by Stef Siepel
Have you ever found yourself on the verge of leaving your house for
an appointment, and then you doubted which route you would take?
Suddenly you are questioning yourself whether it would be smarter to
take the tunnel or the bridge. When you’ve finally made a decision
you drive off to get to your 14:30 appointment.
So,
when you finally enter the room at 15:00, just after all the
decisions have been finalized, you are bound to be asked the
question why you were this late. “There
was an accident in the tunnel,” you reply. “Oh,” says someone, “but
why didn’t you take the bridge then?” You are irritated because you
don’t need him to tell you that you took the wrong road because you
have already come to that conclusion. You know you’ve made the wrong
decision, but hindsight always has been 20/20.
Kevin O’Connor has decided on the road he wants to take, but he has
just started the car and drove off. It’s still uncertain if the road
he has taken is the correct one, but he knows in what direction he
will be heading. And that’s not the same direction as DeShawn
Stevenson, since Stevenson has taken a road leading to the East
Coast. Stevenson was sent to the Orlando Magic after O’Connor made a
trade just before the trading deadline. The Jazz got swingman Gordan
Giricek in return.
DeShawn Stevenson, who was drafted by the Jazz in 2000, came to the
NBA straight out of high school. The Jazz admitted they were
gambling a bit, something that the Jazz don’t do that often. ''We
had an opportunity to get a guy with a tremendous upside,'' Sloan
said. ''That doesn't always mean a guy is going to come in and play,
but you have to take a chance on a guy who possibly could be a star
down the line.''
He still has the upside, and he still could be a star down the line,
but it won’t be with Utah. Just after the draft,
Sloan already said that “there will be a lot of headaches but that's
part of it.'' The Jazz gave Sloan some aspirins though, as they
traded away Stevenson to the Magic for Gordan Giricek. The headaches
caused by Stevenson, which grew milder and milder as the years went
by, are now gone, but heartaches in the entire Jazz squad have taken
its place.
"It's a good situation that another team wants me," he said after
hugging teammate Andrei Kirilenko goodbye. "The only thing I'm
disappointed about is leaving a lot of good people behind people
like Andrei, and Carlos (Arroyo), and Greg (Ostertag)."
Giricek knows what it feels like to be dealt, although not every
deal he was involved in was accompanied by heartaches. The Mavericks
drafted Giricek in the second round of the 1999 draft. They then
traded the rights to the Spurs, who dealt him to the Grizzlies.
Grizzlies’ general manager Jerry West was raving about the Croat.
“We feel that Giricek is a terrific, experienced player who has
played professionally for a number of years,” said West. “He is a
sharp-shooter who is athletic and will bring additional quality
depth to our outside shooting positions.”
But alas, his stay in Memphis didn’t last very long either. West
traded him after long negotiations with Gabriel, the manager of the
Magic. West originally offered them Swift, but then had to include
Giricek into the deal. The final deal didn’t include Swift however,
but Gooden and Giricek instead. Again, Giricek went on to play for a
general manager who loved his shooting abilities.
"Giricek can really, really shoot it and he's so fundamentally
sound," Gabriel said. "I really think this trade will help us this
year and give us the push we need."
Utah is the third NBA team he will play for. Giricek, who has been
traded four times, doesn’t mind being in Salt Lake City though.
"I think Utah was the best club for me," he said. "I mean, if I were
to be able to choose, I would choose Utah, because they're a young
team, and they know how to play basketball."
Kirilenko, who knows Giricek from their playing days in Europe,
might have had some influence on the picture Giricek had of the
Jazz.
"What he (Kirilenko) said first is 'The guys are great, and the team
is great. They support each other,' " said Giricek.
Giricek is still trying to find his groove with the Jazz. The 6-5
swingman will need some time to adjust. So far his shots haven’t
been falling, with the exception of his heroics in the game against
Detroit, but the Jazz have confidence that his touch will return,
hopefully
sooner than later. Not only for the Jazz, who are in the hunt for a
play-off spot and could use the points, but also for Giricek.
Giricek will be a restricted free agent when the season ends, which
means that he doesn’t have a guaranteed contract for next year.
