Dennis Lindsey is in New York City today, leading a small contingent of Jazz executives in the Big Apple for the NBA lottery, the game of fortune in which the Jazz have a 98 percent chance of remaining exactly where they are, in the 14^th slot for next month's draft.

While Lindsey, the Jazz GM, is squarely focused on the draft, the offseason and going to work on the nearly blank canvas of Jazzdom, he still has an eye on the NBA playoffs and especially on his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.

"Now that we've been eliminated," he said, "I want them to win it."

On Tuesday, in the night-cap following the lottery, the Spurs will try to go up 2-0 on the Memphis ...

The Philadelphia 76ers have received permission to speak with Utah Jazz assistant coach Jeff Hornacek for their head coaching vacancy, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Hornacek, 49, has been an assistant coach with the Jazz since February 2010, following a stint as a special consultant with the organization. As a player, he spent 1 1/2 seasons with the 76ers from 1992 to 1994 before being traded to the Jazz at the deadline in exchange for Jeff Malone. Here, he teamed with Karl Malone and John Stockton to lead the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. Somewhat amusingly, per the Wojnarowski report, Hornacek finds himself up against yet another Malone ...

Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller tweeted Wednesday morning that Executive Vice President Kevin O'Connor was not vacating the role, despite a television news report Tuesday night that the 65-year-old former general manager was shifting into a consulting position and leaving the state.

"Sources very close to the Utah Jazz (me) verify that Kevin O'Connor is not stepping down as EVP of Basketball Operations," Miller posted to his online account at about 9 a.m.

O'Connor himself denied the report to The Tribune saying, "Not true and I have no comment."

The report came from KUTV's 10 p.m. newscast, which cited multiple sources and said O'Connor was leaving Jazz management...

The NBA's relocation and finance committees on Monday recommended that the Board of Governor's, in next month's final vote, reject a bid to move the Sacramento Kings to Seattle.

The group of 12 owners, which includes Jazz CEO Greg Miller, convened by conference call and considered competing bids from a group led by Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen that would have moved the Kings to Seattle, which has not had a team since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008, and from a Sacramento group organized by mayor and former NBA point guard Kevin Johnson.

Sacramento's plan calls for a new downtown arena.

While the NBA's Board of Governors, which includes one ownership r...

Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said Thursday afternoon that coach Tyrone Corbin has the "full support" of ownership and management despite the fact the team missed the playoffs this season.

Speaking to reporters at EnergySolutions Arena, Lindsey was asked for an update on Corbin's status after he guided the Jazz to a 43-39 record -- ninth in the Western Conference.

"Ty's our coach and has the Miller's family full support," Lindsey said, adding the franchise "subscribes to a little different philosophy" than the "blame-the-coach culture" that is so common in professional sports.

"I know that's not going to pacify all the masses of our fans," Lindsey ...

DeMarre Carroll wants to come back to Utah.

Carroll is one of nine Jazz players without a contract heading into the off-season. But he made it clear Thursday he'd like to return to the team that has given him his best chance to blossom as an NBA player.

In 66 games this season, Carroll averaged six points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes.

Often referring to himself as the Junkyard Dog, Carroll's personality, hustle and hard work on the court have endeared himself to Utah fans and, perhaps, management.

"I'm a Utah Jazz until they don't want me," Carroll said. "If I got the same offer and the same contract and all that, I'd be back. I love it here. I th...

A jovial Al Jefferson wasn't talking about his future with the Jazz on Thursday -- if there is one.

Utah's leading scorer this season, Jefferson becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. One of management's major decisions during what will likely be a hectic off-season will be whether to try and bring Jefferson back to Utah. He will undoubtedly get big-money offers from other teams.

For now, however, Jefferson isn't discussing his contract situation.

"We'll cross that bridge when I get there," he said.

Asked if he's talked to management about what needs to be done to make the Jazz a playoff team and legitimate contender, Jefferson laughed.

Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin met with the media Thursday morning, about 15 hours after his team had been eliminated from the playoffs.

Corbin touched on the busy summer that is ahead for the franchise, which has only five players under contract beyond July 1, including Marvin Williams. He owns a player option for next season.

