First of all, after watching the first few episodes of “Treme,” I find it even more ridiculous that the Utah Jazz took the “Jazz” nickname with them to Salt Lake City. The franchise should apologize to the city of New Orleans and give the name back to the Hornets, who took their name from Charlotte, whose team is now named “Bobcats” after the franchise’s former owner, Bob Johnson.

Sigh.

But back to the Jazz. They were swept out of the playoffs last night by the Lakers, which marks the third straight year that L.A. has eliminated Utah in the playoffs. Over the past three decades, the team has been the model of consistency, with just one losing season in the last 27 years. That has a lot to do with the guy at the top, Jerry Sloan, who has coached the Jazz for 21 straight seasons. One of the biggest travesties in the history of the league is that he’s never won the Coach of the Year award.

Looking ahead to this summer, one big name free agent comes to mind — Carlos Boozer. The 28-year-old forward averaged 20-11-3 this season and shot 56% from the field. Of course the Jazz want him back, right? Not so fast. This was one of Boozer’s “healthy” years. He appeared in 78 games, which marks just the fifth time in eight years that Boozer has played in 52-plus games. In short, he’s an injury risk, but when he’s healthy, he’s an All-Star. Throw in the fact that he’s getting older and it’s obvious why the Jazz are a little leery about handing him a big contract.

The other issue is Paul Millsap, whom Utah signed last summer to a four-year contract worth $32 million. Millsap also plays power forward and has proven over the last two seasons that he can be very productive in a starting role. This year, he averaged 15-8 and 51% shooting in eight starts and last season he averaged 16-10 and 54% shooting in 38 starts. Is he as good as Boozer right now? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be just as good or better. In Boozer’s third season, he averaged 18-9 and 52% shooting, which are awfully similar to Millsap’s numbers (in starts) last season. To top it all off, he has only missed six games in four seasons and he’s quite a bit cheaper.

Boozer and Millsap do play pretty well together, but when they do, Utah’s front line is pretty undersized. Will they ever get past the Lakers with Boozer and Millsap playing big minutes together?

The answer to that question probably determines whether or not Boozer plays for the Jazz next season. He’s going to be an unrestricted free agent, so he can sign anywhere, but Utah would be wise to try to work out some sort of sign-and-trade to bring in a true center with some length. Whether or not they are willing to make that kind of financial commitment to the new player is to be determined. The luxury tax threshold should be around $68 million, so if the Jazz want to stay under that level, they’re going to have to avoid adding more than $10 million in salaries this summer. That’s not enough to pay Boozer.

Let’s not forget that the Jazz own the Knicks’ first round pick, which should be in the top 10 in this summer’s draft. They could have a shot at a big like Kansas’s Cole Aldrich, Lithuania’s Donatas Motiejunas or Marshall’s Hassan Whiteside.

The other free agent decision is Kyle Korver, who is a great fit for Utah, but he missed 30 games this season due to injury. He shot almost 54% from long range, which is outstanding, and is a career 41% shooter. Players that can space the court like Korver can are in demand around the league, so I fully expect him to sign a mid-level (or near mid-level) contract this summer. That will probably be too rich for Utah’s blood, though if the Jazz can cheaply shore up the front line, they may elect to retain Korver as well.

There’s something to be said for Utah’s consistency, but this looks like a team that is destined for a first or second round exit in the tough Western Conference playoffs every season, so maybe a shake up is in order. That’s the question — do you re-sign Boozer and take the sure 50+ wins while retaining the same ceiling, or do you roll the dice and move Boozer for some assets that give your front line a new look?

The one constant here is All-NBA point guard Deron Williams, and his happiness should not be taken lightly. If the Jazz do not re-sign Boozer and don’t get anything for return, expect some grumbles from the outspoken Williams.