Whether or not he
stays with the Jazz will be decided in the remainder of the season.
O’Connor will definitely take a look at Giricek, and if he plays
well they will most likely offer him a contract to stay. But he will
probably need to hit those long-range shots, because that is what
the Jazz are looking for. The Jazz haven’t had a long-range threat
since number 14 retired, and it was one of the main reasons why they
wanted Giricek to come to Utah. If he starts dialing up and
connecting from downtown he has a good chance to be offered a
contract by the Jazz. If not, then the Jazz will try their luck on
the free agency market and look for someone who can hit it from
beyond the arc.
Apparently not in the Jazz future plans is Tom Gugliotta.
"If it (starting him) helps him get a job (for next season), I don't
have any problem with that," Sloan said, also adding that whether it
helps the team or not is still the most important issue.
Gugliotta, now a 12-year veteran out of North Carolina State, has
been nothing but injured in the past few years. And if that wasn’t
bad enough, even when healthy the former
All-Star didn’t get a lot of playing time.
"I feel like I'm the healthiest I've been in three or four years.
I'm open to anything. I want to play," he said.
And play he shall. He has already occupied the starting spot on the
power forward position and “Googs” has been posting solid numbers.
"I know I've got to produce," he said, but
he called his trade to Utah "a new lease on my
career. Things weren't going well."
Whether he keeps it up and even starts to play better as the season
progresses,
still remains to be seen, but Gugliotta is confident.
"My skill level is still high. Running and jumping is not what it
was, but I think it's still pretty good."
It is unlikely that Gugliotta, who is in the last year of his
contract, will get a contract extension. Born in the winter of ’69,
Gugliotta, who seems to have been born under a bad sign as
he not only got injured,
but also missed the Olympics because of the injury, doesn’t really
fit in the rebuilding plans. With the Jazz having several first
round picks and a lot of money in their wallet, the veteran power
forward might find himself in another city next season. At least,
that’s the general opinion.
Gugliotta might extend his stay here if he plays well, though. The
6-10 power
forward, who
will have to take a pay cut in every scenario imaginable, might see
himself as one of the few veterans on the Jazz team if he plays
well. If he can prove to the Jazz he is a valuable asset to the team
and fits in the system then he might land the veteran role for the
right price. If the Jazz can’t land a big man during the free agency
period they might want to take “Googs” along for the ride. He, by
then, will know the system.
So the Jazz might want to take a long look at both Giricek and
Gugliotta. Not only to determine the line-up for this season, but
also to determine the roster for next year. If Giricek starts
shooting the ball as good as he usually does and proves he can play
in a half-court setting then it seems he will receive a reasonable
contract offer from the Jazz. And if Gugliotta is willing to settle
for a supporting role as a veteran for the right price, the Jazz
might want to give him a call too.
That is, if he proves he can play
in the system and if he proves he can still be valuable on the
court.
Whether they indeed fit in with the Jazz and can contribute this
year and, more importantly, in upcoming years still remains to be
seen. Giricek is still struggling at the time of writing while
Gugliotta is contributing as a starter. If they can help the Jazz
next year in their quest to be one of the Western play-off locks
isn’t known yet.
And it remains to be seen, as well,
whether it was smart to give up on Stevenson.
The jury still hasn’t reached its final verdict.
And it probably won’t reach its final verdict until next year, or
maybe even until years after that. Because who knows, maybe one of
the draft picks the Jazz acquired via these trades will turn into a
superstar. Or maybe either Giricek or Stevenson will turn into a
star. And maybe they won’t. Who knows?
O’Connor has started the car and took Gugliotta and Giricek along
for the ride. Whether their trip with O’Connor will be a long or
short one still has to be determined, as well as whether or not the
road O’Connor has taken will lead the Jazz to all the right places.
Years later we will probably be able to say if O’Connor took the
right route, and then we can praise O’Connor or curse him for what
he has done. But hindsight has always been 20/20. For now, O’Connor
has just started the car and decided on the route. And it will take
a couple of miles more before we can see if it was the right one.
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