Jazz future looking up

Have you ever been dumped by your girlfriend or boyfriend, only to find that there is a much more attractive person waiting for you? Yeah, me neither, but the Utah Jazz sure have found themselves in that position.

When Carlos Boozer bolted for more money and a new relationship with the Chicago Bulls, my heart was broken and seemed irreparable. The Jazz’s roster looked awful, with the names surrounding Deron Williams looking unimpressive on paper. I was certain the Jazz would be a mediocre team and barely squeeze into the playoffs.

Jazz general manger Kevin O’Connor made some notable moves, however, and seemed to find the antidote for a broken heart and a poor team.

I didn’t see a way the Jazz could fill the void Boozer would leave. He had consistently averaged a double-double and there were no big men left in free agency to replace him. To make matters worse, former Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver followed Boozer to Chicago.

However, just when I thought Kevin O’Connor couldn’t do anything worse, he redeemed himself by trading for Al Jefferson. What made the trade even better is that the Jazz gave up little to get Jefferson. The team traded away Kosta Koufos and two protected, first-round draft picks.

Jefferson has been an excellent player on poor teams (he has spent the last few seasons in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves rarely reached 20 wins). During his three seasons with the Timberwolves he averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds, which is comparable to what Boozer gave the Jazz.

The difference, however, and my cause for excitement, is that Jefferson put up these statistics on an abysmal team. He didn’t have a point guard who made the game easier for him. He had to produce those numbers all by himself. With a player like Deron Williams, there is no reason why Jefferson could not average 25 points and 12 rebounds a game.

Jefferson is also only 25 years old, making him three years younger than Boozer.

The downside is that Jefferson does carry with him a large contract, which made it nearly impossible for the Jazz to match the Trail Blazers’ offer to Wesley Matthews. Matthews was a standout player last year and provided the Jazz with some much-needed defense. Matthews will be missed this year, but the Jazz found a suitable replacement for him in Raja Bell.

Bell is a veteran who played with the Jazz for a few seasons earlier in his career. He is also a hard-nosed physical defender who can shoot the three-ball very well. In fact, over his career, he has the same percentage from behind the three-point line, 41 percent, as recently departed Korver had. Combine those two factors and Bell will be a decent replacement for Matthews and Korver. Bell will also add a veteran presence to a young Jazz team.

The Jazz roster now looks much better on paper with a lineup as follows: Deron Williams, Raja Bell / Gordon Hayward /  C.J. Miles, Andrei Kirilenko, Al Jefferson and Mehmet Okur. Okur will likely miss the first couple months of the season due to his Achilles’ tendon injury. Jefferson can play the center position and Paul Milsap could start at power forward for the first few months of the season.

This lineup is exciting and I can’t wait to see what the Jazz season will bring next year. Bring on a 50-plus win season and a deep run into the playoffs.