Of course, the problem with having so many pending free agents is whether they are more worried about the future than the present. According to Corbin, however, his players mostly kept their eye on the prize, despite missing the playoffs after an 86-70 loss to Memphis on the final night of the regular season.

"It was hard," Corbin said. ...

The Utah Jazz season ended with an 86-70 loss in Memphis on Wednesday night. And with the postseason, come postseason awards. Each NBA market has three media representatives vote on Most Valuable Players, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, as well as the All-NBA teams. The Salt Lake Tribune beat writer holds one of those votes.

In the interest of transparency and debate, the ballot I submitted to the NBA this morning follows:

Most Valuable Player

1. LeBron James, Miami

2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City

3. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

4. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clip...

Some quick final thoughts from the FedEx Forum. I have an early flight to get back to Salt Lake in time to catch the players cleaning out their lockers after a discouring 86-70 loss brought the season to an end, abruptly ended hopes for the playoffs.

• Tomorrow's game story looks at Wednesday night on a macro level. Where do the Jazz go from here sort of stuff. Key takeaway from the locker room was that the Jazz all like each other, this group of players was tighter than most, but players understand the nature of the business.

• Columnist Kurt Kragthorpe turned in this scathing, gem of a line about the Jazz: "Anyone suggesting the Jazz made progress this season is misguided,...

Regardless of its impact on the rest of the NBA season, Al Jefferson expressed sadness at the gruesome injury Kobe Bryant suffered in the Lakers 118-116 win over Golden State on Friday that kept Los Angeles 1 game ahead of the Jazz for eighth place.

"At the end of the day," Jefferson said, "we're all a big NBA family. It sucks to see one of the best players go down with that kind of injury. But if it's going to happen to anybody I'm glad it's Kobe, because he has that will power and that mindset to recover from it. But it still sucks to see him go down especially with everything they've been fighting for."
The Lakers play San Antonio tonight, while the Jazz are off until Mond...

Kobe Bryant turned in one latest, hopefully not last, great performance Friday night in Los Angeles. He crumpled to the floor, pulled himself up, sank two free throws to give him 36 points and announced himself to have torn his Achilles tendon.

As Jazz fans know, an Achilles injury devastates a career.

Pending an MRI, we'd best reserve judgment of what this means in the grand scheme of things — the man's career, his livelihood — and in the short-term — a race for the playoffs. But when you look at Bryant's minutes per game over the last seven games, you find this: 47, 47, 42, 47, 41, 48 and, on Friday, 42.

You look at that, and have to wonder. Was it worth it? The pr...

Enes Kanter underwent successful surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder, agent Max Ergul told The Salt Lake Tribune. Ergul said the surgery "went perfect," that Kanter was awake and watching a movie in his Chicago hotel room.

The Jazz announced Kanter's surgery Tuesday, hours before suffering a 90-80 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that knocked them out of eighth in the Western Conference playoff chase. Ergul said Kanter will remain in Chicago for the forseeable future for rehab, which begins Friday.

He said he did not know when Kanter would return to Salt Lake City.

"He has no reason right now," Ergul said. "His medical staff is here, his rehab staff...

Not exactly a good news day for the Utah Jazz. Enes Kanter goes under the knife tomorrow in Chicago to repair a dislocated left shoulder and the Jazz are back out of playoff position following a 90-80 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz rotation is ravaged by injuries. Tyrone Corbin put just eight players on the floor for the first time since April 2011. In addition to Kanter, Marvin Williams was home with a stomach flu and Alec Burks continued to rest a sprained left ankle. The only guys not to play for the Jazz were two D-Leaguers (Kevin Murphy and Jerel McNeal), Jeremy Evans and Earl Watson.

But go big picture for a minute: Anyone who entered Tuesday with some con...

Our Steve Luhm had good stuff earlier today on DeMarre Carroll's thoughts on his budding rivalry with Kevin Durant. Carroll, you'll remember, came to the aid of teammate Alec Burks on Feb. 12 after the NBA scoring leader flattened the young Jazz guard on the fast break. A month later, in Oklahoma City, Carroll retaliated with a similar foul on Durant (although he said afterward it was not meant as payback).

