus he has too many years left on that bogus contract we signed him to. We might get a second round draft pick for him, if that!

 

[gregbroncs]

People here are far too hard on Okur. He was worth his contract before the injury and at least he plays injured unlike other players we have had.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Horrible at the time and even more horrible now. Getting anything out of an AK trade for the longterm becomes problematic with Memo's salary on the books for '11-'12. The same issue could've been said for Memo's deal hampering getting anything out of the Boozer situation and while the Miller's stepped up, that doesn't mean that being over the LT is not a problem.

I don't think the Jazz could find a way to dump him this year even if they try.

 

[PrinceJL]

The Memo deal was a good deal at the time, and will still help us. Either keeping him or using the expiring.

Memo's contract was OK at the time... but if he was a FA this summer (w/o injury), he'd get ~7M per year.
I really wish we couldve used Memo in a trade to get Tyson Chandler but that can't happen anymore.

Memo for Nazr/Najera??? Would have give this roster...
PG: DWill / Price / Gaines
SG: Bell / Hayward / Jeffers
SF: CJ / AK
PF: Millsap / Najera / Evans
C: Jefferson / Nazr / Fes

 

[Stifle Tower]

Memo's contract was OK at the time... but if he was a FA this summer (w/o injury), he'd get ~7M per year.

You really think Memo would get the same kind of money that Wesley Matthews received? There are teams out there with money under the cap that would pay Memo a lot of money - if he were healthy. Haywood's contract is a good comparison. He's a better defender, yes. But he's a much worse offensive player. So it just depends
on what that particular team is looking for.

I wish the old board hadn't gone down because I remember someone posting an excellent chart showing the production of the various centers and their salaries.

Yes, Memo's a weak defender. But he's a great shooter and strong rebounder: 15/8 and 40% on his 3's over the past three seasons. Those kind of numbers are going to get you a huge contract, particularly in a situation where defense is not emphasized. It's funny how some criticize KOC for letting players go out and play the market (CJ, Paul and Wesley). But in the one case where KOC felt the market had already been set at a pretty fair value, he's now slammed for signing the player to avoid having him become a FA and potentially be offered more $ and more years on a contract.

 

[carolinajazz]

...WOULD YOU pay anything more than the minimum for a player who just blew out his achiles tendon, could barely move when it was 100% and has a strong tendency to eat himself silly? Memo is done. Whatever he did well he will no longer be able to do......and whatever he did poorly will only be worse.

 

[PrinceJL]

You really think Memo would get the same kind of money that Wesley Matthews received? There are teams out there with money under the cap that would pay Memo a lot of money - if he were healthy. Haywood's contract is a good comparison. He's a better defender, yes. But he's a much worse offensive player. So it just depends
on what that particular team is looking for.

I wish the old board hadn't gone down because I remember someone posting an excellent chart showing the production of the various centers and their salaries.

Yes, Memo's a weak defender. But he's a great shooter and strong rebounder: 15/8 and 40% on his 3's over the past three seasons. Those kind of numbers are going to get you a huge contract, particularly in a situation where defense is not emphasized. It's funny how some criticize KOC for letting players go out and play the market (CJ, Paul and Wesley). But in the one case where KOC felt the market had already been set at a pretty fair value, he's now slammed for signing the player to avoid having him become a FA and potentially be offered more $ and more years on a contract.

I was actually comparing Memo with what Drew Gooden got & I bumped it up a ~1M.