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As the Jazz received the four-year, $32 million offer sheet Paul Millsap signed with Portland, accounts surfaced Saturday of a conversation last week between Carlos Boozer and chief executive Greg Miller that could pave the way for Boozer to be traded.
According to sources, Boozer was told by Miller that the franchise was going in a different direction, with Boozer saying he could respect the decision but hoped the Jazz would accommodate him with a trade, a request Miller agreed the team would try to honor.
"Any conversations between me and Carlos need to remain between me and Carlos," Miller wrote in a text message. "If/when there's something to say publicly, we'll announce by usual means."
There was some skepticism within the organization that such a conversation had taken place. The Jazz have stressed all along to Boozer that he should be prepared to play this season in Utah, given the difficulties associated with making trades.
But such a decision in regard to trading Boozer would seem to increase the likelihood the Jazz will match Portland's offer to Millsap. The offer, however, has been structured so that Millsap will receive a $10.3 million upfront payment in a week's time. The deal calls for Millsap to receive a $5.6 million signing bonus as well as $4.7 million of his first-year salary of $6.3 million. Under NBA rules, teams can pay players up to 80 percent of their salaries for a given season in one lump sum.
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"They can put a lot of money upfront, but I don't think that that's the issue," O'Connor said, "because I think if your organization is equipped to be able to handle it -- and we've talked about it and what could happen -- there's nothing that surprised us as far as all this goes."
That stood in contrast to Rigby's admission minutes earlier about the offer to Millsap: "It was much more than we'd anticipated."
With Boozer's decision June 30 to play the final year of his contract at $12.7 million, the Jazz's payroll stands at more than $73 million pending the decision to retain Millsap. A Boozer trade, however, could provide a measure of luxury-tax relief for the team.
Detroit, Chicago, Golden State, Miami and New York all are believed to have expressed interest in acquiring Boozer, who averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds in his two All-Star seasons while helping lead the Jazz to the 2007 Western Conference finals.
Matching the offer to Millsap would cost the Jazz nearly $20 million for 2009-10, between the signing bonus, the first-year salary and luxury-tax penalties, at least for now.
The Jazz have seven days to decide about matching, something they have vowed to do all summer. Meanwhile, DeAngelo Simmons, Millsap's agent, criticized the Jazz for insisting on having an offer sheet brought to them.
"I think we should've come to an agreement early," Simmons said. "If Paul was their first priority like they said, we should've come to an agreement early."
"It should always be what do you value Paul Millsap as your player?" Simmons added. "Not what happens with Shawn Marion or [Anderson] Varejao. They haven't taken any charges for you. Why would you care about somebody else?"
O'Connor said the Jazz didn't want to bid against themselves, before taking a jab at Portland, which signed Millsap despite already having LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward.
"What I can't imagine," O'Connor said, "is if they're going to pay what's reported out there to the backup, what are they going to pay their starter? That's probably a maximum contract."
Asked if Portland was trying to bully the Jazz, O'Connor shot back: "I don't think the Miller family likes to be bullied."
The $10.3 million payment to Millsap is nearly 13 times what he made last season, an NBA-minimum $797,581. Deron Williams didn't even get a signing bonus as part of the max contract extension he agreed to last summer with the Jazz.
"Anytime you can get off to a good start with a lot of your money upfront, that's the beginning of everything," Simmons said.
He described "mixed emotions" for Millsap at the possibility of leaving Utah, but added: "We're not going to have a problem if they do [match]. He's been here for three years. It's the known vs. the unknown, but Portland isn't a bad fit for Paul based on what he can do."
Williams, meanwhile, gave a strong endorsement to retaining Millsap as he hosted his third-annual charity golf event at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. "I'm happy for Paul," Williams said. "Hopefully, we can keep him here because I want him here with me."
"He's so young, his ceiling is so high," Williams added. "He can only get better. I know how hard he works and how much he wants to be a great player in this league. You never worry about a guy like that getting complacent or being happy with where he's at."
Williams also revealed that he has had little contact with Boozer beyond a couple of text messages since the Jazz's playoff exit. "He's here, he's on our team," Williams said. "Hopefully, his mind-set is winning a championship this year."
Williams was asked about an offseason in which the Jazz have watched several Western Conference rivals -- notably San Antonio with Richard Jefferson and the Lakers with Ron Artest -- strengthen their rosters while they have stood pat.
"We were in a tough position this year with guys being able to opt in or opt out, so a lot of it really wasn't in Kevin's control," Williams said. "He had to kind of wait and sit back and see what happens before he can really do anything."