Photos from fOTOGLIF

Garnett’s knee is just fine. It has been a concern in camp, but apparently KG has his explosion back. In a recent practice, he caught an alley-oop and slammed it home. The Celtics’ fortunes depend heavily on the health of Garnett’s knee. Without him at full strength, they’ll have a tough time competing with the Cavs and Magic. As an NBA fan, a healthy KG is good for the league.

Is Russell Westbrook turning into a dependable point guard? The Oklahoman reports that is A/T ratio in the preseason is 5.4. Last season it was 1.6, which is quite bad. It’s a small sample size, but if Westbrook can get his A/T ratio above 3.0, it will reap dividends for the Thunder. From a fantasy perspective, if he were to cut his turnovers in half and have the same number of assists (which would result in a A/T ratio of about 3.0), then he’d be the 15th most efficient point guard (just below Mo Williams) instead of the 21st most efficient.

Stephen Jackson will play for the Warriors, but he’s not happy about it. There’s a good chance the Warriors will acquiesce and try to fulfill Jackson’s wishes to be traded, but the 31 year-old has three more years remaining on his contract at the tune of $9.3 per season, so there’s no guarantee that a playoff team would be willing to make a move for him. Miami could move Michael Beasley, but Jackson’s contract would ruin the Heat’s financial flexibility next summer. The Suns could use Jackson to replace an aging Grant Hill, but they’re in financial trouble. The Hornets probably make the most sense, but are they willing to spend?

Who will be on the court to finish games — Bynum or Odom? This seems to be the annual question with the Lakers. When is Bynum’s game going to mature enough that it demands that he be on the floor to finish games? Odom is the better player right now, and although he’s flaky at times, he shows up when it counts. Bynum has been erratic, and he’s going to have to produce consistently to convince Phil Jackson to go with a “twin towers” approach. Odom can face the basket, which helps the Lakers spacing. When Bynum is on the floor with Pau Gasol, the lane gets clogged and Kobe doesn’t have as much room to penetrate.

Andre Miller isn’t happy being a backup. If I were Miller, I wouldn’t be happy backing up Steve Blake either. But the simple fact of the matter is that Blake is more suited to running the Blazers if they continue to grind-it-out offensively. Blake is a 39% 3PT shooter (Miller is a career 21% shooter from long range), and if Portland continues to play at a slow pace, then they’ll need Blake’s accuracy on the floor to create penetration lanes for Brandon Roy. Miller can post up, which is one way that Nate McMillan could use him in the half court. But he’s a point guard that thrives on the break, and in recent years, the Blazers just don’t push the ball all that much. This will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow this season.

Paul Millsap doesn’t worry about whether or not he’s starting. And he shouldn’t, because he’s still not quite as good as Carlos Boozer. Millsap should just put his head down and go to work, because he will be the starting power forward in Utah soon enough. The team made it clear by the commitment it made in the offseason. Boozer probably won’t be in Utah next season.

ESPN’s Chad Ford lists nine teams that will have significant cap space next summer. [Insider subscription required.]

1. Nets ($25-$27 million)
2. Knicks ($24 million, assuming they don’t sign anyone for longer than a year)
3. Heat ($20-$22 million)
4. Timberwolves ($16-$18 million)
5. Bulls ($13-$15 million minus whatever they give Tyrus Thomas)
6. Thunder ($14-$15 million)
7. Rockets ($12-$14 million minus whatever they give to Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes)
8. Clippers ($10-$11 million)
9. Kings ($9-$10 million)

This assumes a cap of $53.6 million, which is an optimistic view. The cap could drop below $50 million.

It takes about $14 million of space to sign a max-contract player, so even under these optimistic circumstances, there really are only five teams — the Nets, Knicks, Heat, T-Wolves and Thunder — that will have that kind of space. (The Bulls are likely to keep Thomas and the Rockets are likely to retain Landry and Hayes, though they could make another move here or there to put them in position to add a superstar.)

