It Hasn’t Been a Good Week for the Utah Jazz

Their division rivals are improving dramatically … the Jazz, not so much: “All of a sudden, the Jazz find themselves in a division in which four of the five teams clearly are on the ascent in Denver (fresh off its Western Conference finals run), Portland, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The Jazz, by comparison, appear headed in the other direction. Maybe that impression will change by the start of training camp in late September, but Utah has made less progress in the playoffs each of the last three years. Another move Tuesday that impacted the Jazz was Detroit’s acquisition of Fabricio Oberto from Milwaukee/San Antonio for Amir Johnson. Oberto has only $1.9 million guaranteed for 2009-10 while Johnson was due to make $3.7 million. Just like that, the Pistons gained an additional $1.8 million in salary cap space to chase free agents - - including possibly Carlos Boozer - - when the market opens July 1.”