In all likelihood, there will be a different Utah Jazz team this year when the season opens. One, Carlos Boozer will be gone, and two, I doubt CJ Miles is starting at a wing position. Who starts for Booz is easily fixed, as Paul Millsap will step right in and give yeoman-like production, though not in the same way that Boozer does.

And that brings up an interesting question or two.

The first one concerns Paul Millsap. He’s simply not the offensive machine that Carlos Boozer was and is. The traditional Jazz offense based heavily on the PF and PG will not work as smoothly with Sap on the receiving end of those pick and rolls. Sap doesn’t have the ability to pull up and hit the fifteen foot jumper as well as Carlos did. He might be able to learn that, but right now he doesn’t shoot well when forced to use the pull-up jumper. He’s a hard worker, and will undoubtedly be working on it. It will take time, perhaps a year or two before he’s proficient at the shot. Here’s a candidate for Jeff Hornacek to perfect that shot. Once he becomes even barely adequate at the shot, it opens up the lane for driving and slashing, and he’s pretty good at that.

But, because he’s not the same player as Carlos Boozer, that means the look of the Jazz offense will absolutely have to change. No longer will the Jazz come down, set up the PF for a pick and roll, or pick and pop, and work that set until the other team gets sick of looking at it. The reason the Jazz relied on it so much was not because it’s the only way the Jazz offense will work, it’s because it did work.

Now, new looks will need to be installed, and new players will need to step up and give the Jazz added offense.

CJ Miles bothers me in more ways that one. He’s a nice kid with oodles of talent. He could easily average in the teens with the right motivation. I’m not sure whether the Jazz have given up on him or not, but his position will now be critical to the Jazz offense. Someone at the wing, be it SF or SG, will need to hit jumpers and threes at a consistent basis, and not just once in a while. Someone will need to average seventeen or eighteen points a game with a lot of long range bombs, or the Jazz will struggle to play playoff ball.

One of the proposed trades solves that problem nicely, and it also happens to be the trade that really might happen. Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas for Carlos Boozer and CJ Miles. I’m guessing, and it’s just a guess, that the reason it hasn’t happened is because of CJ Miles and his trading date, which happens to be in about a week.

Now this trade might never happen, but something like it does need to happen. Here’s why.

Jerry Sloan apparently loves Kirk Hinrich, and I don’t blame him. He’s the closest thing to Jeff Hornacek I’ve seen in a long time, though with a slightly different game. He’s within a quarter inch of being the same height as Jeff, but has very close to Deron William’s athleticism and quickness. Not as strong as Deron, but Kirk is not a slouch as a NBA athlete. He’s got good reach and length for his size, and excellent lateral quickness as a defender. He’s 6’3.75” inches tall, with a 6’6” wingspan and 8’3.5” reach. Those numbers compare very well to OJ Mayo, for example.

In short, while he’s on the small side for a SG, he can play the position. And while he’s not quite the shooter that Jeff Hornacek was, he’s a legitimate threat who can’t be left open and will shoot over 40% from the three. He’s a better defender than Hornacek because of his athleticism, and a better PG and passer than Jeff ever was if called to give Deron minutes. And like Jeff, he’s very clever at creating his shot by giving little jukes and fakes.

Now the Hinrich trade might never happen, but something like it needs to. Move Ronnie Brewer to SF, and then the SG position needs to have of all things, a shooter. Then, the Jazz offense will work, though dissimilar in execution.

If the proposed trade does come through, the Jazz would lose 2.2 mil in salary for this year. Not a lot, but with Harp there are still some options out there for reducing salary even further.

So there’s a 2.2 mil reduction in salary, but more importantly, I believe Hinrich would be on of those players like Chauncey Billups, who’s impact is greater than mere numbers would indicate.

Now I haven’t mentioned Tyrus Thomas, but he’s an important part of this different Jazz team. Right now, Paul Millsap’s backup is probably Andre Kirilenko. Ty Thomas gives the Jazz an adequate backup PF who can and will block shots like AK used to do a few years back. Wouldn’t that be nice? Thomas’s contract expires this year, and he becomes a restricted FA. It’s not inconceivable that the Jazz pick up a young PF in the draft this year, a PF who has the defensive game of Thomas and the offensive game of Carlos Boozer. We’ll see.

Or, the Jazz could resign Thomas depending on how he works out, and maybe draft a franchise player at the wing position. Lots of nice things could happen.

I’ve focused on the Chicago trade, but there are other scenarios and players that would help the Jazz. The one thing they have in common is that we absolutely need some scoring options other than Paul Millsap. While I respect and admire Sap’s game, he isn’t Carlos Boozer or Karl Malone. It’s not fair to think he should be, and he’s a big plus just being Paul