Of these five teams, the Heat look to be in the best overall shape. Their projected payroll already includes Dwyane Wade, so they have enough to woo another superstar (LeBron, Bosh, Amare, Boozer?) to Miami. They also have a few good young players (Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers) under contract, and the city boasts a great climate and nightlife. But the real draw is playing with Wade, who has already proven that he can win a championship if he has a little help.

The Thunder are compelling because they have a great young nucleus that includes Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and James Harden. It would be a terrific spot for a big like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire to go if they are serious about trying to win a championship.

The Nets are also appealing, though it would be nice if the team’s location were settled by next summer. Right now the plan is to play in Brooklyn starting in the 2011-12 season, so this would be a good landing spot for a star looking to up his Q score. They have an All-Star caliber point guard (Devin Harris), an up-and-coming off guard (Courtney Lee) and a rising star at center (Brook Lopez). Considering most of the major free agents next summer play off guard, small forward or power forward, the Nets will be a major player.

The Timberwolves are viewed as kind of a mess, and it will be next to impossible for them to attract LeBron or Wade to the Twin Cities. They would have an outside chance at Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire, but they are pretty set up front with Kevin Love and Al Jefferson. Joe Johnson would appear to be the best fit if he were willing to leave Atlanta.

Finally, the Knicks are in great shape financially, but if they can’t retain David Lee, they don’t have a whole lot of talent to attract a superstar who is more interested in titles than he is in playing in the biggest market in the country.

Ultimately, I think the Heat will acquire/sign an impact player like Bosh, Stoudemire or Boozer that will prompt Dwyane Wade to stay put. Those three bigs are likely to have new homes next season, though I think Bosh has the best chance to stay put with the moves that Toronto has made this summer. Joe Johnson will probably stick in Atlanta.

That leaves LeBron. I think the Cavs need to make a Finals appearance to keep him, though since they signed Anderson Varejao to a long-term deal, they don’t have the cap space to sign a big-name free agent to replace Shaquille O’Neal if they elect not to bring him back for another season. Will LeBron stay if the Cavs lose in the Finals and Shaq’s contract expires? The Cavs won’t have a lot of options in the summer of 2010 unless they can swing a trade to bring a superstar in his 20′s to Cleveland to be LeBron’s sidekick.

For a preview of the 2010 free agents, click here.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports…

Now, the Heat are working furiously to deliver Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer to the shores of Biscayne Bay. The Heat are trying to sell Odom on a five-year, $34 million contract at the mid-level exception, and a league executive with knowledge of the talks says Miami has also hatched a three-way proposal with the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies to secure Boozer.

The essentials of a possible deal would include Miami sending forward Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright to Utah. Because Memphis is under the cap, Utah could move Wright’s $2.8 million salary to the Grizzlies and save itself approximately $5.6 million with salary and luxury-tax payments. Memphis would probably get cash and picks for its trouble. The Heat would have to send one more small contract to make the math on the salary exchange work.

Odom can play some small forward, so this isn’t an outrageous plan by Riley and the Heat, though I’m not sure where it would leave Michael Beasley. Wojnarowski says that the Lakers have offered Odom $36 million over four years (which works out to about $8 million per season, after state taxes), so I’m not sure why he’d take the Heat’s deal, unless he is looking to sign the biggest contract overall. There is no state tax in Florida, so Miami’s $34 million deal is slightly larger than the Lakers’ deal, after state taxes.

The Boozer acquisition seems more likely, and although I do like Haslem, I’m not sure that he’s enough to convince Utah to pull the trigger. Portland is also working on a deal for Boozer, since all signs point to the Jazz matching the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap whether or not Boozer is on the roster. The Blazers are also trying to get the Pistons involved so that they can try to pry Tayshaun Prince away from Detroit, though Joe Dumars has wisely stayed out of such talks thus far. It appears that he doesn’t see Boozer as a $14 million per season player and that’s what Boozer’s camp is asking for. With his injury history, they need to set their sights a little lower.

