Sloan not ready to declare Boozer, Millsap starter News Utah Jazz

One, Carlos Boozer, will make about $12.7 million in the season to come, yet spent this past summer talking about welcoming a trade that so far hasn't happened. The other, Paul Millsap, will remain in Utah and make nearly $12 million before next summer, including a $5.6 million signing bonus on his newly signed four-year, $32 million contract. But both play the same position, so Jazz coach Jerry Sloan must find ample time for both ? Boozer enough to live up to his NBA All-Star billing of seasons past and to enhance his trade value, and Millsap enough to live up to the deal Utah agreed to sensing that sooner or later he'd be the franchise's full-time starting power forward.

How, oh how, can coach juggle the two without one going splat? Easy, suggests Sloan, whose club opened its 2009 training camp with two practices Saturday. "I'm not going to play either one of them," he cracked. "That way I won't have that headache." Fear not, folks. Before everyone involved goes reaching for the Goody's, Sloan really does have a plan. Or at least a vision. Or, err, hopes for one coming into focus. "It all depends on what we see and what we look at it," the Jazz coach said. As it stands, Sloan declines for now to declare either incumbent two-time United States Olympian Boozer or promising backup Millsap as his anticipated starter for the season ahead. "I don't think you make any decisions right now," he said at the team's media day Friday. "You know, there's certain things that guys have got to do, and we've got to see how we're gonna play together, who's gonna play. "I don't think anything's in stone." Nor is any ink dry. "We will have to make a spot for (both) those guys if they play like we expect them to," Sloan said. "They may have to play another position. Paul might have to play some 3 (small forward) in order to get the amount of minutes out of him. He has the ability to go out on the floor and cover people. We'll see what happens. That's something we've talked about. But I don't know how it will work out." On Saturday, though, Sloan downplayed the notion of Millsap playing much at the position typically filled by Andrei Kirilenko or C.J. Miles. "Still, I'm not going to take the 3 man out of the game," he said. "I mean, they've got to play some. But we'll see where we are. That stuff usually works itself out." Sloan also revealed Saturday that his coaching staff bandied about the idea of starting Millsap over Boozer, who earlier had missed 45 games with a quadriceps injury and subsequent arthroscopic knee surgery, for last season's first-round playoff series against the eventual NBA-champion Los Angeles Lakers. It's a consideration some have suggested would have played well in a Jazz locker room oozing with respect for the less-talented but hard-working Millsap. "We talk about those things all the time: Is this the best thing for us?" Sloan said. "But when we went against the Lakers ? they're huge. And Boozer's a bigger body. I know that's one of the things I discussed with the coaches." One possibility for the Jazz heading forward, then, going a simple three-man rotation of undersized bigs featuring Boozer, Millsap and usual starting center Mehmet Okur. With ex-Okur backup Jarron Collins not re-signed, that's one possible way among many to create more minutes for Millsap. "One of the things we all fail to remember is that those three ... all play a lot of minutes, and they play together a lot of times," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said. "Do I expect Carlos and Paul to play a lot together? Sure. Do I expect Memo (Okur) and Carlos to play a lot together? Sure I do. ... I expect those three guys to play a lot of Basketball." O'Connor isn't alone in expecting to see Boozer and Millsap on the floor together ? especially now that Millsap's value has been validated. "I think they're gonna have to (be)," point guard Deron Williams said. "You don't give a guy $8 million a year (on average) and then tuck him on the bench. Paul deserves to play, he needs to play. "But I don't think Booz is gonna be the type of guy ... that's going to be too disappointed playing 32 minutes (which would be down 2.5 from his last All-Star season, 2007-08). I know Memo (Okur) doesn't want to play 36 minutes a game. So, I mean, it's not for me to decide, but I know playing some guys a little less minutes is not going to hurt anything. It actually probably would help keep guys fresh." Just how do Millsap and Boozer feel about it all? Both, at least for now, publicly express satisfaction with whatever arrangement Sloan settles upon. Millsap, as he's apt, quietly and loyally walks the company line. "I feel like we've got a better chance to go further in the playoffs, and with Carlos coming back he's a good add to our team," he said. "You know, Carlos has proven he can play Basketball, and playing behind him another year or two or however long it's gonna be ? it's good for me, better for me," added Millsap, who admitted to wearing down physically a bit when logging extensive minutes while Boozer was injured and out. "I'm gonna try to continue to learn from him." And Boozer, for his part, vows he won't hold against Millsap the fact he didn't get a contract extension yet the Jazz did match the $32 million offer sheet his restricted free agent backup had signed with Portland in July. "I'm happy for him," Boozer said. "(It says) nothing to me. Paul deserved it. ... He played great while he was on the court. He deserved a fair contract, and they matched. "To me," he added, "I don't feel any threat at all." e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com