So, what does Durant, the NBA's scoring leader, think of the back-and-forth relationship between the two?

He was asked following Tuesday's shoot around:

"That's what it is for everybody I play against now. Everybody's been playing physical something I don't shy a...

Promised an update on DeMarre Carroll breaking the rim at Life Time Fitness yesterday, so here you go.

Carroll was playing at the South Jordan recreation center, and a rim was already loose from repeated jams by he and Jeremy Evans.

OK, so was this a Darryl Dawkins-style backboard smasher?

Not quite.

"It was coming down already and I just went up and took it," Carroll said. "I actually took it home. They let me take it home."

Carroll said he gave the hoop "the last yank and I got it."
So, what? Is there video? Is there proof?

"We got a couple witnesses," Carroll told a group of reporters. "I will be sure to let the witnesses call you guys an...

To update an earlier report, Enes Kanter is in Chicago, not New York, meeting with doctors this week to determine the best course of action for his dislocated shoulder. Kanter's agent, Max Ergul, told The Tribune that "odds are absolutely in favor of surgery" to repair the injury, which was suffered in a March 27 win over the Phoenix Suns.

The Tribune first reported Tuesday morning that Kanter would miss the remainder of the season due to the injury. On Monday morning, coach Tyrone Corbin said Kanter was in New York City consulting doctors. Ergul clarified that Kanter was actually in Chicago, and that he believed Kanter "has made up his mind" on a doctor."

...

Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter will miss the remainder of the season regardless of a postseason run, multiple sources confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune. Kanter, the second-year former lottery pick, dislocated his left shoulder in the first half of a March 27 win against Phoenix when he and Suns center Hamed Haddadi both chased a loose ball onto the floor.

A timetable for Kanter's return to full strength is still unknown. The Turkish big man is in New York this week meeting with doctors as the Jazz try to determine the right course of action for the 20-year-old.

Kanter may have tipped his hand last week when he told a group of reporters that he was staying in shape "f...

Well, this ought to be a good story. Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll tweeted Monday afternoon that he broke the rim during a pickup game at Life Time Fitness, an athletic club in South Jordan. There have been plenty of classic backboard breaking moments [this is a solid compendium] but the whole library doesn't quite seem complete without footage of Carroll's. Does anybody have it?

Carroll, 26, averages 16 minutes per game in 64 appearances this season. He is a pending free agent, but even if he ends up leaving it's unlikely it will be without recounting the story of the time he broke the backboard at Life Time Fitness. Stay tuned.

— Bill Oram

...

Oakland, Calif. • Derrick Favors came up with maybe the play of the season when he had a huge rejection of a Draymond Green jumper in the lane Sunday night that preserved the Jazz's 97-90 win over the Golden State Warriors.
It was the biggest play in arguably the biggest win of the year to give the Jazz a ½ game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers for eighth in the Western Conference.
Gulp. Gonna be a tight one, no?

Asked about Favors' block, teammate Marvin Williams said, "Derrick jokes around about the type of defensive player he is. But all jokes aside, he's a very, very good defensive player. He's always in great position; he's always there to help somebody."

Th...

Marvin Williams dressed but did not play in Utah's 95-83 win over the New Orleans Hornets, a move that paid dividends for the Jazz and, likely, Williams.

The small forward had struggled with tendinitis in his right heel for several games, coach Tyrone Corbin said, and the game against one of the worst teams in the NBA allowed the Jazz an opportunity to rest Williams. However, it may have done something even more key: It freed up 26 minutes for DeMarre Carroll, whose spirited play in the second quarter carried the Jazz to their sixth win in seven games.

"It was a chance to rest him," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "His heel's been bothering him the last few ballgames and I to...

Coverage from tonight's 113-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets:

— Favors tutoring Jefferson on defense

— Kragthorpe: Quick analysis of Nuggets 113, Jazz 96

—Nuggets drive by Jazz defense

— Nuggets stay red-hot with lopsided win at Utah

The chant was not quite as loud, but no less sincere than the boos. When a small group of fans began chanting, "Carroll!" in the final minutes of the Jazz's 113-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, No. 3 noticed.

