26-year old Al Jefferson will be the Jazz’ starting center in 2011-12, unless he is dealt before the season begins.  Jefferson played in 82 games (all starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 35.9 minutes, 18.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  Jefferson has now played in 489 games (358 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.8 minutes, 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  32-year old Mehmet Okur will be Jefferson’s backup in 2011-12.  Okur played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jazz last year and he is averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 617 games (446 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.1 minutes, 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Okur is shooting 37.7% in his career from three-point range as he is a pretty solid offensive weapon.  The Jazz took 19-year old Enes Kanter with the #3 pick in the NBA Draft last June.  They want to bring him along slowly, but that might be hard to do as he has a HUGE upside.

26-year old Paul Millsap will be the starting power forward for the Jazz if he isn’t traded before the season starts.  Millsap played in 76 games (all starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  He has now played in 398 games (125 starts) in his first five years with the Jazz and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  20-year old Derrick Favors will backup Millsap or replace him in the starting lineup if he is dealt.  Favors played in 78 games (27 starts) in his rookie season for the Nets & Jazz last year and averaged 19.7 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has a nice upside.

24-year old C.J. Miles is likely going to see a huge bump in minutes for the Jazz this year.  He played in 78 games (19 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 25.2 minutes, 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Miles has now played in 333 games (145 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 19.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  24-year old Jeremy Evans was really efficient offensively as a rookie last year as he shot an amazing 66.1% from the floor.  Evans played in 49 games (3 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 9.4 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He should also see a bump in P.T. in 2011-12 for the Jazz.

When Raja Bell got injured last season, 21-year old Gordon Hayward really stepped up.  I think he will be starting at SG for the Jazz whenever the 2011-12 season begins.  He played in 72 games (17 starts) as a rookie last year and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  His main asset is his long range shooting as he nailed 47.3% of his three point shots last year.  35-year old Raja Bell is known more for his defense than his offense.  He played in 68 games (63 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 30.8 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Bell has now played in 672 games (446 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.3 minutes, 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Bell has shot an amazing 40.6% of his three point shots in his career, which is pretty darn good.  19-year old Alec Burks was taken in the first round by the Jazz last June.  He averaged 20.5 points last year for Colorado, so he could be on the fast track to P.T. in Utah.

28-year old Devin Harris is going to try to get the Jazz’ offense playing at a high level in 2011-12.  Harris played in 71 games (70 starts) for the Jazz & Nets last year and he averaged 31.7 minutes, 15.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He has now played in 480 games (345 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 13.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Harris’ workload will depend a lot on who the Jazz bring in to back him up, as that player isn’t on the roster right now.

68-year old head coach Jerry Sloan was inducted to Basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2009. He led the Jazz to a 53-29 (64.6%) record during the regular season last year and he was 4-6 in the playoffs. Sloan has a career record of 1,190-780 (60.4%) during the regular season and he is 98-104 (48.5%) during the post season. The Jazz still have a very solid team and I expect that Sloan will continue to rise up the all-time list in NBA victories as he is #4 right now and he is 145 behind Don Nelson for the all-time lead.

25-year old Al Jefferson will be the starting center for the Jazz this year. Jefferson played in 76 games (all starts) for the Timberwolves 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 NBA career and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Jefferson will team with Paul Millsap to give the Jazz a really good starting front line in 2010-11.

31-year old Mehmet Okur is going to miss the first couple of months while he recovers from an Achilles injury. Okur played in 73 games (all starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 29.4 minutes, 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 604 games (446 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 29.5 minutes, 13.9 points, 7.2 rebounds andd 1.7 assists per game. Okur has hit 37.8% of his shots from three point range in his career and that’s lethal for a center. Okur will likely be coming off the bench when he returns to action.

24-year old Kyrylo Fesenko looked around a bit in free agency over the summer before re-signing with the Jazz. Fesenko played in 49 games (5 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now 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. He will likely get more minutes than he has in the past until Mehmet Okur returns to action. It will be interesting to see if he does anything with them.

34-year old Francisco Elson will likely help out at power forward & center for the Jazz this year. Elson played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Sixers & Bucks last season and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 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.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ CENTERS IN 2010-11: A-

Carlos Boozer signed with the Chicago Bulls over the summer giving the starting power forward job over to Paul Millsap finally. 25-year old Paul Millsap has been biding his time until he would be in the starting lineup for the Jazz and his time to shine is now. Millsap played in 82 games (8 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Millsap has now played in 322 games (49 starts) in his first four years with the Jazz and he has averaged 24.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. I see Millsap averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per game this year.

22-year old Jeremy Evans will likely give Millsap a break once in a while. Evans was a second round pick out of Western Kentucky last June. He played in 34 games at Western Kentucky last season and he averaged 10.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Evans played in 134 games in college and he averaged 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Andrei Kirilenko and Al Jefferson could also get some P.T. here when Millsap needs a breather.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B+

29-year old Andrei Kirilenko is in a contract year so look for him to be motivated and very productive for the Jazz. Kirilenko played in 58 games (35 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 29.0 minutes, 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Kirilenko has now played in 617 games (416 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Kirilenko will also likely play some power forward when Paul Millsap needs a breather.

23-year old C.J. Miles is a decent reserve small forward. He played in 63 games (28 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Miles has now played in 255 games (116 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.2 minutes, 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Miles can also handle shooting guard in a pinch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B-

The Jazz have brought back 34-year old shooting guard Raja Bell as a free agent and he’s the likely starter for the Jazz coming into this year. He only played in 6 games (5 starts) last season for the Bobcats & Warriors last year (due to a bad wrist) and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 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 is a solid defender and he’s a good three point shooter (41.1% for career) so I like his addition to the Jazz’ starting lineup.

20-year old rookie Gordon Hayward might push Raja Bell for P.T. this year. Hayward played in 37 games for Butler last season and he averaged 33.5 minutes, 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He played in 69 games in his two years at Butler and he averaged 33.1 minutes, 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Hayward has a bright future for the Jazz.

25-year old Othyus Jeffers will be #3 in line for minutes at shooting guard for the Jazz in 2010-11. Jeffers played in 14 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Jazz last season and he averaged 5.1 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAZZ’ SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: C-