The Jazz have signed 32-year old shooting guard Kevin McLeod and 26-year old small forward Trey Gilder.  McLeod played for the Jazz back in 2004-05 and 2005-06.  McLeod last played in the NBA back in 2006-07 with the Golden State Warriors.  McLeod  has played in 200 games (88 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.6 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  McLeod has only shot 35.7% from the floor in his career so far, so he isn’t going to help the Jazz light up the scoreboard in 2011-12.  Trey Gilder’s only NBA action came back in 2009-10 with the Memphis Grizzlies.  He played in 2 games for the Grizzlies that year and he averaged 2.5 minutes, 1.0 point and 0.5 rebounds per game.  These guys will both be longshots to make the Jazz in 2011-12.

UPDATE:  (12/22/2011) – The Jazz have waived Kevin McLeod and Trey Gilder.

The Jazz have re-signed 32-year old point guard Earl Watson to a 2-year deal.  Watson played in 80 games (13 starts) for the Jazz last year and he averaged 19.6 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 756 games (221 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.1 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Watson is a solid backup point guard and he will give Devin Harris a break when he needs one.

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.

The Utah Jazz are going to need a lot of help when the lockout is lifted.  They are going to need a small forward and a backup point guard for sure.  The Jazz could fill those needs in free agency or they could deal one of their extra bigs to make a deal go down.  Look for the Jazz to be really busy when the lockout is lifted.

The Utah Jazz have picked up 24-year old SG/SF C.J. Miles’ 2011-12 option valued at $3.7 million bucks.  Miles 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 with the Jazz and he is averaging 19.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  This was a smart move for the Jazz as it will allow them to break in rookie Alec Burks slowly if needed.

The Jazz took 19-year old, 6’6″, 195 pound shooting guard Alec Burks with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft last night.  Burks played in 38 games for Colorado last year and he averaged 31.4 minutes, 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He played in 68 games in his two years in college and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 19.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Shooting guard has been a Black Hole offensively for the Jazz for quite some time and they are hoping that Burks is the right guy to make them forget all about that.