Marooned on the end of the Jazz bench for the last 10 games, DeMarre Carroll has continued to feel the love from Jazz fans.

"Fans they appreciate what I do and how I play," he said. "It's just one ...

Coverage from Utah's 112-102 win over the Portland Trail Blazers:

— Utah beats Portland to stay in playoff position

— Mo Williams returns to early-season form

— Portland’s Damian Lillard sets rookie 3-point record

— Kragthorpe: Quick analysis of Jazz 112, Blazers 102 win

Someone should see if Jazz play-by-play artist/amateur statistician David Locke has an official breakdown for the correlation between team performance and quality of quotes. It's no real science, of course. Players will have more to say when they're happy.

The locker room following the Jazz's 112-102 over the Portland Trail Blazers was no exception. The Jazz have now won fiv...

Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson was named Western Conference Player of the Week, the NBA announced Monday, after leading the Jazz to a 4-0 record and getting them back into the No. 8 seed in the playoff race.

Jefferson became the seventh Jazz player to win the award multiple times. He was also named Western Conference Player of the Week on April 12, 2012. In almost nine years in the NBA, Jefferson has been named a Player of the Week five times, including twice with the Minnesota Timberwolves and once with Boston.

J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks won the award in the East.

Jefferson averaged 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 steal in wins over the Philadelphia 76er...

During portions of the Jazz's 116-107 win over the Nets on Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena, Deron Williams was going head-to-head against Gordon Hayward.

In the 2010 draft, the Jazz used the No. 9 pick on Hayward. Two games into his professional career, Williams chastised the rookie on the court during the fourth quarter of a 110-94 home loss to Phoenix.

Reminded of the incident after the Jazz-Nets game, Williams said, "Jazz fans still talk about that -- about me yelling at him?"

Told it remains a topic of discussion in Jazz Nation, Williams said, "Gordon is cool, you know. I like him. I like him a lot as a player. He's going to be a special pl...

Portland, Ore. • At the end of the first half, it sure seemed like the Utah Jazz were headed for a familiar result. Down 52-42, the team lacked fire. It lacked a lot of things.

Tyrone Corbin made two key decisions in the Jazz's surprising 105-95 win over the Portland Trail Blazers that merit further discussion. Both involved benching starters. And both had the potential to backfire if they didn't work.

In the second quarter, Corbin didn't play Mo Williams. Not one second. The Jazz point guard had a quiet — to say the least — first quarter, which he finished with 2 points, an assist and a turnover in 10 minutes. In Corbin's words, Williams "didn't play his best in the first h...

Al Jefferson has been the focal point of the Jazz offense since his arrival in 2010. There is no surprise when the Jazz pound the ball to the center on the left block. That part of the court is his workshop, where he toils and tinkers, finding new ways to frustrate competent, professional big men into looking foolish.

Jefferson took 23 shots on Wednesday. His role in the Jazz offense is not diminished. But is it changing?

That was the sense given by both Mo Williams and Paul Millsap following the Jazz's 103-88 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jefferson finished with 25 points on 12-of-23 shooting, and he scored six of the team's first 10 points to start the game. However, both Wil...

The Utah Jazz signed point guard Jerel McNeal to a 10-day contract on Tuesday, making him the second player brought in by the Jazz since waiving Raja Bell earlier in March.

McNeal played collegiately at Marquette from 2005-2009, where he was a four-year teammate with former Jazz guard Wesley Matthews. McNeal averaged 18.1 points, 3 rebounds and 5.5 assists with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League

The guard went through morning shoot around with the Jazz. He will be available Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns, but will likely be inactive.

Leslie spent four games with the Jazz and was active once.

McNeal spoke with the media Tuesday morning. Here are some hi...

So, what will it take for the Jazz (35-36) to get back in the eighth spot in the West?

The Lakers (36-35) need to lose Tuesday at Minnesota and the Jazz must beat Phoenix at home on Wednesday.

