Welcome back?Breaking up is hard to do for Jazz, Booz News Utah Jazz

Youwouldn'tbelievewhatjusthappened. It's so random. They go through this totally messy breakup and, obviously, they never want to see one another again, 'kay? They, like, completely creep each other out. But what happens? They end up in the same class this semester.

Omigosh! How, like, awkward. The Jazz open training camp with a media session today at Zions Bank Basketball Center, and guess who's back together. Carlos Boozer and the Jazz . Talk about an elephant in the room. Most people thought by now this relationship would be history. But they're committed, at least for now, and it's not going to be all that comfortable. How comfortable can it be when your are so ... over? Boozer is good for a double-double most games. There have even been times when it looked as though he and the Jazz belonged together. But that ship has sailed. Now it's time for camp, and things look a lot like they did when Utah exited the playoffs last spring. Same parties, same uneasy arrangement. You won't see a blowup ? Boozer is too guarded for that ? but you won't see them exchanging friendship rings, either. Decisions, decisions. Paul Millsap has been anointed the power forward of the future, with the multiyear contract he signed this summer. Then there's Boozer. It's not like you can ignore him; he's a former All-Star. So the question is whether the Jazz should go with their future or their past in the starting lineup. Do you display Boozer, hoping to up his trade value, or bury him on the bench and build for the future? Do you placate Millsap by reminding him the situation can't last beyond this season, when Boozer becomes a free agent, or do you say nothing? Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan will surely utilize the guy who's playing best; the other will just have to deal with it. Since they'll always get effort from Millsap ? and they need to keep Boozer's trade value high ? it's likely Boozer will start. Whether to play Millsap at small forward or bring him off the bench at power forward can be worked out. Heaven knows, they've had plenty of time (three years) to think about it. Reviewing how things got to this point is complicated, except to say Boozer has had his foot in his mouth so long, his toes are wrinkled. He said he would opt out of his contract and become a free agent, because he was guaranteed a raise. Then he didn't, mainly because the raise never materialized. He said he wanted to stay with the Jazz , then told Miami and Chicago radio stations he would love to be playing in their cities instead. He claimed he and the Jazz had agreed to work out a trade, but it's unclear whether that conversation even occurred. Through it all, it was obvious the relationship had soured. Boozer will always be Boozer, a player whose interest is himself. Meanwhile, the Jazz have made it no secret they would be fine going ahead with Millsap. The tricky part is that, in some ways, the Jazz are still better with Boozer than without him. He may be self-serving, and he plays no defense, but he does put up numbers. You can't have, say, a Millsap-Goran Suton combo at power forward and be as good as Millsap-Boozer. Besides, he's obliged to play well. If he shines ? which is in his own interest ? the Jazz , too, will benefit. If he plays poorly, they'll both suffer. The Jazz were smart not to let Boozer force them into trading him for coffee grounds. They knew almost every team wants a Boozer-type talent ? at a fire sale price. But if they want to give him away for nothing, they can do that in February when the trade deadline arrives. Besides, a team needing a scorer in mid-season might offer something reasonable in return. The entire situation must be embarrassing for Boozer, though you'd never know it by his demeanor. He didn't talk to the Salt Lake media all summer, yet couldn't keep quiet when he was out of town. Today, if he talks at media day, he'll be the same Boozer as always, staring into infinity and wishing he were on an island. He'll say all the right things about teamwork and unity and being excited for the new season. Any reference to his future will be deflected with glib remarks about seeing what happens and taking things one day at a time. The best news for Boozer is that the team has two preseason games in Europe. He'll be able to hide out in a place where Basketball isn't so big. When he returns for the season-opener at Denver, though, he'll continue as he did last year. And everyone will be wondering: Is this breakup ever going to end? e-mail: rock@desnews.com