This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor has put the Tyrone Corbin-Raja Bell spat from last week in the rear-view mirror.After the NBA trade deadline had passed and before Utah's 111-105 overtime win over Minnesota on Thursday night, I asked O'Connor if he expected any lingering effects from the episode that resulted in Bell being sent home one game early from a road trip.O'Connor shook his head and said, "Tyrone is the coach. He's going to play who we wants to play and he's going to play him as long as he wants to play him. Hopefully that works out. We don't like to have instances, but that's behind us now." It should be noted that Bell played only 15 minutes in the win over the Timberwolves after getting into early foul trouble. He did not play in the fourth quarter or overtime.When I asked O'Connor how he thought his team was playing, he said, "That's mostly a question for coach, but I will say I didn't expect us to be able to play as many guys as we have. Coach has done a good job of rotating those four young guys in the games. So I'm comfortable where we are, but you are never happy. You shouldn't be happy in any situation where there is room for improvement."Of course, the "four young guys" referenced by O'Connor include Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks. They combined for 47 points, 27 rebounds and six assists against Minnesota.— Steve Luhm