JERRY’S WISH

Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has already seen a lot in his many years in the NBA either as a player or a coach. He is the type of coach who seldom speaks on team issues but when he does, expect a lot from the veteran no-nonsense mentor. As reported in NBA.fanhouse.com, Sloan, who has been the coach of the Jazz for the past 22 years, wants power forward Carlos Boozer back in Utah for next season. Boozer, one of the marquee names in the 2010 free-agent class, is currently being wooed by several teams. 

"Sure, I'm hoping without a doubt. We're not as good of a team without him. And he helped us a great deal. It's hard to get good players. We all sat down and talked about what we'd like to do, and we'd like to have him back. He knows how I feel.

I think he's got to do what he's got to do. That's what I tell all those guys. When (they're) free agents, they've got to do what's best for them. He's not going to tell me what he's going to do. He's going to check everything out ... We'll see what happens.

It would be tougher, of course. Any time you lose a good player and you replace him, it's then harder to replace the guy you replaced him with. You go to the third option, which is not as good as your second option in most cases.”