Pistons, Blazers interested in Hedo Turkoglu.

The Oregonian reports Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard and assistant general manager Tom Penn called agent Lon Babby last night to begin the courtship of Hedo Turkoglu.

With Carlos Boozer out of the picture, an NBA source tells the Chicago Sun-Times that Turkoglu is now the Pistons’ first choice in free agency.

While the Blazers’ interest has long been rumored, Detroit’s interest is a little surprising. They already have a very good small forward on the roster in Tayshaun Prince, so unless they’re planning to play Turkoglu at the four, someone is going to lose some minutes. Of the two teams, the Pistons have more cap space, so if they want him, they can get him. (And what about Ben Gordon?)

Charlie V ahead of Turkoglu on the Pistons’ wishlist?

Chicago’s Ben Gordon remains the backcourt player deeply coveted by the Pistons, but the prospect of a Gordon-and-Villanueva combo likely would be slightly cheaper than trying to sign Gordon and Turkoglu with Detroit’s nearly $19 million in projected salary-cap space.

The Pistons may also be interested in Paul Millsap, but anytime a team signs a restricted free agent to an offer sheet, that money is tied up for a week while his current team decides to match. That makes signing an RFA a dicey prospect.

I wonder if the Bucks are regretting letting Villanueva given the amount of interest he’s generating from their division rivals (Detroit and Cleveland).

Knicks not offering David Lee what he wants?

A team source claims the Knicks will offer David Lee a four-year deal worth $32M, reports the New York Daily News.

Lee and his agent are asking for $10M per season.

Donnie Walsh is no dummy. Lee is an energy player, and those types of bigs don’t generally get the monster contracts that their back-to-the-basket counterparts do. Walsh knows that most players, given the choice, will want to play in New York, so he’s essentially daring another team to come with a strong enough offer to pry Lee away.

The Rockets are interested in Marcin Gortat.

Rockets.com reports Houston wants Marcin Gortat so bad that Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey rang the door bell at Gortat’s Orlando-area home at 12:01 am this morning.

I like Morey’s style. While showing up at the house at midnight is a little stalker-ish, I think Gortat will let it slide. Morey even asked Rockets fans for help in recruiting Gortat by setting up an email account for them to send messages to show their support for the signing.

With Yao Ming out indefinitely, it makes sense that the Rockets would try to lock up another center. The Rockets are over the cap, so they can only offer a mid-level deal unless they can swing a sign-and-trade with Orlando.

Jazz not deterred — first to contact Paul Millsap.

General manager Kevin O’Connor called at 10 p.m., according to Millsap’s agent, DeAngelo Simmons.

Simmons called O’Connor a “class act” for the gesture, adding, “I think it was great that they called and expressed their interest. That’s good on their part.”

Simmons is seeking a contract in the $10M a year range for Millsap.

With Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur making the (semi-)surprising decisions to play another season in Utah, the Jazz are going to have to go well over the luxury tax threshold to re-sign Millsap. Utah is a small market team who usually has to overpay to convince free agents to come to (or to stay in) Salt Lake City. Already having Deron Williams locked up is a big bonus.

It will be interesting to see where Millsap lands now that Boozer and Okur are off the market.

Andre Miller wants to get paid.

“We feel, from his body of work, Philadelphia should obviously reflect that in an offer, in appreciation for what he has done or what he can do for them in the future. We know the team has financial commitments elsewhere, but we also know Andre has continued to produce and deliver.”

Everyone wants to get paid, but 33-year-old Miller is reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth $30 million. Anytime an agent starts talking about his client wanting “appreciation for what he has done,” it’s time to get a little worried. $10 million per season is way too much to pay Miller and his camp knows that the Sixers are probably the only team able to make that kind of an offer.

Tuesday Afternoon Update: Mehmet Okur is going to play the final year of his contract as well.