That's it. Despite the torture rituals Jazz fans have endured over the last three weeks, the playoffs actually remain within reach for the Jazz. While getting back into the position with 10 games remaining would not exactly lock up a playoff spot, it's much more enviable than where we all thought the Jazz would be at this point. However, L.A. has helped Utah out with three straight losses, including two we had penciled in as Ws: at Phoenix and at home to the Wizards.

The Lakers ...

Dallas • Somewhere in the last week, the Jazz's road troubles have gone from a trend to an all-out bender.

Nine straight road losses isn't a franchise record, or even really close, but it is the longest such streak since 1981-82. The DePaul Blue Demons finished 26.2 points that year and a freshman named Tyrone Corbin averaged 5.1 points per game.

Goodness gracious.

The problem continues to be an inability to play start to finish, or, when they do slump, to recover quickly.

Al Jefferson tonight said, "We just all got to stay focused, 48 minutes. I think if we were to play the way we started the game and the way we finished the game, I think we would have had a g...

San Antonio • Marvin Williams had his defining moment as a Jazz player on Friday night in San Antonio, and the Jazz still lost 104-97.
But what happened on the 3-pointer that he made from the corner right in front of the Jazz bench?
The ball was swung to Randy Foye at the left elbow extended, and Foye - the franchise's all-time leader in 3-pointers in a single season - didn't shoot. Instead, he passed to Williams in the corner.
"Randy and I were just talking about that," Williams said, I actually though he was going to shoot it as well. So, my first instinct was to go to the basket. But when I see he didn't really raise up I just stayed."
Williams pump faked and se...

I owe Paul Millsap a public apology. I owe him this apology because I made an error and not the kind that is easily corrected in a small box on an inside page of a newspaper you may very well never see.

This is a screw up, and this one is all on me. I misquoted Paul Millsap. I heard words that he did not say and I put them in the newspaper. I heard words that were far more damaging than the ones said and I perpetuated an idea that may have damaged the image of an undeserving person.

Those words cannot be taken back, but they can be explained.

Here's what happened: At Thursday's practice, I asked Millsap, the Jazz forward, for his reaction to being benched in the ...

It looks like the only break the Jazz are going to get is a summer break.

All-Star point guard Tony Parker is "active and available" to return to the Spurs lineup on Friday against the Jazz after missing eight games due to a sprained left ankle. The Spurs were 6-2 without Parker, who averaged 23 points and 8.5 assists in two games against the Jazz.

"This is a machine," Tyrone Corbin said. "They've been together so long. They're better when all of their guys are in there, but when they miss a guy for a game or two they seem to just roll right along because they plug another guy in."

Parker averages 21 points and 7.6 assists overall.

“He looked pretty good,” Kawh...

Riverwalk • If you're monitoring this Jazz season, you've noticed a subtle but significant change in coach Tyrone Corbin. Earlier in the year — as recently as early March when he sat Derrick Favors on a career night — Corbin was hesitant to fully explain decisions. An obvious reason is that it's difficult to praise one player without criticizing another. Why didn't he put Favors back in that night in Milwaukee? If the reason was that he didn't think Favors would give the team more than Enes Kanter, having a fine night himself, how might he say that without saying something that would imply he doesn't think highly enough of Favors?

In the last couple of weeks,...

Houston • The Jazz went the final 18:11 of their 100-93 loss to the Houston Rockets without a traditional point guard on the floor. Mo Williams has struggled badly since returning from thumb surgery, and against a long, athletic team like the Rockets, Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson are poor matchups.

Enter the super backcourt of Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks. This is unlikely a sustainable backcourt going into the future, but on Wednesday it was the team's best option. [Note: Despite the title of this post, the Jazz do need a point guard; they can't simply jettison the three traditional PGs. But in stretches, this Hayward/Burks combo has real potential, as...

Plenty to criticize about the Utah Jazz after another discouraging defeat, this one 90-83 to the New York Knicks in front of a nationally televised ESPN audience. But you can't include their perspective in that.

Despite everything else, this is a relentlessly optimistic Jazz team.

Following the loss, in which the Jazz were pushed around by a Knicks team minus Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler, Paul Millsap said, "I know, as a team, the guys in this locker room are still together. We believe we can make [a] nice run and I believe we can do it."

