That's a remarkable thing.

They are the same -- when different was the needed order.

After that Game 5 loss, Deron Williams spoke the truth when he said: "We've got to figure some things out."

The Jazz didn't figure much of anything out, except for one significant thing: Carlos Boozer is a tough man to offload.

They let Jarron Collins, Brevin Knight, and Morris Almond go.

And they let Boozer stay.

They tried to get rid of him, but couldn't, not for what they were offered in return.

That may fall short of a blatant admission that the Jazz are not about winning a title, but it does show that they are cautious. Too cautious. They are about taking a safe course to a decent team that will sell enough tickets for them to get by.

"We're young," Kevin O'Connor said Friday. "We thought we'd be a year better."

The Jazz are no closer to a title now than they were the night the Lakers beat them. The Lakers subsequently found a way to get better. And so did the Spurs.

But the Jazz remained the same.

No matter that Boozer doesn't want to be here, he indicated that in interviews through the offseason. Miami and Chicago danced around in his imagination.

Nobody's imagination stretched far enough to see Boozer back in Utah -- except for Jerry Sloan and O'Connor, neither of whom will come out and say that Boozer is unwanted baggage or that he stiffed them by opting in.

But he is, and he did.

Boozer was hardly apologetic on Friday, although he confessed that he has, indeed, stuck his foot in his mouth a few times. He wanted to look forward.

"It's over with," he said. "I'm here."

Anybody believe that?

And while we're taking whoppers for $100, Alex, Boozer also said: "It's great to be a part of this team."

Whoppers for $200: "I'm happy to be in Utah."

Whoppers for $300: "I want to be here."

Whoppers for $400: "I'm looking forward to playing better defense."

And, finally, at the end -- whoppers for $500 -- Boozer closed down the session by telling media members: "Love you all."

File it all away under Bullspit.

Boozer is here because he couldn't find any other team willing to pay him more, before opting back in for one last season. And because O'Connor failed to trade him.

The Jazz could have found addition by simple subtraction. Lose him for ... whatever.

Even some of Boozer's teammates don't want him here, although they played nice on Friday.

"If I come off the bench, it's OK with me," said Paul Millsap.

"Carlos wants to win, he wants to play well," said Ronnie Brewer.

Brewer's quote is partially true ... because Boozer wants a bigger free-agent contract. The Jazz might benefit from that, but not enough to win the West.

A core of Boozer's teammates see him as disingenuous, as a self-interested player whose priorities run like this: 1) Me; 2) Me; 3) Me; 4) My bank account; 5) My investment in me; 6) A championship, as it best suits me and my purposes; 7) All the rest of all y'all.

That will blow up when a team's supposed leader cares more about himself than about winning.

And the worst part about the Jazz's conundrum, for them, is that they'll likely have to pay luxury taxes. They have the second-highest payroll in the league. Larry Miller always said he wouldn't mind doing that, if a title was within reach.

That title is nowhere in sight.

Did we mention that the Jazz are the same as they were last year when they lost in the first round?

And just to brighten the mood a little more, there's the hovering worry about Williams, a man who loves his money, but, unlike Boozer, also cares deeply about winning a championship. And that's a dual threat to the Jazz .

When his contract expires in a few years, if there's no forward push among the Jazz for a title, Williams is Audi-Five-Thou.

In the short term, the only option the Jazz have, besides keeping their attempts to trade Boozer alive, is to follow Millsap's advice and example: "The circus can stay in town," he said. "I'm going to go out there and play Basketball."

GORDON MONSON hosts the "Monson and Graham Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com