By one measure, the Jazz are the picture of stability entering the season, having brought back 13 players from a team that went 54-28 before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
Jerry Sloan is back for his 21st season as coach. The only new faces belong to veteran point guard Brevin Knight (acquired in a trade from the Clippers) and rookie center Kosta Koufos. Seven players are entering their fourth season of playing together. By another measure, though, the Jazz's future couldn't appear more unsettled. As many as seven players could be free agents after this season. Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price, Jarron Collins and Knight all are entering the final season of their contracts.
It's the three players who can opt out of their contracts -- Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver -- who are the even bigger question marks. For now, though, everybody is saying the right thing and is focused on the present.
How the Jazz manage to push aside individual agendas for the sake of what could be a championship team is the defining issue of the season.
"It could be a blessing, it could be a curse," Deron Williams said. "You never know. You've just got to hope that everybody is on board and prepared to play their role and do what's right for the team.
"But at the same time, some guys could be out for getting theirs. You've just got to hope everything goes right."
Boozer promised that he wasn't going to talk about his free agent future during the season. One benefit is that with so many players in contract years, the Jazz should have few concerns about getting maximum effort.