Easy to roll your eyes, but at the same time, credit to Millsap. If he had come out and said, oh, "We're as...

Tyrone Corbin will once again tweak his first five Saturday, when Gordon Hayward moves into a starting role for the first time since Nov. 16.

He will replace DeMarre Carroll at small forward when the Jazz play the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m.

"Because of the results we've been getting of late," Corbin said, "we need to pick it up as much as we can. This is the time to od it, to give us a chance to finish as strong as we can. We expect everybody to continue to give us the best effort they have."

Hayward averages 14.1 points per game for the Jazz.

Corbin originally moved Hayward to the bench 10 games into the season in an effort to get the third-year swingman more...

Happy St. Patrick's Day observed. Some quick hits from this morning's shoot around.

— The Utah Jazz will play Memphis tonight at EnergySolutions Arena. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m., rather than the usual 7 p.m. tip. Out-of-area fans can catch it on NBA TV.

— Defense remains the central issue facing the Jazz, which we discussed in today's Tribune.

— The Jazz have lost eight of their last 10 games. And there two wins came against Charlotte and Detroit, teams one media member described as "sub-par." Mo Williams bristled at the comment, responding, "We lost against sub-par teams so. ... So you should say the losses we shouldn't matter either right? I...

Three years ago, under the bright lights of playoff exposure and a banner that bore his name and retired No. 4, Adrian Dantley stood on the court at EnergySolutions Arena and watched his one chance as an NBA head coach end with a 4-2 series defeat to the Utah Jazz. The next year, the Hall of Famer was fired from George Karl's bench in Denver, despite replacing the head man on an interim basis while he underwent cancer treatments in the final months of the 2010 season.

But in one of the stranger "Where Are They Now" updates you'll ever see, Deadspin reports that Dantley, who played from the Jazz from 1979 to 1986, now works

The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers will play a preseason next season in Boise, the Jazz announced Thursday.

The game is scheduled for Oct. 11 at CenturyLink Arena in downtown Boise. The game will be hosted by the Idaho Stampede of the D-League, Portland's affiliate. The game will mark the Jazz's seventh exhibition game in Boise. They also played games there in 1984, 1987, 1999, 2001 and 2003.

The Jazz also held training camps at Boise State from 2005 to 2009. The Stampede was Utah's affiliate during the 2006-07 and 2011-12 seasons.

— Bill Oram

...

On a busy Sunday for the Utah Jazz, their most significant move may have been their exit from the playoff picture.

The Jazz fell ½ game behind the Lakers for eighth in the Western Conference after Los Angeles won its third game in a row with a 90-81 win over the Chicago Bulls. It's the first time in months the Jazz find themselves outside the top eight of the West.

"We have to try to climb higher," Steve Nash said after the Lakers' win.

The Lakers have won five of their last six games, while the Jazz are flailing. They are 1-7 in their last eight games, and have won just twice since the trade deadline. That day, the Jazz were 30-23, five full games ahead of th...

The Utah Jazz's year-long standoff with guard Raja Bell came to an end Sunday when they waived the 36-year-old. The move opens up a roster spot for the Jazz, which according to a league source they will use to sign D-League All-Star Game MVP Travis Leslie to a 10-day contract.

The Jazz's interest in Leslie was first reported on Friday by Yahoo! Sports.

The source described Leslie's callup from the Santa Cruz Warriors as "imminent" but that it was unclear whether it would happen on Sunday.

Bell had not played for the Jazz since the end of the last season and reached an agreement that kept him away from the team after he leveled pointed comments at Tyrone Corbin, inclu...

Cleveland • As one Williams returns to the Jazz starting lineup, the other takes a seat on the bench.

Mo Williams will play his first game in more than two months Wednesday at Cleveland, while Marvin Williams will be replaced in the starting lineup by DeMarre Carroll.

"With Mo coming back," coach Tyrone Corbin said, "want to get somebody running the floor a little more, get some early opportunities."

With Al Jefferson out for the third straight game due to a sprained ankle, the Corbin is utilizing his 12^th different starting five this season. Derrick Favors will start in place of Jefferson. Paul Millsap, who played in Monday's loss in Milwaukee despite a sp...

