The Utah Jazz have signed 24-year old center Marcus Cousin out of the D-League.  Cousin played in 38 games (all starts) for the Austin Toros this season and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 14.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  The Jazz need some help off the bench with the bigs, so Cousin could get some P.T. right away for them.

In a shocking deal, the Utah Jazz have dealt 26-year old point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for 27-year old point guard Devin Harris, 19-year old rookie power forward Derrick Favors, 2 first round picks and cash considerations.  Williams played in 53 games (all starts) for the Jazz this season and he averaged 37.9 minutes, 21.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He played in 439 games (406 starts) in his six years with the Jazz and he averaged 35.6 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Maybe Deron Williams should have checked himself instead of running Jerry Sloan into retirement.  He wore out his welcome in Salt Lake City when he did that.  The Jazz also can laugh about sending Williams to a lousy Nets’ team.

Devin Harris will replace Deron Williams in the starting lineup.  Harris played in 54 games (all starts) for the Nets this season and he was averaging 31.9 minutes, 15.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 463 games (329 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 13.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Harris is not the pure passer that Deron Williams is, but he is a very solid point guard.  Derrick Favors played in 56 games (23 starts) for the Nets this year and he was averaging 19.5 minutes, 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Favors was shooting 51.1% from the floor but only 61.2% from the free throw line so he has some things to work on.  Favors will back up Paul Millsap in Utah. 

The Jazz might not make the playoffs this season but I really like this deal for them as Deron Williams was beginning to be more trouble than he was worth….which says quite a bit about him.

68-year old Jerry Sloan tired of Deron Williams’ act and that is a big reason that he has resigned as the head coach of the Utah Jazz after 23 years in charge.  The Jazz were 31-23 under Sloan this year which had them in 2nd place in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Thunder.  The Jazz were 1,127-682 (62.3%) unde3 Sloan in his 23 years on the job during the regular season.  They were also 96-100 (49%) in the post-season under Sloan.  The Jazz won the Western Conference in both the 1996-97 and the 1997-98 seasons but they lost in the NBA Finals both times.

Jerry Sloan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.  Sloan has a career record during the regular season of 1,221-803 (60.3%) and he is 98-104 (48.5%) during the post season in his career.  Sloan is #3 in NBA history in regular season wins and he’s #6 in post season wins.  Tyrone Corbin will be taking over as the interim head coach of the Jazz and Deron Williams should be ashamed of himself.

The Utah Jazz have waived 24-year old guard Sundiata Gaines. Gaines played in 32 games as a rookie for the Jazz last season and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists. Gaines claim to fame came when he hit a buzzer beater to beat the Cavaliers last season. Gaines will likely get a chance with another team this season but the Jazz won’t miss him.

The Jazz have signed 31-year old point guard Earl Watson. Watson played in 79 games (52 starts) for the Pacers last season and he averaged 29.4 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has now played in 676 games (208 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 23.5 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. This was a excellent pickup for the Jazz as Watson will give the Jazz quality minutes at the point when Deron Williams is taking a break.

The Jazz have signed 34-year old center Francisco Elson. Elson played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Bucks & Sixers last season in which he averaged 1.0 point, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 405 games (148 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.2 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. While Elson is not a standout he could help the Jazz off the bench in 2010-11.

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.