Earlier today, we discussed the possibility of Carlos Boozer playing out the final year of his contract, and that’s exactly what he decided to do.

Boozer’s decision was a reversal from his December comments to an ESPN.com reporter that he was planning to opt out and would get a raise regardless. The Jazz, however, long questioned if the market that Boozer believed existed was more fantasy than reality.

In the end, it sounds as if Boozer considered his prospects and decided to take the sure $12.7 million instead of rolling the dice on the open market. If he is able to play at a high level and without injury, he stands to significantly improve his value heading into the summer of 2010. There are so many teams cutting salary in preparation for that summer’s free agent frenzy, so if he can stay healthy, he definitely stands to gain. However, by playing out the last year of this deal, he is forgoing the security of the long-term contract that he otherwise would have signed this summer. If he were to suffer a career-ending injury next season, he’d be leaving perhaps $42 million on the table.

How does this affect the team’s payroll?

The Jazz also are treading in dangerous territory in regard to the luxury tax. Boozer’s return gives them approximately $64.5 million in salary commitments to 10 players for the upcoming season.

That’s before making decisions about re-signing Okur – should he opt out – and Millsap. The NBA’s luxury-tax threshold is expected to be around $70 million and the Jazz would have to carry at least a league-minimum 13 players on their roster.

“It could be [a problem],” Miller said, “but it’s like I said before: If we need to go into the luxury tax to protect our players and protect our team, keep it intact, we’d have to take a look at that.”

If Okur opts out, the Jazz projected payroll would be around $63 million, leaving some (but not a lot) of flexibility to sign Paul Millsap. If Okur plays out the final year of his deal, Utah will have to pay a steep luxury tax to re-sign Millsap. Essentially, if a franchise is over the luxury tax threshold, they have to pay a dollar-for-dollar tax. Simply stated, now that Boozer has opted in, if Okur opts in, it’s going to make it tougher for the Jazz to retain Millsap.

I’m sure there are a few teams out there licking their chops at the prospect of signing Millsap.

Pistons not willing to pony up for Boozer?

The Pistons would love to sign Carlos Boozer should he decide today to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Jazz and become a free agent.

However, if Boozer opts out, he would leave $12.6 million on the table in Utah. Thus, there is a good chance Boozer, as has been widely speculated, would look to start his next contract at $14 million or $15 million.

If that is the case, the Pistons most likely would walk away.

Just because a guy asks for a contract starting at $14-$15 million doesn’t mean that the Pistons have to give it to him. If Boozer opts out, the Pistons are his most likely landing spot, so they set the market, not him. If he wants an unreasonable deal, they shouldn’t walk away, they should make an offer and give him some time to find a better one. Chances are that he won’t, and he’ll end up taking Detroit’s deal.

Assuming Boozer does not dramatically reduce his asking price, the Pistons would go after Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva.

Villanueva will turn 25 in August and is coming off his best season. He averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Bucks.

The Pistons could conceivably sign Gordon and Villanueva and still have money left over to pursue re-signing Antonio McDyess.

I estimate Gordon’s value to be about $9 million, though he has turned down bigger offers from the Bulls in the past. Villanueva will probably get lots of MLE offers, so the Pistons would likely have to trump those to convince him to play in Detroit instead of Cleveland (or for another contender). So if Detroit signs both, expect them to pay at least $15.5-$16.0 million combined. That doesn’t leave a lot of space for McDyess.

Jason Kidd is meeting with the Knicks. According to the article if they don’t get Kidd, they may go after Ramon Sessions.

Kidd doesn’t seem like a very good fit for a team in the beginning stages of a rebuilding process, though the Knicks hope to accelerate that process by signing one or two big-name free agents next summer. I’m sure Kidd is interested in the prospects of being a part of that team, but it’s unclear how much of a role money will play in his decision. Unless they work out a sign-and-trade with the Mavs, the Knicks can only offer Kidd the mid-level exception (~$5.8 million).