Milwaukee • The Jazz practiced this morning in Cleveland while yours truly sits in a Milwaukee airport watching snow accumulate. Just had a quick chat with Tyrone Corbin on a conference call in the wake of his team's 109-108 loss to the Bucks.

Lots of big storylines for the Jazz moving forward: the benching of Derrick Favors, the potential return of Mo Williams, Al Jefferson's health, the starting lineup in general... I touched on most of them on DJ & PK on 1280 The Zone this morning, so listen for verbal thoughts on all of those.

A few notes before boarding, though, from the conversation with Corbin.

• The story of the day was Corbin benching Derrick...

Milwaukee • Point guard Jamaal Tinsley was excused from the Jazz Monday morning and will not play against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a family matter.

The veteran traveled to Milwaukee, the first stop on a four-game road trip, but was excused prior to Monday's shoot around. He is expected rejoin the team in Cleveland prior to Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers.

The 35-year-old Tinsley has appeared in 50 games for the Jazz, 32 of them starts, and averages 3.8 points and 5 assists. He was replaced in the starting lineup on Feb. 25 against the Boston Celtics, and has appeared in just one of the three games since then, a 98-68 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

— Bill Ora...

Raja Bell will not accept the Utah Jazz's minimum buyout offer before Friday's midnight deadline, his agent, Herb Rudoy, told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Bell, who is being paid $3.48 million this season, has been away from the team all year since directing unflattering comments at coach Tyrone Corbin at the end of last season. Earlier this week, Jazz Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O'Connor told a team-owned radio station that the Jazz had offered the minimum buyout to Bell before the season and that "we never heard from him."

Bell needed to take a buyout by midnight Friday to be eligible for the playoffs with another team.

"The framework...

About the only way one might think the Jazz could lose to the 13-44 Charlotte Bobcats on Friday is if they failed to show up for the game. But, the Jazz are waiting, as curious as anyone, to see who actually does show up.

Al Jefferson is doubtful with a sprained left ankle, Paul Millsap is a game-time decision with the same injury and DeMarre Carroll will also be a game-time decision with a bone bruise and patellar tendinitis in his left knee.

The Jazz host the Bobcats on Friday at 7 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena.

Meanwhile on Thursday, both Millsap and Randy Foye were away from the team for the births of daughters. Foye and his wife had their third daughter, Pilar, w...

The Jazz are paying Raja Bell $3.5 million to sit this one out. The 36-year-old guard has not been with the team since the end of last season and the message out of the Jazz has been one of complete and utter silence when it comes to their estranged veteran.

However, in an interview with team-owned radio station 1280 The Zone, Jazz Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O'Connor was surprisingly candid when it came to Bell's situation, saying that the Jazz want to buy out Bell's contract, but not at the price the veteran sought and that keeping Bell from signing with the rival Lakers could be a factor. [Full disclosure: The interview was conducted by Spenc...

Earl Watson will start at point guard Monday against the Boston Celtics, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin announced pregame.

The Jazz have struggled to find offensive flow early in games. Jamaal Tinsley will move to the bench and Alec Burks will get time as the backup point guard, as well, as the Jazz wait for Mo WIlliams to return from his January thumb surgery.

"Hopefully with Earl in there," Corbin said, "he should give us some more pace, getting the ball down the floor."

Tinsley started 32 games for the Jazz, averaging 4.8 points and 5.4 assists in those games. Watson missed the first 12 games of the season after offseason knee surgery. He averages 6.6 points and 4.5 assi...

Los Angeles • The third time was far from the charm. After two games against the Clippers in December that went down to the final seconds, the Jazz lost 107-96 at Staples Center on Dec. 30.

With the season series already lost, the Jazz hope to continue a recent hot streak against one of the best teams in the West in their fourth and final matchup with the Clippers. The teams will tip off at 8:30 p.m. Mountain.

The first key will be stopping - OK, overcoming - Chris Paul. The Jazz aren't alone in having difficulty with the All-Star Paul, but they're the ones burdened with the task tonight. It becomes especially difficult, coach Tyrone Corbin said, if it's a close game.