This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
More than ever, these NBA Finals being staged in Miami and Dallas illustrate how far the Jazz are from playing in June.
It's not the Heat, it's the Nowitzki.
Miami's collection of three superstars is an extreme example. What's more telling about the nature of the NBA is the Mavericks' representing the Western Conference in the Finals. They have Dirk Nowitzki. And the Jazz have whom, exactly?
This is a league of stars. That's never going to change, even if a new collective bargaining agreement helps small-market franchises such as the Jazz and prevents another collusion of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat.
Recent history shows it takes one or more great players to win the West. I'm talking about All-NBA players, not just All-Stars. Beginning in 1997 with the Jazz's Karl Malone, the West champion has featured at least one member of the All-NBA first team. That's one of the five best players in the league, as judged by voting at the end of the regular season.
Dallas technically ended that streak, with Nowitzki only a second-team choice this year. But considering he missed 35 games because of injury and almost made the first team, my argument is intact.
Nobody gets there without a Malone, a Tim Duncan, a Shaquille O'Neal, a Kobe Bryant or a Nowitzki.
The Jazz had one of those guys, potentially, but they traded Deron Williams to New Jersey in February. That's not to say the deal was a mistake, necessarily, because the Jazz already were far from championship level even with D-Will.
Without him, it is hopeless, unless somebody becomes a big star.
The Jazz can become playoff fixtures again, they can inspire confidence among their fans again and they can overachieve again someday. Having a competitive NBA team in town is worthwhile, even if it never wins the whole thing.
But if that's the goal, it can't be accomplished without an elite player. Is that guy on the current roster? Is he available in this month's NBA Draft?
I doubt it, on either count.
The response to Gordon Hayward's strong finish of his rookie season was equally refreshing and mind-boggling to me. Hayward's 34-point night against Denver in the season finale created hope for his future, but that version of the Nuggets did not provide any reasonable gauge.
Rookie forward Derrick Favors, the No. 3 pick in last June's draft, showed some good signs after arriving from New Jersey. But to say he will go from being an All-Rookie second-team choice into an All-NBA player is a stretch.
And now the Jazz are picking No. 3 and No. 12 in a weaker draft, which basically means they're not going to match Favors and Hayward in talent level.
So that leaves the Jazz with Al Jefferson, Devin Harris and Paul Millsap as their three best players. One of them might become an All-Star, as Harris once was in New Jersey, but All-NBA is a whole other level.
There's some intrigue in this rebuilding process, and — assuming there's a 2011-2012 season — it will be fun to watch the Jazz develop with this group and the first-rounders to come. But I keep flashing back to 2008, when the Jazz genuinely had promise.
Williams made the All-NBA second team, Carlos Boozer was a third-team selection and the Jazz played the Los Angeles Lakers almost evenly for six games in the West semifinals. It all crumbled after that, with injuries to Boozer and others and the eventual departures of a big chunk of that team, mostly due to financial issues.
Williams is gone, and so are Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver. Those three lost with Chicago in the East finals, which may make watching the NBA Finals somewhat easier for Jazz fans.
Then again, this series is a reminder that there's no LeBron in Utah, or even a Dirk. Not now. Not any time soon.
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