The Jazz have signed 33-year old SG/SF Raja Bell to a 3-year, $10 million dollar deal. Bell has to pass his physical to make this deal official. Bell played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Warriors & Bobcats last season and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Bell returns to the Jazz who he played for from 2003-05. He played in 145 games (36 starts) in his two years with the Jazz and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Bell has now played in 604 games (383 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Bell will bring defense and long range shooting to the Jazz. He has shot 41.1% from three point range in his NBA career. I like this move for the Jazz.

The Jazz have acquired 25-year old PF/C Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves for 21-year old center Kosta Koufos and two future first round picks. Jefferson played in 76 games (all starts) for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 17.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 407 games (276 starts) in his six years in the NBA and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. The Jazz plan on starting Jefferson at center alongside Paul Millsap at power forward. Mehmet Okur will come off the bench for the Jazz when he finally gets healthy. I really like this move for the Jazz as Jefferson is a outstanding player. Koufos played in 36 games (0 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 4.8 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 84 games (7 starts) in his two years for the Jazz and he averaged 8.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Jazz won’t miss Koufos.

The Trailblazers are at it again….being a pain in the Jazz’ but. Last season they signed Paul Millsap to a huge offer sheet that the Jazz matched. This year they are doing it again as they have signed guard Wes Matthews to a 5-year, $34 million dollar deal. Matthews played in 82 games (48 starts) as a undrafted rookie last season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. This will be a tough decision for the Jazz as the Blazers made him a very big offer.

UPDATE: (7/15/2010) - The Jazz aren’t going to match Matthews’ offer if Raja Bell passes his physical.

I don’t see the Jazz doing anything major this summer. Wesley Matthews and Kyrylo Fesenko are restricted free agents that the Jazz would like to keep. I see the biggest needs for the Jazz coming into free agency being needs for a backup shooting guard and a backup center. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Brad Miller seem like good fits at center to back up Mehmet Okur who is coming off major surgery. I also like guards like Tony Allen, Flip Murray and Roger Mason thinking any of them would be a good fit on the Jazz. It appears as if Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver will both price themselves out of the range of the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz have extended qualifying offers to 23-year old shooting guard Wes Matthews and 23-year old center Kyrylo Fesenko. This gives the Jazz the right to match any offer either of them get. Matthews played in 82 games (48 starts) for the Jazz last season as a undrafted free agent and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Fesenko played in 49 games (5 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has played in 79 games (6 starts) in his three years with the Jazz and he has averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Matthews is the higher priority for the Jazz but they would like to keep both of these players.