As for Sessions, I think the Bucks are positioned to match any offer up to the mid-level, and I think that’s the top end of his market right now. Milwaukee would be wise to lock him up before next summer’s free-for-all.

Hedo Turkoglu turned down a four-year extension worth $35 million after the Finals.

“It’s going to be hard, but it’s not out of the question, and it’s certainly not out of our focus,” Vander Weide said of re-signing Turkoglu. “We didn’t do (the Carter trade) thinking automatically that Turk won’t be here. What you try to do in this league is collect assets, but occasionally you have to move those assets for something that’s a better fit. We still see Turk as an asset, and we’ll try to get something done, but we won’t know for a week or so what kind of deal we’re up against.”

Four years is longer than I would want to go, but I think he’ll eventually regret passing that deal up. Stan Van Gundy and the Magic gave him the opportunity to thrive and it’s shortsighted to pass up the chance to play on a championship-caliber club for a few extra million. The Blazers, Raptors and Kings are said to be interested, but only Portland is a serious championship contender.

Meanwhile, the Magic may very well be ruining a good thing buy acquiring Carter and letting Turkoglu walk. It’s not wise to drastically alter the face of a team that just went to the NBA Finals. And it’s not like the Lakers revealed some glaring deficiencies in the Magic roster. Sure, L.A. won in five games, but two of those wins were overtime games that could have gone either way. A healthy Jameer Nelson might have made the difference.

Anderson Varejao is going to test the market.

The Cavs can go over the salary cap to sign Varejao, but he’s free to sign with any team. The Cavs will not be able to match any offer he gets.

Varejao was slated to make around $6.2 million next season, so there isn’t much risk here. Someone will give him a multi-year mid-level deal, so he should get the security of guaranteed money. There’s no guarantee that the Cavs will bring him back because it will be tough to play both he and Shaq at the same time.

Trevor Ariza’s agent, David Lee, says that the Lakers won’t get a hometown discount.

“It’s a question of how committed the Lakers are to competing again,” Lee said. “If everyone else stood still, you could see what happens when a piece is missing, but the reality is teams out there are positioning themselves to be competitive. When other teams are getting better, you can’t afford to rest on your laurels.”

“If you’re doing a one-year or two-year deal, you could have all sorts of conversations about the Artests or the Turkoglus,” Lee said, “but if you’re talking a five-year deal, Trevor’s going to be 28 and those guys are going to be 35.”

So if some other team offers Ariza a deal averaging $6.5 million per year and the Lakers make an offer that averages $6.3 million, Ariza won’t stay in L.A.? If he does, that would be the definition of a hometown discount. I think most players would agree to some sort of a discount to stay put (especially on a championship team in sunny Los Angeles), it’s just a matter of how much.

I think Ariza’s floor is the mid-level.

Andre Miller wants $30 million?

One source has said Miller will be seeking around $10 million a year, which is what he earned last season, and that he will more than likely desire a minimum contract length of three years.

Stefanski said a sign-and-trade was “a possibility.”

In layman’s terms: The Sixers are over the salary cap. If they do not re-sign Miller, they cannot offer his salary to another player on the free-agent market. Per NBA rules, the Sixers are allowed to re-sign their own guy.

The Blazers are supposedly interested, though I think $10 million per season is pretty steep for a 33 year-old, especially for a three-year deal. I estimated his value to be $6-$7 million per season, but I could see him signing for a bit more. My guess is that a lot of these guys are going to have to lower expectations once free agency begins.

Brandon Bass is hoping for the mid-level.

Bass will be seeking the mid-level exception. Because he has been with the Mavericks for two seasons, they can offer him any annual salary up to the exception without actually using their exception.

The mid-level is expected to be between $5 million and $5.5 million.

That seems fair, if a bit high. I pegged his value somewhere in the $4.5-$5.5 million per year range. I think Bass is a starter-quality power forward, and at 24, he has some upside.