By Stef Siepel

Papers turned in their stories talking about the upcoming lottery. Even in Salt Lake City, people were still clinging to their hopes of lottery luck. "I hate the fact we're in the lottery, I hate the fact that we didn't make the playoffs — and I think the whole organization feels that way," O'Connor said. "But, I also feel that if we're going to go — you know, let's try and win this sucker." O’Connor even stepped on the plane to attend the lottery. Orlando won, as expected. Basically, it was much ado about nothing.

The Jazz have the fourteenth, sixteenth, and twenty-first pick in the upcoming draft, which promises to be a deep one, albeit with a lot of talent on the same level from the second pick onwards. "We have a lot of options available to us," Miller said. And that’s true. With three picks this may be the winter of our discontent, as we might leave the lottery after one year. "Maybe we won't come back here again for one of these," Haslem said. "We're of the opinion that's going to be the case."

The question is how the Jazz will try to achieve that. Why then tonight let us assay our plot. Or possible plots at least, because the Jazz can do multiple things. First up is the draft, and whether the Jazz will keep all their picks is the question. "It would be nice to get to the top 10," Miller said. "To get anyone at 14 I think would be unusual, unless we were going to take a project -- although, between some of these young kids and some of the Europeans, maybe there's somebody out there at 14. Right now, I really doubt it." What he forgets is that John Stockton and Andrei Kirilenko, the latter the current franchise player for the Jazz, were both drafted with picks higher than the fourteenth.

A lot of people think that the Jazz should hang on to their three picks though, because they say that the Jazz can’t get anything significantly better at, say, eight than at fourteen. Some people still want to move up in the draft, to be assured to get the player the Jazz want. And the idea of packaging some picks to make a nice deal is pretty intriguing, not only because draft picks are worth quite a lot, but also because the Jazz aren’t particularly interested in having three rookies around in an already very young team. One other possibility could be drafting a player from outside the US and let him stay overseas. If the Jazz hang on to their three picks, they have the luxury to take a gamble. Cowards die many times before their deaths, and the Jazz are as alive as can be. I, for one, prefer picking three times and keep one overseas. There are some intriguing prospects in this draft, and you can get very nice players at the places where the Jazz will draft.

There are some quite intriguing prospects for the Jazz to consider come draft time. Power forwards Biedrin, Araujo, Humphries, and Aldridge are players frequently named. The Jazz are currently in need of some big men, and with three picks the Jazz are bound to pick at least one big body in which they hope to see a future starter. And the player drafted might have that starter spot quite fast, as the Jazz currently don’t have many power forwards on their roster. Others mentioned are Jameer Nelson, Luke Jackson, Sergei Monya, J.R. Smith, and David Harrison. The Jazz have already started bringing in some players to see for themselves what they can do. A smart move, because it’s better to let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent. The draft is always tricky though, since often expectations fail, and most often there where most it promises; and often it hits where hope is the coldest, and despair most fits.

The free agency period still seems very far away, and to Jazz fans it doesn’t seem like it has any intention of arriving anytime soon. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day. Eventually it will come though, and when it arrives the Jazz will try to be aggressive, as nothing can come of nothing. The Jazz already have indicated that they are looking at players that are currently not mentioned a lot in the press, but who they feel would fit perfectly in the Jazz system. That might indicate they are going after some lower profile free agents. The Jazz should not be afraid of greatness though, and also call the higher profile free agents. Then again, it might just be a big smoke curtain. General manager’s words fly up while their thoughts stay below; that’s what usually happens in the free agency period.

Then again, what’s in a name? No matter how someone is called, if he does the job, he does the job. And the Jazz have a history of finding relatively unknown players who put up the numbers they were expected to and then some. Has an unknown player not eyes? Hath he not hands? He does, and the Jazz system has proven that it can turn those unknown players into serviceable players that can make the system work at it’s best. The Jazz have been as constant as the northern star in the last couple of years, always playing the same tune and always vying for a play-off spot no matter which players they have.

The Jazz shouldn’t be afraid to call some well-known players though. Even a team like the Jazz, where the system seems to be more important than the individual, needs a star that can work in the system. A big name free agent that the Jazz might want to pursue is Seattle’s Brent Barry. The combo guard has the highest chance of being a perfect fit in the Jazz system. Three big names that the Jazz also might want to look at are Kenyon Martin, Rasheed Wallace, and Stromile Swift, who could fill the void in the frontcourt. And although he will likely move to a  Eastern conference team, giving Erick Dampier a call wouldn’t be such a bad idea either. A big body likely wanting big money without being a big name is Mehmet Okur, who is talked about a lot in the press. Of those players, Dampier and Wallace look like the most interesting players, though Wallace’s shot selection might give Sloan quite some headaches.

Some lesser known free agents that the Jazz might pursue are Boston’s Chris Mihm, Denver’s Chris Andersen, Golden State’s Adonal Foyle, former Jazz man Keon Clark, and Washington’s Etan Thomas, but the front runner of unknown big men might be Mark Blount, who had a good year this year and the Jazz might want to take the gamble that he’s going to reprise that performance. The Jazz might also want to give Vlade Divac a call. Though this be madness (as the answer will be “no”), yet there is method in it. Next to all the young guns, a veteran big man who can shoot and pass and even has a hook shot would suit the Jazz nicely. As for the others, the young Etan Thomas especially seems to have the right mind set the Jazz are looking for.

There are also some interesting shooters out there. Fred Hoiberg would be a good fit with the Jazz, as would restricted free agent Quentin Richardson, whom the Jazz aren’t likely to go after. Bob Sura also is a possibility. The Jazz don’t need many back-court players though, not if they keep some of their own free agents anyway. Arroyo will probably garner some interest, but the Jazz might want him to stick around. Giricek will also attract some attention; although he has already indicated the Jazz are his first option. If not exposed and picked up by the Bobcats, Jarron Collins might get a Jazz offer he’ll probably accept. Ostertag’s return is unlikely since he’s flirting with other teams, and for other reasons Gugliotta, Moore, and Ruffin seem like they won’t be wearing Jazz uniforms next year, though “Googs” could be useful.

Trades are an option as well. But the Jazz don’t have a lot of good trade bait. Matt Harpring seems to be the only one with value on the roster, but he is worth more to the Jazz than any other team would realize. So his departure seems unlikely, as seems the departure of other Jazz members via a regular trade. A sign-and-trade with Arroyo or Ostertag are more interesting options, although I doubt that will happen.

But the draft and the free agency period are still far away. And how poor are they that have no patience! Well, I have no patience, and that’s why I’m writing this. I, and I bet every Jazz fan with me, am longing for the draft to arrive and the free agency period to begin. We’ll see a lot of changes, without doubt; how much we will like them is the question. Last year the Jazz came up with next to nothing, and the Jazz did great things with it. Imagine what the Jazz could do if they are more successful with their initial signing attempts in this year’s free agency period. But the first signing attempts could very well not be successful, and maybe the free agency period won’t be as exciting as we hope, and maybe the draft won’t be either. In the end, it probably all was much ado about nothing.