Call it the Curse of Consistency, which is another way of saying this franchise is stuck with being better than average, and that's about all.

Name a great team in recent NBA history, and the cold truth is that it had to get really bad at some point to become really good again. The Jazz employed that strategy sufficiently to land Deron Williams four years ago after a 26-56 season, quickly launching them back to respectability without remaining high enough in the annual draft order to land any other high-impact players.

General manager Kevin O'Connor swung hard and connected in 2005, trading up from No. 6 to take Williams at No. 3. Otherwise, entering his 10th draft with the Jazz , his average slot is exactly where he's operating this week: No. 20.

That's, oh, about a half-court shot away from immediate help.

That's not to say this is a completely worthless exercise in regard to the team's future, just a recognition that nothing happening Thursday will do much to advance the Jazz's cause in the coming season. At best, they will select a player with some degree of potential, like 2008 draftee Kosta Koufos.

That's the nature of life in the 20s, where O'Connor has spent the bulk of his drafting years in Utah. That history makes Curtis Borchardt or Sasha Pavlovic the composite character of the O'Connor picks, which pretty much summarizes the hit-or-miss reality of selecting in that area of the first round.

O'Connor can claim that DeShawn Stevenson (No. 23) and Pavlovic (No. 19) have enjoyed long careers in the NBA, if not with the Jazz , and that's fairly reasonable for their draft positions. So even if Raul Lopez (No. 24), Borchardt (No. 19) and Morris Almond (No. 25) have washed out -- although Almond may be able to salvage his career elsewhere -- O'Connor's record is not disgraceful.

Drafting is a goofy business. The 2006 draft undoubtedly was O'Connor's best, all considered, as he acquired both Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap. And you can debate which was the more valuable pick, the first-rounder or the second-rounder?

If O'Connor deserves criticism for some of his first-round choices, you would have to question the judgment of all those executives who overlooked Millsap until midway through the second round.

That's how this stuff works. To acquire anyone Thursday who could help them anytime soon, the Jazz would have to get as lucky as they did with Millsap.

So they will take their guy at No. 20, declare that they were surprised to find him still available, then station him on the bench or stash him at Orem of the D-League next season while they focus on what's really important in the growth of this franchise. That would be cheering against the New York Knicks, who owe them a 2010 pick that the Jazz hope will put them in the lottery, where they might be able to accomplish something in June.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com Alt Heads:

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