According to numerous reports, including the official team site, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz have signed third-year guard Ronnie Price to a multi-year deal.

Price played the last two years for the Sacramento Kings, averaging 3.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 9.7 minutes per game. He dropped a career-high 16 points against the Jazz last November, including a thunderous dunk on Carlos Boozer. He’s something of a combo guard, much more of a shooter/scorer than a distributor, though he only stands 6′2″ (but with crazy hops and athleticism).

I like Price’s talent — I watched him frequently when he played locally at Utah Valley State College — and this move seems to be part of a general trend toward the Jazz improving overall team athleticism (adding to the team youth movement as well). It should serve to guarantee that the Jazz will have no shortage of scorers on the roster. Doesn’t necessarily seem like Jerry Sloan’s type of player, though. Could the Jazz front office be readying for Sloan’s retirement in the coming years by stockpiling young, athletic talent?

The biggest immediate effect this might have on the Jazz is that we may be saying farewell to former Illinois guard Dee “Shorty” Brown. The crowd favorite played decently in the Rocky Mountain Revue but didn’t sparkle, and although the Jazz tendered a qualifying offer to him to preserve his restricted free agent status, no further action has been taken. The Price signing means that the Jazz now have the following back-court players under contract or as possible re-signees: Deron Williams, Ronnie Price, Jason Hart, Gordan Giricek, Morris Almond, and Ronnie Brewer, with Matt Harpring sometimes playing the 2, and Brown’s and C.J. Miles’ status still uncertain. That’s NINE players for two positions. Suffice it to say, not all of these players are going to be wearing Jazz blue come November.

Regardless, I’m glad to see that Kevin O’Connor isn’t afraid to tinker with the roster, even after quite a successful season. But something bigger may be coming.

UPDATE: AOL FanHouse has taken notice of the Ronnie Price signing and points out the nightmare that awaits C-Booz every day in practice, facing off against the kid who posterized him. They also astutely observe that Price will be battling (beating out?) Jason Hart for minutes, the same as he did in Sacramento (which was part of the reason Hart was so despondent there). Will the rivalry continue? Tracking….

Well, I don’t think it will be severely damage the Jazz as a franchise, but Dennis Haslam played an extremely important role in helping the Jazz re-build quickly since their two NBA finals appearances.

Haslam steps down as president of Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment Group of Companies. That would be the Salt Lake Bees, Energy Solutions Arena, the Mayan, Megaplex theatres, Jordan Commons, KJZZ, and more.

Haslam has been replaced by Randy Rigby, who has been with the team for 21 years.
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Well, it’s not a blockbuster signing, but it does show that the Jazz are aggressively looking to fill their holes in the roster. The deal is apparently worth $5 million for the two years.

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), former Raptors swingman Morris Peterson has agreed to a four-year deal with the New Orleans Hornets. The source of the report apparently requested anonymity, but says Peterson will sign with the Hornets following a vacation.

Peterson was the Jazz’s main target in free agency this off-season, even going so far as to fly him out for a personal visit with Jazz management. Previous reports claimed that, while Peterson liked the Jazz system and the opportunity to join a winning team, he wanted far more money than the typically conservative Jazz were willing to dole out. The length of the contract may also have been an issue, as the Jazz might not have wanted to give Peterson a full four-year contract, especially given his age.

So where does that leave the Jazz? The free agent market is pretty much barren now, and the Jazz still don’t have much money to play with (and if they weren’t willing to pay Peterson more than $4 or 5 million, they may be even less likely to pay any of the options still out there). More than anything, this may be a sign that the Jazz are willing to commit to the players they already have. Finally, we might see what Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles (if he re-signs) are capable of, and there should be minutes for Morris Almond, too (especially if the Jazz find a way to trade Gordan Giricek’s expiring contract for another point guard).

While my first reaction was frustration (here we go again, the too-cautious Jazz fail to make a move to push us over the top by grabbing Peterson), after thinking about it a bit, I think this will help to slim down the glut of 2-guards on the Utah roster. Hopefully the right players will prove themselves in the coming weeks and months.
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Layton Shumway is the chief copy editor for BYU’s Daily Universe. You can reach him at lss83@byu.net.

Well, the team has had a quite offseason so far, as far as acquiring talent goes. Aside from the loss of Derek Fisher, the biggest team news has been C.J. Miles not playing in the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Here’s a summary of the Jazz’s roster and salaries for the upcoming season. I’m making the assumption, for now, that Miles, Araujo, and Dee Brown all return. Although it’s possible that Miles may be on his way out, and the team will definitely make a couple trades before November.
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